Thursday, April 18, 2002
New property values will be turned over to Lawrence County in May.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Fewer people than expected filed appeals on their new property values, says the company conducting countywide reassessment.
Informal assessment hearings ended Friday with only a few people coming in to dispute the fair market values over the last few days, said Steve Raffa, local manager for Manatron Sabre Systems, the Miamisburg, Ohio, company conducting the reassessment.
A total of 6,413 hearings, or 11 percent of county property owners, appealed Sabre's values, he said. Sabre initially predicted about 8,000 people would appeal.
Correction
Sabre workers will spend the next few weeks correcting information errors turned up during an appeal hearing, such as the wrong number of bedrooms in a house, he said.
Others are checking over documents turned over by landowners and reconfiguring property valuations.
The new property values will be turned over to county officials in early May, Raffa said.
Sabre Systems' contract continues through the end of reassessment, he noted. Company officials are expected to help the county's appeal board this fall when formal appeals are made, Raffa added.
Lawrence County commissioners must first certify Sabre's valuations before formal appeal hearings can begin.