Couple appeals reassessment of property in New Ringgold

Owner of a property in New Ringgold has taken an appeal in the Schuylkill County court from a recent ruling by the county assessment appeals board which increased the value of the property.

Daniel M. and Linda J. Davies, 220 Delaware Lane, Whitehall, owners of a property at 556 Arrow Road, filed an appeal to have the assessment restored which was placed on the property when the county was reassessed in 1996.

The assessment of the property last October was appealed by the Tamaqua Area School District. The county Assessment Appeals Board increased the assessed valuation by $63,840 and placed the market value of the property at $127,680. The Davies' appealed for the following reasons.

They claim the board's assessment does not accurately reflect the true fair market value of the property; the assessed value of the premises is misconforming with other similar properties within the locals of the premises and is not assessed in conformity with standards as required buy the Pennsylvania Constitution and the United States Constitution; the assessment is not uniform with comparable properties and therefore violates the uniformity clause of the state constitution; procedures used in selecting premises for re-evaluation were triggered by a sale of the property; the re-assessment by the school district is in effect an illegal spot reassessment because simular properties have not been simultaniousluy reassessed are revalued.

The suit claims the proper reassessment is based on valuation used in the 1996 county-wide re-assessment and therefore produce an assessment result not consistent with properties of similar value elsewhere in the dististrict and therefore is not uniform with the other properties.