The final results of Warren County’s property reassessment won’t really be in until next February – but county residents aren’t happy with what they’ve seen so far.

During a recent Warren County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Ken Klakamp said during the commissioners’ comment period during the meeting that county residents need to take a deep breath now that they’ve received a property’s new preliminary new market value.

“We understand that there is a lot of concern in our community,” Klakamp said. “A lot of people have been getting their sticker shock numbers. It will work out. Those are pie in the sky.”

Commissioner Tricia Durbin then vouched for the company hired to do the work. Vision Government Solutions is a company which specializes in services and software designed to assist jurisdictions with assessing. The company has completed more than 1,000 property reassessment projects throughout the northeastern United States.

“There’s science behind it,” Durbin said. “Vision, the third party provider, does this in multiple states so this is not their first rodeo. They’re experts at what they do. There are only two organizations in the commonwealth that actually have the ability or are licensed to actually do this. Vision is one of them, so we are trusting in their expertise, the history that they have across both the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and actually the nation.”

County residents who have concerns can still schedule an informal review of their prospective new property assessment through May 31 using the contact information on the letter they received from the county. All property records can be reviewed online at gis.vgsi.com/warrencountyrevalpa. Those who agree with the information do not need to schedule the informal review.

Informal review sessions will be focused on discussing property characteristics, including if the property is assessed correctly, if it has the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage listed, if garages and outbuildings are captured correctly and if there are blighted properties adjacent to a property that could impact its value? Residents are encouraged to bring photos to those sessions to evidence those impacts.

Formal challenges can be undertaken after July.

“I mean they’re doing informal reviews currently, probably in July we’ll be moving into the formal appeals,” Klakamp said. “But probably the most important thing to remember is that right now Warren County is at 25 mills. That’s the maximum that a county can set for property tax. With that being said the amount of revenue, the county cannot get a windfall because you do a property reassessment. It has to remain neutral within 10% plus or minus. So what our budget is this year is going to be pretty close to that next year. That’s a fair statement. So if you look at that and people are getting concerned because they’re getting these high numbers, your property was valued at this in 1989 but it’s this now. That millage has to be reset and in November we will know what the millage will be.”

Tioga County reassessed in 2024 that found that 49 percent of taxpayers saw a decrease and 51 percent saw an increase. However, 41 percent of the total saw their tax bill change by less than $150 in either direction. Tioga County’s millage was set at about 6 mills, Klakamp said.

“We expect ours to drop significantly,” Klakamp said. “We can’t give you a number of what it’s going to be until February after all the formal appeals and everything, but please be patient. We’re working hard. We’re hearing what you all have to say and we take it to heart. We want what’s best for the people in Warren County.”