Property owners will find out their property’s new taxable assessment in letters being mailed Monday.

Property values have naturally increased since the county was last assessed in 1989.

The county acknowledges that values have increased in some areas of the county at higher rates than others. However, a reassessment has to be completed on a county-wide basis. The process cannot be completed on just certain neighborhoods or only on commercial properties.

“The properties haven’t been assessed since 1989,” Solicitor Nathaniel Schmidt said. “There has been extensive change in market values for both residential and commercial properties in the county. In order for it to be fair, it has to be county-wide.”

Community members brought their reassessment concerns to the last commissioners meeting. One resident asked if the county would commit to the assessments being revenue neutral in future years, while another noted higher property values through the reassessment will increase the financial burden on property owners.

The “final assessed value” property owners will receive on Monday will take effect on January 1, 2026. The letters will include the 1989 assessed value, the 2025 value, the county taxes for 2025 and the estimated county taxes for 2026.

It’s important to note that the estimate and “current county tax” columns are solely the county portion of the tax bill and do not include municipal and school district tax estimates. Some conclusions can be drawn based on the estimate though.

Chief Assessor Brian Bull said that if a property owner sees an increase in their county portion, it will be fair to assume an increase at the municipal and school district level as well. The estimate may change in the coming months due to the outcome of the appeals process.

“It could be a big swing,” Schmader said. “We don’t know what to expect out of appeals. It could be a giant difference there. We don’t know.”

In addition to the appeals, the Clean and Green agricultural land preservation process could also impact final tax burdens. Clean and Green is a preferential tax assessment program that bases property taxes on use values rather than fair market values. This ordinarily results in tax savings for landowners. The Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted the program in 1974 as a tool to encourage protection of the Commonwealth’s valuable farmland, forestland and open spaces. Currently, more than 9.3 million acres are enrolled statewide.

Applications for that program are typically due June 1, but the deadline was pushed back to Oct. 15 for the reassessment.

The reassessment is aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax system across the county.

“Two like houses in the same neighborhood… they should be comparable,” Bull said.

The assessment values are based on the last three years of real estate transactions in Warren County. Neighborhood comparables were considered, but Bull explained that, especially in the most rural areas of the county, the range for comparable properties had to be expanded. He said that the comparables utilized in the final values are based on “finding sales as close as you can get” to an individual property.