Trending
Property tax settlement agreements with Walmart and United Refining Company were among the many items moved forward during the Warren County Commissioner's meeting.
Walmart had seen its new assessment set at $12,928,560 by the Board of Assessment Appeals. The settlement approved by the retailer and the commissioners will result in a new assessment of $6,780,000 – a decrease of $6,148,560 from the proposed assessment but more than the store’s prior assessment.
Solicitor Nathaniel Schmidt said that both Walmart and the taxing bodies obtained appraisals, with the county obtaining two. The settlement is closer to the county's higher appraisal.
"And so, realistically, this is the best value I think we could expect a court to award at trial," Schmidt said. "And so, it’s a number that Walmart has agreed to. So we'd ask you to approve that number."
While the settlement is for a little more than half of the reassessed value, Commissioner Ken Klakamp said the assessment is an increase from Walmart's assessment prior to 2026. The property was sold for $1,935,370 in 2005.
"I believe based on the old assessment when they had appealed and went to court, they had got a $1.7 million relief," Klakamp said.
"I think this is one of those cases that shows that the reassessment was an important exercise for the county," Schmidt replied.
The United Refining Company property discussed is the former South Street Elementary School. United Refining, meanwhile, had challenged its $836,510 assessment on the former South Street school building. The company and county settled on a new assessment of $340,000, a decrease of $496,510.
Schmidt said both sides had appraisals done and then negotiated a middle point to reach an agreement.
"Regardless of the value set by the Board of Assessment Appeals, the number that you're being asked to approve, the $340,000, is toward the middle but closer to our side of the two appraisals," Schmidt said. "Our appraisal came in at $390,000, and theirs came in at $280,000. So we moved about $50,000. They moved about $60,000 to get this tentative agreement for the taxing device to approve."
Warren County reached tax assessment settlements in June with 18 property owners representing roughly one-third of the ongoing reassessment challenges the county is facing. The 18 properties presented to the commissioners recently were located throughout the county: two in the city of Warren, two in Columbus Township, two in Glade Township, one in Pine Grove Township, two in Youngsville Borough, one in Farmington Township, three in Mead Township, one in Sheffield Township, one in Conewango Township, one in Brokenstraw Township, one in Spring Creek Township and one in Elk Township. The average decrease per parcel was about $116,222.
In April a settlement was reached with Whirley Industries for three parcels in the city of Warren. Whirley had been challenging its 2026 assessment before reaching a settlement. In total, the company’s three parcels will be assessed at The company will pay $7,150,330.
July brought eight more assessment challenge agreements that included eight parcels involving Northwest Bank in the city of Warren. Three parcels with a total assessment of $38,781 were left unchanged. But parcels with higher assessments saw changes. One parcel had been reassessed for $1,368,800 and saw its assessment decreased by $586,940 to $781,860. Another parcel reassessed for $4,760,140 saw its assessment decreased by more than $1.8 million to $2,938,600. A third parcel had been assessed for $2,279,580 and saw a decrease of $278,360 to $2,001,220. All told, the Northwest Bank parcels saw a $2,699,488 decrease from their reassessed value to the settlement value working its way through the commissioners, council and Warren County School District.
Property at 1945 Market St. owned by 1945 Market ST. LLC - the former Valu Home Center location - saw its assessment decreased as well. One parcel was reassessed at $377,720 and agreed to a new assessment of $317,040 - a decrease of $60,680. A second parcel with a new assessment of $1,585,341 is agreeing to a new assessment of $1.1 million - a decrease of $485,341.
The rest of the proposed assessment agreements were for smaller amounts involving homes in the county.
Agreements in August included two properties owned by Ellwood Realty Acquisitions in Brokenstraw Township. One parcel was reassessed at $5,727,230 with a negotiated settlement of $2,400,000, a decrease of $3,327,230 from the reassessed value. The second property was reassessed for $1,005,930 and settled at $495,000, a decrease of $510,930. A third property owned by 300 Conewango LLC settled for a $70,647 decrease from $305,647 set by the Board of Assessment Appeals to $235,000.
The commissioners won't see many more negotiated settlements cross their desks, according to Schmidt.
"We have less numbers here as we’re sort of approaching trial season on the assessment," Schmidt said.