In June 2007, an Allegheny County Court judge decreed that such a system guarantees unfairness and, among other injustices, punishes owners of lower-priced properties, a phenomenon documented in an Inquirer series in June.
Allegheny County Solicitor Michael H. Wojcik is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling by Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr.
In his 119-page opinion, Wettick noted a basic flaw in Pennsylvania's system: Assessments, on which tax millages are applied, are fixed in time, but property values are not.
As properties appreciate, assessments decrease as a percentage of a home's market value, creating a tax break for owners of pricier properties in higher-end neighborhoods.
"That actually happens the day after your assessment starts," said William Moon, the Delaware County assessment manager, who, along with other assessors, acknowledged that the system was problem-plagued and needed fixing.
All Pennsylvania counties operate under a "base year" program that experts say may be unique. In place in some form for a century, it became law in 1982. Counties must assess all properties at once, and those values are then frozen.
Montgomery County, for example, last revalued all its real estate in 1996. This has been a boon for appreciating neighborhoods and a burden in those where values have stagnated or dropped.
For instance: Effective tax rates - annual tax bills expressed as percentages of market values - are 25 percent higher, on average, in Norristown than in more affluent West Norriton, although both towns are in the same school district.
The $1,280 tax bill on the house Al Williams bought at the end of last year in the 800 block of Cherry Street in Norristown is double what it should be because the property has not appreciated.
