Reassessment Will Be Mixed Bag In Salisbury

The number of property owners in Salisbury Township who see their taxes raised will be roughly the same as those who see their taxes fall with the coming Lehigh County property reassessment, according to a municipality-by-municipality breakdown reported by The Express Times.

The analysis provided by county officials shows that 52.3 percent of Salisbury properties will see taxes decrease while 47.7 percent will see taxes increased once the reassessment is complete in 2013.

Of those who will see their county taxes raised, most will increase by 10 percent or less, but 71 Salisbury homes will see county taxes increase by more than 50 percent.

According to the analysis, the increases will affect homeowners as follows:

• 1,337 will see an increase of 10 percent or less.
• 611 will see an increase between 10-20 percent.
• 234 will see an increase between 20-30 percent.
• 101 will see an increase between 30-40 percent.
• 50 will see an increase between 40-50 percent.
• 71 will seen an increase of 50 percent or more.

The impact will be revenue-neutral for the county, as any properties that see their values increased will be balanced by those that see their taxable values drop.

Allentown will see the largest number of tax decreases with nearly three-quarters of its property values dropping. The largest number of tax increases will be in Coopersburg and the northwestern part of the county.

Earlier this month, County Commissioners voted 8-1 to override a veto by County Executive Don Cunningham to stop the reassessment from taking place. Cunningham said he thought the real estate market was too volatile for the process.

Preliminary notices on new property values are expected to be mailed on February 23.