School District May Appeal Commercial Appraisals

The Bethlehem Area School Board is considering the possibility of appealing appraisals of some large commercial properties in the district.

Some commercial properties in the Bethlehem Area School District may be grossly underassessed, paying far less than their fair share of taxes, finance administrator Stacy Gober told members of the board finance committee Monday evening.

She added this places a burden on residential property owners and small businesses and commercial properties, who must make up the difference.

While “spot assessments” or targeting specific properties for reappraisal is prohibited, the district can set parameters and then look into all the properties that meet the designated criteria, said BASD solicitor Don Spry.

A possible criteria discussed was to look at properties thought to be underassessed $500,000 or more, administrators suggested, adding that for each $500,000 the school tax due would be $20,000.

“That would mean they're underassessed by half a million dollars or more,” Gober said. “This is to go after the grossly inequitable ones.”

Spry said the district could use either services of a specialized legal firm, which would charge hourly, or those of a specialized company, which generally charges on a contingency basis.

The fees, a percentage of the additional taxes brought in by a successful municipal assessment appeal, would be capped, he added. Additionally, the out-of-pocket costs for the district would be limited to direct expenses, likely about $5,000.

The finance committee decided to forward the decision to further investigate the matter at the next regular school board meeting on Monday, Nov. 21.

Putting out a call for bids unlikely, and the board will be deciding whether to possibly engage the services of Keystone Realty Services of Philadelphia, the committee said.

“This is the only company we've discovered,” Spry said.