Schuylkill County’s first reassessment since 1996 is rolling along, and workers may begin knocking on doors soon in McAdoo, Kline, Delano, Ryan, and Rush townships.

So far, assessors hired by Vision Government Solutions, based in Hudson, Massachusetts, have visited properties in Barry, Blythe, Hegins, Norwegian, Butler, Hurley, Cass, Eldred, Upper Mahantongo, Foster, and New Castle townships, and in Gordon, New Philadelphia, Palo Alto, Mechanicsville, Port Carbon, Middleport, Mount Carbon boroughs, and the City of Pottsville and Tower City.

Tim Barr, executive director of Pennsylvania Customer Relations and Technology for the firm, said Thursday it would soon be adding Branch, Frailey, Reilly, and Tremont townships, and Gilberton, Mahanoy City, Minersville, Shenandoah, and Tremont boroughs to the list.

He said assessors also may be working in McAdoo, Kline, Delano, Ryan, Rush, North Union, East Union, Porter, Mahanoy and West Mahanoy townships, and Ashland, Frackville, Ringtown, Girardville, boroughs.

County commissioners in December 2022 hired the firm for $6.6 million to handle the reassessment.

The update was forced by the county’s settlement on May 16, 2022 of a lawsuit filed on July 30, 2018 by the Community Justice Project.

The Harrisburg nonprofit group contended that property evaluations were unfairly determined and created an inequitable tax burden.

The group has filed several similar suits in the state, including in Lackawanna and Allegheny counties.

The suit was based on the section of the Pennsylvania Constitution that states that “all taxes shall be uniform, upon the same class of subjects, within the territorial limits of authority levying the tax, and shall be levied and collected under general laws. Simply put, it requires property taxation to be uniform and fair.

The county’s last reassessment was done 26 years ago. Changes in property values over time mean some property owners are paying too much and others too little. County officials have said the reassessment will result in roughly one-third of property owners paying more, one-third will be paying less, and one-third will pay the same amount.

Certified evaluators will review each assessment and make any needed adjustments. The county before June 1, 2025 notify property owners of the assessments. If the owner contests the results, he or she will be given the opportunity for an informal review and the ability to correct any data errors.

Change of assessment notices will be mailed on or before July 1, 2025, with the new value, and property owners can begin the formal appeal process to the county Board of Assessment Appeals. The new assessed values will take effect Jan. 1, 2026