Carbon County officials took a firm position on talk of a county-wide property reassessment, much like Schuylkill completed last year.

The commissioners said that as long as these three board members are here, they will not support completing a reassessment unless court-ordered.

“I know you’ll hear from school boards, you’ll hear from borough councils, you’ll hear from other people about reassessment, but this board of commissioners is not (in favor), and I can say that in confidence,” Commissioners’ Chairman Mike Sofranko said Thursday.

“There’s been a plan from everybody else in Carbon County, except the three sitting here,” Commissioner Rocky Ahner added.

“I can confidently say that the three sitting here are not in favor of any kind of reassessment,” Sofranko continued.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, who has served as commissioner for nearly three decades, said that if someone wants to pay for it, then they can pay the millions it would cost for a county-wide reassessment.

Ahner said that it would cost the county upwards of $12 million to complete a reassessment; but noted that procedures for assessing a property need to be upgraded as well.

“The only way you’ll get my support for any type of reassessment is that it would have be court-ordered. I’m not here to do that,” Sofranko said. “I have my own view on taxes and I think it’s a necessary evil and the county has to look at ways to conserve money and be fiscally responsible; and also find other ways to generate money. Taxes, unfortunately, is one of those, but reassessment is not the answer.”

The last time Carbon County properties was assessed was in 1999, with spot assessments taking place by school districts after a property is sold.

In recent years, several school districts have pushed for a county-wide reassessment on all properties; but municipalities have voiced opposition, saying it would hurt senior citizens, which makes up a large portion of the county population.

Property taxes have long been a source of debate, with many calling for reform of the primary funding source for public school districts throughout the state.

Sen. Dave Argall had introduced bills in 2015 and 2019 that would eliminate school property taxes and replace the lost revenue with a combination of higher sales and personal income taxes; however the bill failed when brought to a vote.

Since then, several other legislators have called for property tax reform, with two bills, Senate Bill 962, sponsored by Sen. Dawn Keefer (R-31), and its companion, House Bill 1649, sponsored by Rep. Wendy Fink (R-94) with co-sponsors Doyle Heffley (R-122) and Dane Watro (R-116), introduced during the 2025-2026 session.