Community Corner

Pittsburgh Law Firm to Hold Reassessment Seminar for Residents in the East Suburbs

Burns White will host the seminar on Thursday, Feb. 23, in Monroeville.

Since there has been a lot of confusion around property reassessments, Burns White, a law firm headquartered on the North Shore, is holding a free seminar for eastern residents in Monroeville on Thursday, Feb. 23.

Presented by Jennifer Mislanovich, an attorney who has represented commercial and residential property owners at all levels of Allegheny County assessment hearings, the seminar will cover things like how the appeals process works, who can appeal and how some aggressive school districts might handle the appeals. There also will be a Q&A session at the end.

The seminar will be at the DoubleTree Hotel, 101 Mall Blvd. in Monroeville, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Allegheny Room.  It is not necessary for attendants to RSVP and all are welcome to attend.

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"We are hoping to shed light on a confusing and evolving issue affecting property owners in the community, Mislanovich said. "The seminar is meant to be informative as to the process in general, not addressing specific individual concerns. However, we will be happy to speak to people after the seminar about their specific property."

Mislanovich said the seminar is not meant to constitute legal advice and is meant to be an informative talk on the process in whole.

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"The reassessments are going to affect the taxes of property owners for the lifetime of the property," she said. "Right now, as the new assessments do not take effect until 2013, it is the best time to challenge the reassessments so that owners can anticipate what their tax burden will be for the future."

Homeowners must file their appeals by April 2. Appeal forms can be found on the Allegheny County website.

Mislanovich said it's important for people to know that school districts also can file appeals on assessments they believe to be too low, "and owners need to be aware of their rights in those situations." 

For more information about Burns White, visit www.burnswhite.com.


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