MIFFLINTOWN — Juniata County’s reassessment is nearing the finish line.

Juniata County Commissioners were joined by Karen Stouffer, deputy director of Clean and Green & Parcel Maintenance who works for Vision Government Solutions, which manages the county wide reassessment.

Stouffer shares that the team is currently in Monroe Township and they will soon be moving onto commercial properties next.

The process has been going since early 2024 when the discussion was brought to commissioners.

Juniata County’s last reassessment was completed in 1973, meaning the assessed values of homes are not up to date. The reassessment will bring property assessments in line with market value.

The challenge with the real estate tax system lies in the fact that property values change over time; therefore, assessments cease to reflect real market values.

Since the real estate tax is an “at value” tax, the fairness of the tax changes as the real estate market changes.

Changes vary between property types, geographic areas and other factors., Stouffer said.

A countywide reassessment was needed to equalize the values and create a fair distribution of the tax burden.

Property owners will receive a change in assessment notice indicating their new value.

Stouffer shared that those verification forms will be mailed out soon for the homes already completed.

Tax payers then review the information collected from Vision and from there they agree or disagree.

If owners dispute the new value they may appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals and present their own evidence of fair market value.

Final review is expected to be completed in winter of this year, with appeals taking place March through May of 2026.

In other news, Commissioners:

• Ratified the consent of contract between Juniata County Retirement Board and Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company for actuarial services and related consulting;

• Ratified the CDBG-IDIS check as submitted by the Juniata County Planning and Community Development Department. in the amount of $18,241.70 to PPL Utilities Corp;

• Approved a new lease agreement between Issachar Group and Juniata County government for office space for Juniata County Children and Youth. The lease agreement runs from Oct. 1 to July 1, 2026;

• Approved the use of the County Records Improvement Fund to cover the cost of one barcode scanner and TWO StarTech4-Porthubsat a total cost of $204.97 for the Sheriff’s Office;

• Approved a contract with Government Software Services Inc. for the assessment office and tax claim office. The new software will replace the Infocon software and will also benefit the Tax Collectors and Treasures Office.