Everyone's Opinion Newsletter

In the first half of this year (2009) it seemed like every school district in Blair County raised their millage rate. The one that didn’t was Hollidaysburg school district, which was a surprise since they approved a 3.3% salary increase over the “next three years”. Guess we’ll have to wait and see whether this means, that over a three year period their wages will increase by 3.3% or if it means, they will be getting a 3.3% per year increase over the next three years.

Altoona school district raised its millage in May of 2008 by 3.8 mills, which resulted in a 65.8 mill total for that year; then in May of 2009, they raised the millage again by 3.7 mills, bringing the total to a current 69.5 mills.

Hollidaysburg school district is currently at 129.75 mills, which is almost twice the millage of Altoona. What becomes peculiar here is not the discrepancy in the millage rates between the school districts but the discrepancy between the (school district’s millage rates and the county millage rate). - Altoona school district is over twice the 30 mills that county government is caped at and Hollidaysburg school district is over four times the 30 mill cap.

It appears there is no millage cap on the school districts, though there is a limit on the rate of millage increase per year; therefore, it appears the school districts are not caped and one would have to ask the question: What would be a school district’s interest in legally forcing reassessment if they are not limited by a millage cap like the counties?

The reassessment fiasco in Bedford County should serve as a warning to property owners in Blair County because we will inevitably be next. If one remembers, reassessment was provoked by the threat of a lawsuit from the Bedford school district if their county did not under take reassessment. And since it appears that the school districts can adjust their millage rate to cover costs with out limits on millage, the threat of a lawsuit is a fraudulent threat.

The blatancy with which this was railroaded through should alarm everyone. Not a peep from any elected official and more importantly complete silence from the Bedford County judicial system. A local county property taxpayer’s association is now considering having their district attorney look into this situation for wrongdoing. The problem with using the county D.A. in this situation would be tantamount to having a thief preside over the investigation of fellow thieves. This is outrageous.

We have a Bedford school district president and superintend that made these threats, which would suggest grave breaches in ethical judgment at a minimum. We have a school board solicitor and a county solicitor who erroneously, intentionally, or else conspired to mislead their clients; then added to this, the school district was using a Harrisburg law firm rather than their own solicitor in this matter. Needless to say things are starting to look like a real political and legal cabal that goes to the top of the county’s judicial system and bar association. - Also remember, after this Harrisburg law firm got the momentum moving on reassessment in Bedford, with a little help from their friends, moved up into southern Blair County and started to set up shop in the Spring Cove School District, then suddenly went silent. Perhaps Wendy McCardle, who has been the Mirror’s reporter covering these things in Bedford, should do a little investigative reporting out in the cove. And finally, we have at least one current commissioner that is flagrantly derelict in his duty as a representative of the people.

The property tax payer’s association in Bedford would probably have more of a chance using the Pa. Attorney General’s office rather than their local district attorney. Attorney General Corbet has been running all over this state beating up on the common workingman for violations of statutes, codes, and standards, while his political and legal cohorts plot nothing less than treason against the property owners of Bedford County. If Corbet is entertaining thoughts of being governor, than lets see him show these thieves what real constitutional standards really are. - Of course, he will have to use the same unified judicial system that orchestrated this fiasco and also over saw one of the biggest judicial frauds in this state’s history perpetrated against juvenile defendants in Luzerine County.

This could get to be very interesting if and that is a big fat political “If” Corbet has the guts. Maybe Corbet could confiscate enough assets and property off the thieves in Luzerine County and use it to cover the cost of reassessment in Bedford County, then the whiners, that are whining about losing the money for reassessment if it were defeated, would then be silent. It would be a great test to see if there really is virtue amongst thieves.

The Freeman

Blair County

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