The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About96-06201 ~ I i , I I I I ~ ~ \ ~.. "" : 1 //1 'i) / , I I ! Ij ~ \.', IN RE: APPEAL OF FARMERS TRUST COMPANY ET AL., TRUSTEES : UNDER AGREEMENT OF P. O. AND: MARY C. SUNDAY, IN THE COURT 010' COMMON PLEAS ()I<' CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 96.6201 CIVIL TERM vs. . . BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS: OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY ASSESSMENT APPEAL STIPULATION AND JOINT MOTION FOR AGREED ORDER AND NOW, this /7 '[11 day of February, 1997, it is hereby agreed and stipulated between Petitioner, Farmers Trust Company, et aI., Trustees under agreement of P. O. and Mary C. Sunday, by their attorneys, Mette, Evans & Woodside; and Respondents, Cumberland County Board of Assessment Appeals and Cumberland County, by its Assistant County Solicitor, Stephen D. Tiley, Esquire; and Respondents, Cumberland Valley School District and Township of Middlesex, by their attorneys, Snelbaker, Brenneman & Spare, as follows: 1. Petitioner filed an appeal from the assessment fixed by the Cumberland County Board of Assessment Appeals by Assessment Appeal dated November 12, 1996 and filed November 12, 1996, to which an Order fixing a date and place for a hearing was entered on November 18, 1996. The hearing was originally scheduled for January 8, 1997. The parties informally agreed to ccntinue that hearing and have now settled this case, a. TIHl applic:ilble year ler '.'ihi~1:1 tb" "\;love aaplioned !l3S1lSsmilRt awee11f(.(J was filed i!" the G"I.",der yeclf I !HI'T. ;" " ... . ~"') ? 3. The property which is the subject of this appeal is Cumberland County Assessment Parcel No. 21.17.2696.023 and is known as 1170 Harrisburg Piko, Stipulation and Joint Mallon for Agreed Order Page 1 of 3 Carlisle, Pennsylvania, also known as the Stoner Associates (and annex) building, or the former United Telephone Company building. The property is situate In Middlesex Township, Cumberland County, Pennsyivanla, 4, The parties stipulate that the total market value of the subject property as of the date the original petilion to the Cumberland County Board of Assessment Appeals was flied shall be fixed at $2,700,000, 5, The common level ratio applicable to this appeal for the 1997 tax year, as certified by the State Tax Equalization Board on or before July 1, 1996, Is 7%, Applying the common level ratio to the total market value of the subject property results In Its lawful total assessment being $189,000, The common level ratio varies by more than 15% from the Cumberland County predetermined ratio, which Is 25% and therefore the common level ratio Is applicable to this appeal and the assessment shall be fixed at the said $189,000, 6, The Cumberland County Assessor's Office shall allocate the total assessment between land and Improvements as provided by law and the procedures of the Cumberland County Assessment Office, 7, The Cumberland County Assessment Office shall promptly nolify the appropriate taxing bodies of the change In assessment, effective retroactively to April 1, 1996, and Instruct the taxing bodies to make any appropriate refunds, 8, The new assessment shall be effective as of April 1 , 1996 and shall remain unchanged unless and until changed as otherwise provided by law. 9. Each party to this appeal shall bear Its own costs, 10, The Court Is requested to enter the proposed Order attached hereto, 11. The undersigned Attorneys each hereby warrants to the other and to the parties and to the Court that he has reviewed this Settlement Stipulation with his client Stipulation and Joint Motion for Agreed Order Page 2 at 3 I , IN TIlE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION. LAW INRE: APPEAL OF FARMERS TRUST COMPANY ET AL., TRUS1'EES UNDER AGREEMENT OF P. 0, AND MARY C. SUNDAY, Owner. APPELLANT One West High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Tax Parcel No, 21.17.2696.023 Stoner Associates Building (formerly United Telephone Building) Cumberland County, Pennsylvania NO. CIVIL OF 1996 ASSESSMENT APPEAL Tax Year 1997 Municipality: Middlesex Township Cumberland Valley School District VS BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY PETITION FOR APPEAL FROM ASSESSMENT OF THE BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS AND NOW, comes the Appellant FARMERS TRUST COMPANY, ET AL, TRUSTEES UNDER AGREEMENT OF P. O. AND MARY C. SUNDAY, by their attorneys, Mette, Evans & Woodside, 3401 North Front Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and files this Petition for Appeal from Assessment of the Board of Assessment Appeals, of which the following is a statement: 1. Petitioner is the proparty owner of the property known as 1170 Harrisburg Pike, the former United Telephone Building, now the Stoner Associates Building, Middlesex Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, identified as Tax Parcel No. 21.17.2696.023. The owner is Farmers Trust Company, et aI., Trustees Under Agreement of Trust of P. O. and Mary C. Sunday, One West High Street, Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013. 2. Respondent, Board of Assessment Appeals, is a "Board for the assessment and revision of taxes" within the meaning of ~ 5020.102 of the General County Assessment Law, 72 P.S. ~ 5020-102 !It. liilll. and a "Board of Assessment Appeals" within the meaning of The Fourth to Eighth Class County Assessment Law, 72 P.S. ~ 5453.101 !It. WI. 3. The said property is located within the boundaries of Cumberland County, Middlesex Township and the Cumberland Valley School District (a true and correct copy of this Petition for Appeal shall be served forthwith upon the said municipalities and school district). 4. For purposes of the 1997 tax year, the Board of Assessment Appeals for Cumberland County previously assessed the property which is the subject of this Appeal as follows: Tax Parcel 21-17-2696-023 Assessed Value: $288,070 5. The Petitioner appealed the Board's assessment to the Board on April 29. 1996, and the Board heard the Appeal on October 11. 1996. 6. On October 22, 1996, the Board of Assessment Appeals issued Notice that it determined the fair market value of the above-captioned property to be $2,870,000 for purposes of arriving at an assessment for tax purposes. A true and correct copy of the Notice is attached hereto, fully incorporated herein by reference and marked for identification as Exhibit "A". 7. Petitioner alleges that the decision by the Board issued on October 22, 1996, for the tax year 1997 for which this Appeal is filed, is improper and unlawful for one or more of the following reasons: .2- (a) The value and assessment is not uniform with other assessments in Cumberland County; (b) The value and assessment is arbitrary, excessive and unreasonable; (c) The assessment does not conform with the common level ratio that exists in Cumberland County; (d) The assessment does not accurately rellect the fair market value of the Petitioner's property; (el The assessment is unreasonably high, improper, unjust and contrary to law and was arrived at without application of the statutory requirements provided under the General County Assessment Law and the County Assessment Law applicable to Cumberland County; and <0 Tile assessment is otherwise illegal, unconstitutional, non uniform, arbitrary and unreasonable. 8. As the property owner and a party aggrieved by the assessment, your Petitioner has the right to appeal pursuant to the provisions of the General County Assessment Law and the County Assessment Law applicable to Cumberland County. WHEREFORE, your Petitioner requests that the Court hear this Appeal and enter such Order as it deems proper pursuant to the provisions of the General County Assessment Law, 72 P.S. ~ 5030-102 m. seCl and the Fourth Class County Assessment Law, 72 P.S. ~ 5453.101 !lJ;!i!m. Respectfully submitted, METTE, EVANS & WOODSIDE ,\ By: ' .' t ( , t y.',. J -; t I, Peter J. Ressler, Esquire Attorneys for Petitioner Attorney I.D, #06844 3401 North Front Street P. O. Box 5950 Harrisburg, PA 17110-0950 (717) 232-5000 Dated: j,.' 'I v Exhibit A J. d ~s 01';' ~ .... g- ~ ~ '.. 1'1: " ,.. tilt: t),:" fi: '., 1..1 (J; (~)! - ". t.J,. .. " '...' . . ~ .... c..", <:I>o\-> 0-,. ~. '5J I': r... , .~ . :-... :-J _. 'I ':(~ l~) l '~ . , I , , ;~J 1 J r '. f~ . , .. ~. l_I~I. . , I':. '.J ~j ~. ,,~ C: C,.. , " l-! l ~. , . , , " , ': , , '>- ("'. I" L~ I II ,I ~. ~. ( ( , t;:. i C'. r' '. f ., .., L: , t.. j . .- r L. .. , - . , . Stephen D, Tiley, Esquire Assistant Solicitor cumberland County Board of Assessment 5 S, Hanover Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Horace A. Johnson, Esquire cumberland County Solicitor 301 Market Street p, O. Box 109 Lemoyne, PA 17043 Middlesex Township 350 N, Middlesex Road Carlisle, PA 17013 Richard C. SneIbaker, Esquire Solicitor Cumberland Valley School District and Middlesex Township 44 W. Main Street Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Return Receipt cards evidencing receipt by each of the above- identified parties are attached hereto as Exhibit "A", METrE, EVANS & WOODSIDE By: (jl.~f2I(~U Peter J. l~r, Esquire 3401 North Front Street P. O. Box 5950 Harrisburg, PA 17110-0950 (717) 232-5000 Attorneys for Petitioner DATE: II - .J.;) JI(" ":.&19" I exhibit A IN RE: APPEAL OF FARMERS TRUST COMPANY ET AL., TRUSTEES : UNDER AGREEMENT OF P. O. AND: MARY C. SUNDAY, IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 96.6201 CIVIL TERM vs. . . BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS: OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY ASSESSMENT APPEAL IWPLY AND NOW. the Respondent, Cumbcrlund County Board of Assessment Appeuls, by Stephen D. Tiley, its Assistunt Cumberlund County Solicitor, comes und files this Reply to the Petitioner's Petition for Appeul from Assessment of the Board of Assessment Appeuls, us follows: 1 , Admitted. 2, Admitted. 3, Admitted. 4, Admitted. By way of further Reply. theindicuted market vulue of the prior ussessed vulue of $288,070 was $4,115,286, 5. Admitted. 6. Admitted. 7, Denied, The uvennents of this purugruph, und euch of its subpurugraphs. contain conclusions of luw to which no responsive pleuding is required. 8. Admitted, WHEREFORE. Respondent, Cumberlund COUklty Bourd of Assessment Appeuls. prays Your Honorable Court for un Order denying the uppeul of Petitioner or uffinning the murket value of the property at $2,870,000. or such higher figure us the Court muy deem proper, Respectfully Submitted, Duted: /1_ _" _?_.~ i'1"/).0( ,v,. ., ~l." AJ. --:;'-1 sI ph~ . Tiley. Esquire Assistunt <::umberlund County Solicitor 5 South Hunover Street Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 243-5838 Attorney I.D. No.: 32318 ~" ... c " I t~ U.l~ l.' " (:" .. .:.. "l)', " L)' (,") l,' I ~ c.: , ,. L..' .. , ,", (.1'. "- SNELBAKER, BRENNEMAN 8 SPARE "rIH:)II..~h)N^l (.;IIlI'()flATlOtJ i\lTORN[Y~ Ar LAW 44 WrH MAIN \nUn MECHANIC5BlIRG. PENN5YlVANIA 1/0'->'') r ,--' OOX JIM I ,"'\..~II.Ilu. f/ln lJo/76tH RIClMRD C ~NH8^K1R KEITH ..J 8IUNNH.tAN PHILIP t-t ",PARE IV h\ll th.'ti December 31, 1996 Honorable Kevin A. Hess Cumberland county CourthOllse One Courthouse Square Carlisle, PA 11013 Ra: Appeal of Farmers Trust company et al. vs. Board of Assessment Appeals of Cumberland County No. 96-6201 civil Term Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeal Dear Judge Hess: A hearing in the above matter has been fixed for January 8, 1991, based upon a Petition for Appeal as filed by the owners of the subject property who are represented by Peter J. Ressler, Esquire, of Mette, Evans & Woodside. Stephen D. Tiley, Esquire, represents the appellee, Board of Assessment Appeals. Our firm represents Cumberland Valley School District and Township of Middlesex. The School District and Township have engaged the services of Steven Barrett as an expert appraiser who is in the process of completing his findings and report. However, additional time will be needed in order to be properly prepared for a hearing. Moreover, the parties are in the process of discussing possible settlement of the matter, for which further time is r.eeded. All counsel have agreed that the hearing in the above matter can be continued generally. Enclosed is a suggested form of order for your use. If you have any questions or problems with this request, please feel free to contact me or the her counsel. chard C. Snelbaker RCS:pjt Enclosure cc: Peter J. Ressler, Esquire - stephen D. Tiley, Esquire