From the Altoona Mirror:
Some calls were from people who - believe it or not - thought they
were paying too little, City Clerk Linda Rickens Schellhammer said. They
worried the city would come after them later.
Some people called to complain, some to express puzzlement, some from curiosity, said Finance Director Omar Strohm.
The
confusion came from an increase that seemed to come from nowhere,
according to Mike Baldner, chief assessor for Blair County. There would
have been more calls, but reductions in the house tax offset the
increase in land tax for many, Baldner said.
Actually, it offset the increase for most, according to a report from the Center for the Study of Economics.
This
year, 72 percent of residential parcels - not including vacant lots -
got a cut, according to the study. The biggest group got a $10 decrease
approximately, the report stated.
Most of the "screaming" came
from those with vacant lots, according to Baldner. Their properties were
in the crosshairs of the increase.
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