Some local officials may take the Centre County Board of Commissioners to court to bring the property tax system up to date.

Property taxes are based on appraised property values, which have not been reassessed in Centre County since 1975. Area municipalities want to force the county to re-evaluate property values, and filing a lawsuit is one option, said Fred Smith, chairman of the College Township Council.

Property values have increased since 1975, and a reassessment would change the amount of property taxes many people and businesses would have to pay.

Officials are studying similar lawsuits undertaken by municipalities in other parts of the state to determine whether to move ahead with legal action, Smith said.

The Board of Commissioners voted to reassess property values last year, but cannot agree on how to undertake the project.

"They got themselves off the hook by not deciding how to do it," Smith said.

But State College Borough Manager Peter Marshall said he believes the commissioners should be allowed to resolve the disagreement about the reassessment themselves.

"We're interested in reappraisal," Marshall said, but added that the commissioners have not finished discussing the issue.

But Smith said the commissioners are avoiding the project because it is a political gamble. Some property owners may be angered by the results of a reassessment, he said.

"My taxes may go up," Smith said. "The bottom line is it would be fairer."

The effects of a tax reassessment are unclear, said tax assessor Nancy Baldwin. Taxes on some properties may go up and taxes on other properties may decrease, Baldwin added.

The tax burden currently is distributed unevenly among different areas, so a reassessment is necessary to make the tax distribution fair, Smith said.

But Vicki Wedler, Centre County Board of Commissioners chairwoman, does not think a lawsuit is in the best interest of area municipalities.

Alleviating the inequities in taxes among different county areas would only affect county taxes, Wedler said.

"It's a very small percentage of taxes in general," Wedler said, adding that each municipality and school district would still charge different rates.

A reassessment would cost about $2 million, she said, and it may not be a good use of taxpayers' money.

"The system is not out of kilter enough to warrant fixing," Wedler said.

Wedler chose to abstain from voting on the tax reassessment in 1992.

If municipalities want more revenue, Wedler said they can change the tax ratio.

But County Commissioner Denny Sciabica said he does not think the municipalities' goals are to get more money.

"It's an equity issue, its not a revenue-enhancement issue," Sciabica said.

Wedler said she does not believe the case will go to court.

Before it gets to that point, the municipalities will weigh the cost of a lawsuit against the chances of winning, she said.