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Finance
The Commissioners are the managers of fiscal affairs. They prepare an annual
budget, establish and levy taxes, and invest all idle cash. Two other offices
share certain aspects of fiscal responsibility with the Board. The Controller is
the bookkeeper for all county funds and acts as secretary to the Retirement
Board and Salary Board; the Treasurer collects all taxes, records all revenue
and also serves on the retirement Board.
Counties in Pennsylvania rely on
federal and state grants to fund a majority of their programs. Beaver County
levies only one tax, the real estate property tax. The Board of
Commissioners, by state law, is the designated Board of Assessment Appeals and
they have the duty to establish, through their Chief Assessor, a permanent and
dynamic records system consisting of tax maps, property record files and
valuations, and property owner indices pertaining to all real property in the
county. Landowners who object to the values placed on their lands and
buildings have the right to appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals.
Annually, properties for which
real estate taxes have not been paid are referred to the Tax Claim Bureau, which
attempts for one additional year to collect the delinquent tax. All properties
for which two years of taxes are delinquent are exposed to public sale each
September and the proceeds from the sale are distributed to the three taxing
bodies (county, municipal, and school) in which the property is situated.
Personnel
The County Commissioners have the responsibility for hiring, directing, and
terminating the work force of all departments reporting to them. As sitting
members of the Salary Board they have authority to establish positions and
salaries in every department and is the designated employer of all County
employees for purposes of collective bargaining and the administration of
resulting agreements. The Office of Employee Relations is responsible to the
Commissioners for negotiating and administering employee health insurance and
other employee benefits, and for accepting and screening employment
applications. The Board of Judges has sole authority to hire and direct the
employees of the Judiciary. The row officers have the authority to select and
direct employees in their respective offices. |
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