HOME > DEPARTMENTS > ASSESSMENT >

Assessment Office

Department Description

Please Note:
Effective Immediately, 24 hour advanced notice will be required for all new parcel number requests.
This is due to a software upgrade and integration with Recorder of Deeds.

<< Click Here >> for Online Assessment Property Searches

<< Click Here >> Parcel Viewer – Property Information

The Lawrence County Assessment office is responsible for the valuation of real property for AD VALORUM tax purposes. We are responsible for putting a value on real property for tax purposes. This value does not represent the market value of your property. The value our office gives to each property will generate the tax amount for your County Government, Local Government & School District. Other duties of the office include the maintenance of all real estate and personal records, updating, revisions, analyzing deed transfer in reference to mapping, reviewing existing construction and correspondence and personal contact with the public. The Lawrence County Assessment Office reports directly to the Lawrence County Commissioners.

General County Information

Lawrence County consists of 56,000 parcels that encompass 367 square miles. We have a total of 27 municipalities and out of the 27 Municipalities we have one (1) city; the City of New Castle. The City of New Castle consists of 8 wards and the Ellwood City Borough consists of 5 wards. The second (2nd) ward of Ellwood City Borough actually lies in both Lawrence and Beaver Counties. The remaining 25 Municipalities consists of nine (9) Boroughs and sixteen (16) townships. Lawrence County has a total population of just fewer than 95,000.

District Information

Tax Collector, District Secretary and School District Contact Information

The Lawrence County Assessment Office also administers Act 72 Homestead/Farmstead Exclusion, Act 156 Clean and Green Act & Geographical Information Systems (GIS). GIS is a digital representation of our tax maps.

Meet our Department

Charles “JR” Hardester, CPE, MS, Chief Assessor
chardester@LawrenceCountyPA.gov
(724) 656-2191

JR has been a lifelong resident of Lawrence County and has been employed with Lawrence County since 2000. He has served as a Computer Analysis, Deputy Chief Assessor and is currently the Chief Assessor. JR is a licensed Certified Pennsylvania Evaluator (CPE). His duties are to oversee the functions of the Assessment Office and reports directly to the Lawrence County Board of Assessment Appeals as well as the Lawrence County Commissioners.

JR is a member of the Assessors Association of Pennsylvania (AAP) as well as its 56th President. He has been a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) since 2005 and is the current IAAO State Representative for Pennsylvania. He has served as President of the Northwest Chapter of the AAP for two terms and is currently a certified instructor for the AAP’s Site/Market Analysis Class for initial certification for Certified Pennsylvania Evaluators (CPE) License.

JR was also a member of the House Resolution 343 & 343 Task Force and was a member of the Blue Ribbon Committee who was charged with the study of Reassessments and the State Tax Equalization Board. He served as Chair of the Formula Sub-Committee for Blue Ribbon Committee. JR was also a member of the Local Government Commission Property Assessment Reform Task Force who purpose is to facilitate development and implementation of remedies to address recommendations in recent House Resolution reports related to modernization, efficiency, transparency and fairness of the property assessment process in Pennsylvania. JR was most recently appointed to the Pennsylvania Local Government Commission Property Assessment Reform Task Force as one of the Assessor Association of PA representative in 2016. The accomplishments of this task force can be found at https://www.lgc.state.pa.us/arTaskForce.cfm.

JR was the recipient of the Robert A Hanisits award for achievements in enhancing education in the assessment field in 2014, the Carl W. Naessig Award for Meritorious Service to the Assessment Profession in 2016 and the Presidents of the AAP’s Special Appreciation Award in 2018.

Bruce Peterson, CPE, Senior Appraiser
bpeterson@LawrenceCountyPA.gov
Bruce has been a lifelong resident of Lawrence County and has been employed with Lawrence County since 2001. He has served as an Appraiser and is currently the Senior Appraiser. Bruce is a licensed Certified Pennsylvania Evaluator (CPE). He is a member of the Assessor’s Association of Pennsylvania (AAP) and well as the Northwest Chapter of the AAP. His duties include but are limited to supervising the other assessors and field listers in the office. His primary role is to value properties for Ad Valorum Tax Purposes.

Bruce does the majority of the valuing for our Commercial/Industrial Properties. The valuing or properties include an onsite inspection which includes obtaining physical dimension of the property as well as documenting changes that have occurred to the property. He is responsible to testify at the Board of Assessment Appeal hearings as well as Court of Common Pleas when needed. Bruce also serves as Secretary to the Lawrence County Board of Assessment Appeals.

Maria Piccione, Field Lister
Maria L. Piccione has been a lifelong resident of Lawrence County. Employed with LC since 2002-served as a Judicial Court Assistant for the Honorable Thomas M. Piccione until his retirement December 2015-Then filled a position in Tax Claim Bureau before coming to the Assessment Office in April 2016. Maria’s primary responsibilities are to administer the homestead program as well of parcel certification. She is also responsible for all the data entry into the CAMA system for all new construction assessed by the Chief Assessor, Senior Appraiser, Professional Appraiser and M.H. Evaluator.

Jennifer Marburger, CPE, Office Manager/ M.H. Evaluator
jmarburger@LawrenceCountyPA.gov
Jennifer has been a lifelong resident of Lawrence County and has been employed with Lawrence County since 2002. She has served as a Clerk Typist and is currently the Office Manager. Jennifer’s primary roles are scheduling appeal hearings, preparing assessment resolutions for Board of Appeals, maintaining records for all mobile homes and mobile home parks and completing all splits or subdivisions. Jennifer is also responsible for all the finances in the office.

Chuck Masters, Professional Appraiser
cmasters@LawrenceCountyPA.gov
Chuck has been a lifelong resident of Lawrence County and has been employed with Lawrence County since 2011. He is currently the Professional Appraiser and a licensed Certified Pennsylvania Evaluator (CPE) He is a member of the Assessor’s Association of Pennsylvania (AAP) and well as the Northwest Chapter of the AAP. His primary role is to value properties for Ad Valorum Tax Purposes. The valuing or properties include an onsite inspection which includes obtaining physical dimension of the property as well as documenting changes that have occurred to the property. He is responsible to testify at the Board of Assessment Appeal hearings as well as Court of Common Pleas when needed. Chuck also maintains the Clean and Green Program for Lawrence County. He is a member of the Assessor’s Association of Pa (AAP’s) Clean and Green Committee.

Elizabeth Peluchette, GIS Planner
epeluchette@LawrenceCountyPA.gov

Elizabeth has been employed with Lawrence County since 2020. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from Youngstown State University in 2005. She has 17 years’ experience in her field and came to us with a variety of knowledge in Geographic Information including engineering, aerospace, and utility mapping. Elizabeth’s main duties are updating, editing, and identification of parcel data, she also maintains the online mapping database for Lawrence County. Elizabeth is also responsible for any mapping requirements as needed for the assessment office and planning department. She is a member of URISA and is part of Professional Women Geographers Panel for Youngstown State University.