PITTSBURGH -- Team 4’s Paul Van Osdol has found that too many assessments in too little time could be creating a serious flaw in Allegheny County’s property system.

“I gave this a ‘very poor,’ and I probably was too generous,” said certified appraiser Michael Nicolella of a house he reviewed in Swissvale.

But Nicolella told Van Osdol his superiors at the company hired to run the reassessment overrode him, saying it was in better condition.

Nicolella said he saw other flawed decisions on property reviews, decisions that ultimately will affect the taxes paid by homeowners.

Van Osdol reported that Nicolella and other property owners were to check up to 120 houses per day, preferably without leaving their car.

“If I was not supposed to get out of my car, and this house happened to have a deck behind it, well how would I know that?” said Nicolella.

A representative for Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato told Van Osdol, “Accuracy is very important to us. That’s why we’re visiting every property.”

But Allegheny County Councilman Chuck McCullough, who has proposed assessment reforms, said he’s not so sure.

“The net result is you're going to have a lot of mistakes,” McCullough said of appraisers examining more than 100 houses per day.

In November, Team 4 reported some of the people hired to work on the reassessment had been disciplined by the state for doing poor appraisals.

Nicolella had a spotless record but lost his job after clashing with the county.