There have been lengthier ribbon-cutting ceremonies than the Butler County assessment appeals board action this week, but no ribbon-cutting rivals the impact of the reassessment that halved the value of the Clearview Mall.

At the start of Wednesday’s meeting, the fair market value of the mall in Center Township was $32.3 million. But by the meeting’s end, the value had been slashed to $15 million.

Why the half-price sale?

The assessment appeals board would explain that it arrived at the new value after independent appraisals of the mall by its owner, JJ Gumberg and the county; and that it reflects a dramatic falloff in lease revenue after the exodus of anchor tenants including Sears in July 2016, Bon-Ton in October 2014 and Dick’s Sporting Goods in December 2015.

While the new assessment provides desperately needed property tax relief for Gumberg, it will reduce tax revenue for the township, county and, most critically, the Butler School District. While the county will see an annual drop in revenue from $95,740 to $43,925, the school district will lose nearly $200,000 a year as a result of the reassessment.

A simpler explanation is that less commerce is taking place these days at shopping malls. There are long-trend culprits such as big-box stores like Walmart and Target; and in the shorter term, competition from online purveyors, specifically Amazon.

“It’s a substantial decline in revenue, but it’s a reality,” observed Brian White, superintendent of Butler schools. “More people are shopping online and there are less people at the mall.”

As White pointed out Wednesday, the district is already requesting a tax increase that meets the state maximum — in other words, the district is responding full-throttle according to the existing template, as it has done almost consistently for more than 20 years.

The obvious problem with this trend is that it puts the burden on residential property owners. Retired property owners on fixed incomes are feeling the bite more than anyone else.

The circumstance forces us to consider throwing out the template, move away from property taxes and come up with a fairer formula for taxing wealth, since the wealth we’re taxing appears to have less and less to do with the actual wealth — or value — of the community.

Maybe we keep property taxes for essentials like teacher salaries and books; and for extracurricular items we open a GoFundMe account online. Just kidding, but the idea does help illustrate our dilemma.

Retail sales — including all online transactions — constitute a true and accurate measure of wealth. The wealth generated by online sales and social media are draining too much wealth from local communities, at the expense of local business and municipal/school budgets.

To catch up with the times, and before another shopping mall is reassessed to half its value, our tax system must place more emphasis to online commerce and less on property value

— TAH