"Since I was a little kid, I just love birds," Albert Ferrandino said.
And Ferrandino expressed that love several years ago by building an enormous birdcage in his backyard and then filled it with nearly 200 birds.
At first, the makeshift sanctuary had a tarp over it to protect the birds from the elements.
But Albert says he recently removed the tarp and built a roof because it's sturdier and more appealing.
But Albert did such a nice job, he attracted the attention of the county assessment office.
"He's calling it a sanctuary, I'm calling it a carport. What he uses the structure for is kind of irrelevant," Director of the Berks County Assessment Office Duane Rashlich said.
Rashlich says any permanent, roof-covered structure built on private property is going to be assessed.
So, the county concluded that the roof over Albert's bird sanctuary adds $4,400 to his property value which comes out to a $142 tax hike.
The 71-year-old Ferrandino says that may not be a lot of money to someone who is not on a fixed income, but it is to him.
"Not everybody makes $100,000 and [when] I got a dollar, I got to the squeeze the blood out of that dollar before I can spend it. It's a cheap shot," Ferrandino said.
"I don't think that we take cheap shots in this office, we take and adhere to the law and we assess things as we should assess them," Rashlich said.
Action News asked the assessor if he would repeal the new assessment if Albert removed the roof and put the tarp back on and he said yes. But Albert said he is not going to do that. He says he is going to file a formal tax appeal with the county.
