Pittsburgh Public Schools authorizes solicitor to sue Allegheny County to force reassessment
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Public Schools authorized its solicitor to move forward with a lawsuit forcing Allegheny County to do a reassessment.
School directors unanimously voted to authorize solicitor Ira Weiss to file a lawsuit, though Weiss says the district will give County Executive Sara Innamorato "reasonable time" to decide whether she's prepared to direct a reassessment before proceeding.
When asked Tuesday about Pittsburgh Public Schools' plan, Innamorato acknowledged "the system is broken" but didn't commit to a reassessment.
"This is a problem that has plagued the region. The system is not working as it is designed. But we can't rush into anything. We need to be deliberate. We need to have voices at the table to say how we move forward," she said.
Weiss told KDKA-TV last week that the district is facing a financial crisis because of a landslide of property tax assessment appeals primarily involving office buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh that cleared out during the pandemic.
Taking advantage of a new formula to arrive at those assessments, dozens of building owners are getting massive reductions in their property tax bills and many are owed refunds from the school district, city and county.
Weiss says the district was forced to pay back $10 million in real estate revenue over the past several months and said it may not be long before it increases to $20 million. He believes the assessment reductions are too extreme and reassessment will restore fairness to the assessment system and stabilize its tax base.
There hasn't been a reassessment in Allegheny County since 2012.