Allegheny County Council members introduce bill for property reassessments every 3 years

Three Allegheny County Council members are spearheading legislation that calls for property reassessments every three years starting in 2028. 

At a council meeting on Tuesday, the three members introduced the bill. Allegheny County has not seen a county-wide reassessment in more than a decade, and because of that, experts say some are paying too much and others are paying too little. 

"Because we fund our public school system based on property taxes, our schools are severely underfunded," said Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, who co-sponsored the bill. "And there's just this, again, gross inequity all throughout the county, where, really, the residential property owners are bearing the brunt of all of the commercial property owners, particularly the Downtown, big, wealthy corporations."

Hallam, a Democratic at-large council member, said corporations can afford to keep appealing, eventually paying less and less, while new homeowners in Allegheny County get hit with the so-called newcomer tax. 

Right now, Pennsylvania is the only state without regular reassessments. 

"I also think that when people understand that state law actually protects you from your taxes being increased whenever there's a property tax reassessment, because there's this thing called the anti-windfall provision. And what it says is that a taxing body cannot get a windfall, which is basically a revenue increase by a reassessment."

Hallam said experts estimate one-third of people will pay less, one-third will pay the same and one-third will end up paying more.

"Because of the anti-windfall provision, if tax values after we do a reassessment, let's say county-wide they double, we are legally required to cut the millage rate in half," Hallam said.

She thinks the legislation can pass if the county works to educate people on the topic. 

"I do think folks have every right to be concerned," Hallam said. "Everything in their lives is more expensive right now, and having to worry that your taxes are going to be an additional increased expense that you're going to see is definitely cause for concern, but that's just not the reality of what happens with county-wide reassessments."

Now that the bill has been introduced, it goes to committee, where hearings will be held and amendments can be introduced. After that, it will go to the full council for a vote.