Real Estate Tax Rates Drop in Pine, Richland Because of Reassessments

Real estate tax rates in Pine and Richland townships are going down.

Pine Township lowered its real estate tax rate Tuesday night from 1.2 mills to .998 mills.

Richland Township made a similar move in late January when it lowered its rate from 2.75 mills to 2.2 mills.

But that does not necessarily mean a property owner’s tax bill is going down—reassessed values went up for most real estate in the townships because of Allegheny County’s court-ordered reassessment.

What Does This Mean to the Taxpayer?

In Pine, the residential median value as of Feb. 1 is $282,150. Multiply that by the new .998 mills per thousand-dollar-value and you get a tax bill of $281.59.

In Richland, the median value is $152,250. Multiply that by 2.2 mills (per thousand-dollar-value) and you get a $334.95 tax bill.

The only way to know what your tax bill will be, of course, is to do that math using your home’s reassessed value. You received a written notice of that amount in snail mail. 

You can also check that value by going to Allegheny County’s reassessment website:

http://www2.alleghenycounty.us/reval/Search.aspx

Looking for round numbers?

For a home assessed at $100,000, the tax bill in Pine will be $99.80. In Richland, it will be $220.

 Why Did the Millage Rate Go Down?

The boards of supervisors in both townships needed to lower the millage rate in light of Allegheny County’s reassessment.

To put it more simply, Pine and Richland real estate assessed values rose substantially (29 to 30 percent) with the reassessment, but municipalities are not allowed to get a huge windfall of money because of that. Instead, the townships have to adjust millage rates downward so their tax revenues are basically the same as the prior year.

By law, the townships can set a rate that allows them to collect up to 105 percent of the total received the previous year. This prevents a huge windfall, but allows them wiggle room because some reassessment appeals are still pending.

Appeals can take months or years to settle as they wend their way through the court system. Until then, the townships are in a bit of limbo—the reassessed value, and thus the tax revenue, could go up or down.

But Wait, There’s More …

The townships are not the only ones who send out a tax bill based on real estate values. Allegheny County and Pine-Richland School District do too.

Allegheny County’s tax rate went down—from 5.69 mills to 4.73. For every $100,000 of assessed property value, the property owner will pay $473.

Pine-Richland School District sets its rate at the end of June. Currently, it is 22.815. A preliminary budget from the district calls for a 4.25 percent increase—but it has not adjusted the rate yet to take the new assessed values into consideration.

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