What Does a 4.308 Percent Property Tax Increase Mean To You?

Get out your calculator.

It's time to figure out how much your property taxes will be if the Pine-Richland School Board adopts a $66.8 million budget that calls for a 4.308 percent increase in the tax rate.

Adopting a budget and setting a millage rate for the 2012-13 school year is not a done deal.

It is a multi-step process and

Now the budget is available for public review and comments. 

(CLARIFICATION: Various budget documents are available for review. The district is required to make the proposed final budget available to the public by June 5. Finance Director Dana Siford said she expects to have it available before the June 5 deadline, but it is being updated now to reflect Monday night's vote.)

Final adoption of the budget is set for June 25. That is when a millage rate will be adopted also.

Currently, the millage rate is 21.9084 mills per thousand dollars of a home's assessed value; the proposed rate is 22.8522.

If you have a home assessed at $100,000, your tax bill will go up from $2,190.84 to $2,285.22. That's a $94.38 increase.

But houses in Pine and Richland townships tend to cost more than that.

In Richland Township, the median property value is $122,800, according to the community profile on the Allegheny County website.

Using that number, a homeowner's tax bill would rise from $2,690.35 to $2,806.25, an increase of $115.90.

For Pine Township, the median value is $229,000, according to Pine's community profile. A homeowner's tax bill would change from $5,017.02 to $5,233.15, an increase of $216.13.

But wait, there's more.

To truly understand what your real estate tax bill will be, a homeowner must consider all the costs.

Allegheny County assesses a 5.6900 mill rate, an increase of 1.00 over last year. On top of that, Pine Township assesses 1.2 mills and Richland charges 2.75 mills.

Richland Township

Taxes for a property valued at the median $122,800 are as follows for 2012:

County Tax (5.69 mills) = $698.73

Richland Tax (2.75 mills) = $337.70 

Proposed Pine-Richland School District Tax (22.8522 mills) = $2,806.25

TOTAL = $3,842.68

That total compares to $3,603.98 in 2011, an increase of $238.70. The higher number includes the county's increased millage rate and the proposed school district increase.

Pine Township

Taxes for a property valued at the median $229,000 are as follows for 2012:

County Tax (5.69 mills) = $1,303.01

Pine Tax (1.2 mills) = $274.80

Proposed Pine-Richland School District Tax (22.8522 mills) = $5,233.15

TOTAL = $6,810.96

That total compares to $6,365.83 in 2011, an increase of $445.13. The higher number includes the county's increased millage rate and the proposed school district increase.

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