Presenter
Presented by Mr. Udin
Title
Resolution authorizing and requesting the City Solicitor to take appropriate legal action to compel Allegheny County to provide certain assessment relief to the taxpayers of the City of Pittsburgh.
Body
WHEREAS, pursuant to an order and under the supervision of the Court of Common Pleas, the County of Allegheny has completed a countywide revaluation of all real property located within Allegheny County which was implemented for the tax year 2001;
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh is an intervenor and therefore an active participant in the litigation which ultimately resulted in the Court order directing the revaluation;
WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania Constitution, statutes and applicable case law require that a revaluation result in assessments which are uniform and which accurately reflect the actual market value of all properties;
WHEREAS, it is essential to the operation of City government that assessments be fair and accurate so that the Mayor and City Council can properly and confidently fulfill their duties under the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter to develop and approve an annual budget and to determine tax policy;
WHEREAS, the challenge of establishing an appropriate tax policy and budget (including the need to estimate the rate of tax delinquency) depends on receipt of reliable information from the County;
WHEREAS, it is in the interest of all parties that the City of Pittsburgh (and all other municipalities and school districts within Allegheny County) be given an opportunity to participate in an open process through which flaws in the revaluation are discussed and satisfactory solutions achieved, so that assessed values certified by Allegheny County for the year 2002 and subsequent years be fair, uniform, reliable and accurate;
WHEREAS, for yet another year, the County has produced assessment results which are confusing, illogical and, upon first review, unfair, and whereas, yet again, the articulation of concerns by City Council has been met with derision by the County and disregarded as being "political" in nature;
WHEREAS, the City simply seeks a forum in which non-proprietary information regarding the County's policies, procedures and plans can be presented in a neutral setting in an understandable and useful manner;
Be it resolved that the Council f the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1.
The City Solicitor is hereby authorized and requested to take whatever legal action may be necessary, including the filing of a petition in the assessment litigation currently pending in which the City is already an intervenor, to compel Allegheny County do the following:
(1) Prepare and present to the Court a three to five year plan incorporating a clear and precise explanation of the method by which the County intends to permanently correct the continuing flaws inherent in the existing assessment system;
(2) Provide to the taxpayers of the City of Pittsburgh, by mail, a written explanation in plain English of how the assessment process should work, why problems exist in the system and how the County intends to solve these problems; and
(3) Direct the County to apply the results of 2001 assessment appeals in determining 2002 assessments, whether the 2001 assessment appeals resulted in increased or decreased assessments.