Presenter
Presented by Mr. Udin
Title
Resolution providing for the creation of a Real Estate Tax - Anti-Windfall Trust Fund and setting conditions for the deposit and expenditure of such funds.
Body
Whereas, The City of Pittsburgh budget condition is in an extremely precarious state; and,
Whereas, a sufficient amount of real estate revenue must be received by the City to maintain essential services; and,
Whereas, the state of affairs surrounding the real estate tax is compounded by the extraordinary disarray in the Allegheny County real estate assessment system; and,
Whereas, on May 5, 1998 Councilman Gene Ricciardi proposed a resolution that the City of Pittsburgh not derive windfall benefits from annual property reassessments; and,
Whereas, the citizens and tax payers of the City of Pittsburgh must shoulder a fair tax burden but must also be indemnified from unnecessary excess real estate tax revenue generation from the City.
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh as follows:
Section 1.
That the City Controller is hereby authorized and directed to create a trust fund entitled "Real Estate Tax - Anti-Windfall Trust Fund" into which shall be deposited all revenue received from the 2002 current year real estate taxation levy in excess of the projected budget revenue of one hundred twenty one million five hundred thousand dollars
($ 121,500,000.00)
Section 2.
Any such funds accumulated may be expended for only for activities related to reimbursing tax payers for overpayment, including, but not limited to, tax refunds, tax relief programs, tax millage reductions, or other reimbursement activities or methods.