title
WHEREAS, Allegheny County has not conducted a countywide property reassessment since 2012-now more than a decade ago-despite significant shifts in market values across neighborhoods, business districts, and municipalities; and,
body
WHEREAS, since the last reassessment, median home sale prices in many Pittsburgh neighborhoods have risen between 40% and 150%, while assessments remain frozen in 2012 values, creating stark disparities in how the tax burden is distributed; and,
WHEREAS, these disparities disproportionately impact historically Black and long-disinvested neighborhoods such as the Hill District, Homewood, Manchester, Hazelwood, and parts of the Northside, where assessments too often overstate value relative to the market, burdening residents who have not seen corresponding increases in wealth or income; and,
WHEREAS, at the same time, rapidly appreciating areas-including Lawrenceville, East Liberty, Bloomfield, and parts of the South Side-often remain significantly under-assessed, causing inequitable shifts of the tax load onto communities with fewer resources; and,
WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board (STEB) has repeatedly lowered Allegheny County's Common Level Ratio (CLR)-from 87.5% in 2021 to 45.5% in 2024-a clear indicator that assessed values no longer reflect real market conditions; and,
WHEREAS, this declining CLR has enabled major commercial properties, particularly Downtown, Oakland, and the Strip District office and retail buildings, to secure large assessment reductions of 20% to more than 60%, eroding the commercial tax base that historically contributed a significant share of revenue to the City, the County, and Pittsburgh Public Schools; and,
WHEREAS, the weakening of the commercial tax base shifts the burden onto residential taxpayers, including seniors on fixed incomes and long-time homeowners in communities already facing displacement pressures and racial wealth inequities; and,
WHEREAS, under the Pennsy...
Click here for full text