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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the General Assembly to, with all deliberate speed, accept an amendment to the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974, to be offered by Senator Wayne Fontana, designed to update and clarify state law relating to preferential taxation of certain properties under the Clean and Green Program.
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WHEREAS, Allegheny County currently offers preferential treatment for land meeting the requirements of the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974, under the Clean and Green Program; and
WHEREAS, it has come to light that the language used in certain provisions of the Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act pertaining to the Clean and Green Program has resulted in the preferential treatment of certain properties that were not intended by the General Assembly to receive such treatment; and
WHEREAS, it also appears that, in some instances, properties are receiving preferential treatment even though they have changed in use or character such that they have lost their eligibility for participation in the program and have not been visited by an assessor to confirm or investigate the changes; and
WHEREAS, this over-inclusiveness in the program undermines the public's confidence in a program that is both well-intentioned and environmentally responsible, while simultaneously forcing a higher tax burden upon the County's other taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania State Senator Wayne Fontana has developed a well-conceived amendment to the Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act that should remedy the existing shortcomings in the Act by clarifying the participation guidelines and requiring more frequent visits by assessors; and
WHEREAS, it is anticipated that Senator Fontana's amendment will be introduced for the General Assembly's consideration in the near future;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY,
That it is the sense of Allegheny County Council that the General Assembly should, with all deliberate speed, adopt the amendment to the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974 proposed by Senator Fontana in order to clarify the applicability of the Act to certain properties for the purpose of applying preferential tax treatment.