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A Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to adopt provisions requiring a referendum before any school district may raise its property taxes through a millage increase similar to those contained within Act 72 of 2004 pertaining to earned income and personal income tax increases.
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WHEREAS, the Public School Code currently imposes no requirement upon school districts to seek or receive the approval of residents before enacting increases to the rate of property taxation within the district; and
WHEREAS, Act 72 of 2004 creates a requirement that increases to the earned income tax or the personal income tax be adopted by a participating school board by resolution and approved by the residents of that school district via referendum before it is enacted; and
WHEREAS, Section 332 of Act 72 requires that any such referendum clearly state the current rate of the tax, the rate of the proposed rate change, and the reason for the proposed rate change; and
WHEREAS, it has been proposed that one of the reasons that many school districts opted not to participate in Act 72 specifically because of this referendum requirement; and
WHEREAS, the most expeditious manner of remedying the disparity between districts that participate in Act 72 and those that do not, as well as the fundamental differentiation between how the voices of the residents of those districts are heard with regard to taxation, may be to render the referendum requirement binding upon all school districts within the Commonwealth, regardless of participation in Act 72; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly is currently considering Senate Bill 854, which would create 72 P.S. §3121 to mandate a referendum requirement for school districts, but which also contains significant exceptions to that requirement;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby resolves as follows:
SECTION 1.
Allegheny County Council hereby urges that the General Assembly devote individualized consideration to each of the proposed exceptions to the referendum requirement found within Senate Bill 854 in the process of attempting to enact a referendum requirement for all school districts that closely resembles that found within Section332 of Act 72, such that school districts are placed on equal footing, regardless of their participation in Act 72.
SECTION 2.
Copies of this Resolution shall be transmitted to the County's representatives in the General Assembly.
SECTION 3.
If any provision of this Resolution shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Resolution which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 4.
Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Resolution is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Resolution.