Allegheny County Council - File #: 2763-06

• File #: 2763-06
• Version: 2
• Name: A Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urging the Office of Property Assessment and the Allegheny County District Attorney to work cooperatively to identify and fully prosecute individuals who receive the homestead exemptio
• Type: Resolution
• Status: Approved
• File created: 9/12/2006
• In control: County Council
• Final action: 9/26/2006
• Title: A Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urging the Office of Property Assessment and the Allegheny County District Attorney to work cooperatively to identify and fully prosecute individuals who receive the homestead exemption from real property taxation through fraudulent or otherwise deceptive means, consistent with the terms of the Homestead Property Exclusion Program Act (53 P.S. §8581 et. seq.), also known as Act 50.
• Sponsors: Rich Fitzgerald, Jim Burn, Joan Cleary, John DeFazio, Michael Finnerty, Brenda Frazier, Bob Macey, William Robinson, Matt Drozd, Chuck Martoni

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
10/4/2006	2	Chief Executive	Returned Without Chief Executive Signature
9/26/2006	1	County Council	Amended and Passed for Chief Executive Signature	Pass
9/21/2006	1	Special Committee on Property Assessments	Released from the Committee
9/12/2006	1	County Council	Referred

title
A Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urging the Office of Property Assessment and the Allegheny County District Attorney to work cooperatively to identify and fully prosecute individuals who receive the homestead exemption from real property taxation through fraudulent or otherwise deceptive means, consistent with the terms of the Homestead Property Exclusion Program Act (53 P.S. §8581 et. seq.), also known as Act 50.

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WHEREAS, the Homestead Property Exclusion Program Act permits governing bodies of political subdivisions to exclude from property taxation a fixed dollar amount of the assessed value of each homestead property located within the subdivision; and

WHEREAS, in order to ensure that the homestead exemption is properly applied to eligible properties, the Homestead Property Exclusion Program Act also requires that property owners must file an application for the homestead exemption; and

WHEREAS, Allegheny County Council created a homestead exemption by enacting Ordinance No. 12-02 on April 2, 2002, currently codified at §475-47 of the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances; and
WHEREAS, the Homestead Property Exclusion Program Act, at 53 P.S. §8584(h), also provides for penalties when a false application for an Act 50 exemption is filed, including the payment of back taxes plus interest, a penalty equal to 10% of the back taxes owed, and, upon conviction of knowingly filing a fraudulent application, a fine not to exceed $2,500; and

WHEREAS, the homestead exemption, if applied to properties on the basis of incorrect or fraudulent applications, has the potential to deprive the County of revenues necessary to maintain services to its residents; and

WHEREAS, it is not currently known to what extent incorrect or fraudulent applications constitute the basis for homestead exemptions;


The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby resolves as follows:

Section 1.

Council hereby re...