title
An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Article 210 of Division 1, entitled "Assessment Standards and Practices," in order to expressly provide for tax exempt entities that enter into payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements with the County, and to establish a publicly searchable database of County reviews of the status of all properties qualifying for exemption from property taxation under the Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act.
body
WHEREAS, the Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act, 10 P.S. §371 et. seq., establishes guidelines and procedures for determining whether a charitable entity is eligible for exemption from property taxation; and
WHEREAS, the Act also expressly permits taxing bodies which maintain real property assessment rolls - as Allegheny County does - to determine the percentage of a given parcel that is used for an entity's charitable purpose, as defined by the Act, and to tax the remainder of the parcel; and
WHEREAS, the Administrative Code of Allegheny County provides for an initial and subsequent determinations of tax-exempt status to be made by the Chief Assessment Officer, but does not require a review of these determinations within any established timeframe; and
WHEREAS, on November 27, 2007, ordinance 49-07-OR (providing for such parcel reviews of all properties receiving exemptions under the terms of the Act at least once every three years) was enacted; and
WHEREAS, since the enactment of ordinance 49-07-OR, it has become apparent that entities that are tax-exempt under the terms of the Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act may opt to enter voluntary payment in lieu of tax (PILOT) agreements with the County, as authorized by the Act, 10 P.S. §377; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that subjecting those entities that choose to voluntarily enter such agreements with the County to subsequent parcel review is inequit...
Click here for full text