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Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, placing a moratorium on County reassessments until such time that State law is amended to require revenue neutral budgeting following a reassessment or change in predetermined ratio.
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WHEREAS, the Office of Property Assessment found that the values generated for the 2006 Countywide Reassessment resulted in an increase of twenty percent in the valuation of all parcels of property within the County; with seventy-nine percent of all residential properties experiencing some increase, and 199,000 residential properties experiencing an increase of over twenty percent; and
WHEREAS, although the values generated for the 2006 Countywide Reassessment are technically accurate and in compliance with IAAO Standards, there remain existing problems with the certification of those numbers and use of the values by taxing jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, ยง 4980.2 of the Second Class County Code provides that local taxing bodies must reduce tax rates following a countywide reassessment so that property tax revenues shall not exceed more than one hundred-five percent of revenues from property taxation in the preceding tax year, but local experience has shown that many local taxing jurisdictions failed to comply; and
WHEREAS, additionally, the Windfall Provision lacks an enforcement mechanism to allow citizens to challenge or force compliance with the provision by taxing jurisdictions;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1.
Effective immediately, a moratorium on County reassessments shall be enacted until such time that State law is amended to require revenue neutral budgeting following a reassessment or change in predetermined ratio.
SECTION 2. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordin...
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