An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances in order to decrease the amount of assessed value of each homestead and farmstead property within Allegheny County to be excluded from Allegheny County property taxation.
WHEREAS, the Homestead Property Exclusion Program Act, Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. tit. 53, § 8581 et seq., hereinafter “Act 50 of 1998,” authorizes the governing body of a political subdivision to exclude a fixed dollar amount of the assessed value of each homestead and farmstead property within that political subdivision from property taxation; and
WHEREAS, acting pursuant to the legal authority granted under Act 50 of 1998, Allegheny County Council enacted a homestead and farmstead program, codified in Chapter 475 of the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, as Article VII, §475-46 - § 475-50.1 entitled “Homestead and Farmstead Exclusion Programs,” which provides that the initial $15,000 of the assessed value of any homestead or farmstead property shall be excluded from Allegheny County real property taxes and was subsequently amended by ordinance 17-13 to increase the exemption amount to the initial $18,000; and
WHEREAS, the Homestead Property Exclusion Program is not restricted to an increase in the exclusion of a fixed dollar amount of the assessed value of each homestead and farmstead property; and
WHEREAS, last year, by increasing the amount of the Homestead Exemption, the County chose to forego over 26 million in revenue at over $150,000 increase from the prior year; and
WHEREAS, the expenses to operate the County grow every year the County has only increased property taxes once in its history and property tax remains the County’s most stable source of revenue; and
WHEREAS, the current Controller has listed her top concerns as a chronically low General Fund Balance, increased debt obligations, and decreased state funding while urging caution along with prior contro...
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