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Old 01-17-2017, 06:28 PM
 
Location: Downtown Cranberry Twp.
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Old 01-18-2017, 07:36 AM
 
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you save 166 dollars per month on a $250,000 house. whether that is significant to your decision is up to you.
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Old 01-18-2017, 08:50 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
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IIRC Butler County hasn't had a reassessment since 1969. This means that current tax values are based upon the 1969 values, which is pretty ridiculous when you consider how much of the housing stock in the county (particularly in the Cranberry-Adams area) has been built since then. I'm not sure how it works for newly-constructed houses - they probably figure out what a similar sized house would sell for in 1969.

Now, if the county had a comprehensive reassessment the net tax revenue could not increase due to state law. However, since that time the value of property in the Cranberry area has risen astronomically, since it's become part of the exurbs of Pittsburgh. In contrast, the property value in much of the rest of Butler County has either declined or remained roughly the same. Thus the current tax system, because there has been no reassessment in 48 years, subsidizes development in Cranberry and adjoining areas with low taxes, and overtaxes people in the declining portions of the county. If this was "fixed" new development would likely slow down significantly in Butler County, albeit not cease entirely.
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Old 01-18-2017, 06:34 PM
 
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Washington (and Westmoreland?) counties just went through the comprehensive reassessment process, in addition to Allegheny County a few years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if Butler does it too in the next few years - meaning Butler County taxes might increase pretty substantially.
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Old 01-19-2017, 11:11 AM
 
Location: O'Hara Twp.
4,359 posts, read 7,477,564 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
IIRC Butler County hasn't had a reassessment since 1969. This means that current tax values are based upon the 1969 values, which is pretty ridiculous when you consider how much of the housing stock in the county (particularly in the Cranberry-Adams area) has been built since then. I'm not sure how it works for newly-constructed houses - they probably figure out what a similar sized house would sell for in 1969.

Now, if the county had a comprehensive reassessment the net tax revenue could not increase due to state law. However, since that time the value of property in the Cranberry area has risen astronomically, since it's become part of the exurbs of Pittsburgh. In contrast, the property value in much of the rest of Butler County has either declined or remained roughly the same. Thus the current tax system, because there has been no reassessment in 48 years, subsidizes development in Cranberry and adjoining areas with low taxes, and overtaxes people in the declining portions of the county. If this was "fixed" new development would likely slow down significantly in Butler County, albeit not cease entirely.

I was always under the impression that taxes, in particular school district taxes, were in part lower in Butler County because there legacy costs were lower.
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Old 01-19-2017, 11:20 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,360 posts, read 16,858,085 times
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Originally Posted by robrobrob View Post
I was always under the impression that taxes, in particular school district taxes, were in part lower in Butler County because there legacy costs were lower.
I'm sure that contributes a bit as well. Though in Pennsylvania school employees pensions are (AFAIK) all covered by the state via PSERS. I'm fairly sure the employer share of funding (around 16%) is paid for as a flat percentage of payroll as is the case for employer-side social security/medicare payments. Thus older school districts who have a lot of retirees do not have higher pension costs than newer school districts.

Of course, there are other legacy costs. I think school districts need to deal with retiree health insurance on their own. And older districts have older buildings - often if old enough buildings with lead and asbestos which need specialized mitigation. But due to the pension being run by the state, the biggest legacy cost is equalized.
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