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Old 07-03-2021, 09:20 AM
 
Location: Manchester
3,110 posts, read 2,915,413 times
Reputation: 3723

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Shadyside was annexed by the city and it is not forgotten.
Squirrel Hill was annexed by the city and it is not forgotten.
Lawrenceville was annexed by the city and it is not forgotten.

Did you lose your elected position when Allegheny City merged with Pittsburgh? You talk about it like it was 3 months ago and you were personally impacted by it.
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Old 07-03-2021, 09:53 AM
 
Location: In Transition
3,829 posts, read 1,683,330 times
Reputation: 1455
Quote:
Originally Posted by PghYinzer View Post
Shadyside was annexed by the city and it is not forgotten.
Squirrel Hill was annexed by the city and it is not forgotten.
Lawrenceville was annexed by the city and it is not forgotten.

Did you lose your elected position when Allegheny City merged with Pittsburgh? You talk about it like it was 3 months ago and you were personally impacted by it.
Lawrenceville was forgotten by the city for a long time. Only recently did it come back due to children’s hospital relocating there and driving up property values. That was private non profit investment. If children’s hospital never relocated there you would be stuck with a huge vacant eyesore or a large vacant lot. And not much would’ve changed there.

You are right about Shadyside and SQ hill though. But again it always comes back to those two places. Those places stayed that way likely to old money that never left and being neighborhoods of choice for those involved with the universities. What about the rest of the city? The southside was undesirable for years. It had a good run for first decade of the 2000s now it’s back and likely worse before it came popular.

Are the residents of the north side not forgotten? Is it paradise over there? From what I hear the somewhat livable areas are a hot mess. There is more to the north side than a few wealthy blocks in Allegheny West and the Mexican War Streets. The decline of the North side came when it was annexed into Pittsburgh. Not before. I bet if it was never annexed it probably stayed the good part of town. A desirable urban oasis like shadyside and sq. Hill. Pittsburgh wrecked the urban fabric and business district of the lower north side. Look it up. It was head an shoulders above what downtown offered, but it was money and politics. They didn’t want a better area competing with downtown. Wreck it and make it look like the rest of the city.

And it didn’t have to be that way. If they preserved it and did the right thing there would’ve been many more mergers over the years. Again who wants to be the next north side, Sheraden and Carrick? That’s what people should be afraid of and rightly so.
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Old 07-03-2021, 11:55 AM
 
408 posts, read 231,217 times
Reputation: 219
Quote:
Originally Posted by szug-bot View Post
Isn't that then transferring the burden of taxation to the greater community? Would Pittsburghers want that - to absorb in the name of charity? It all boils down to money, after all.
Without looking at the overall data, we don’t really know. We will get more information from the Pittsburgh City council. I think Wilkins posts their finance data on their site? Will double check then we can see the debt load they have. All I know atm is that they are not in a negative anymore since 2016 by using more of the Cities resources and they got out of ACT47 back in 2014.


Quote:
Higherho, I disagree that this is a sensible reason for annexation - from the vantage point of some W-burgers, sure, but it does not seem....fair, if you will, let alone sensible for the City.
If we look from the Pittsburgh side of the house, there are variables to consider. While W-burgers are using the resources of the city on some payment contract deal, I think it would be better for the City if they did it from a tax perspective (EIT and property taxes). Now if the debt burden is too great and then it will affect the whole city, then I agree with you. We will have to see what the data shows in this regard.
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Old 07-03-2021, 01:20 PM
 
1,952 posts, read 1,129,168 times
Reputation: 736
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
Also, the city's real estate taxes are pretty darn cheap. With the homestead exemption applied I pay next to nothing annually in city property taxes. There is certainly room to raise those.
Yeah but you can't have that both ways, increase property taxes is a negative to attracting new residents. Plus the city already has the highest real estate transfer tax in the country.
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Old 07-04-2021, 07:55 AM
 
1,118 posts, read 516,020 times
Reputation: 1037
We have to vote Tony Moreno for mayor, folks.
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Old 07-04-2021, 08:18 AM
 
611 posts, read 364,825 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S6T1R View Post
We have to vote Tony Moreno for mayor, folks.

What part of the city do you live in?
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Old 07-04-2021, 06:00 PM
 
Location: In Transition
3,829 posts, read 1,683,330 times
Reputation: 1455
Quote:
Originally Posted by Knepper3 View Post
Yeah but you can't have that both ways, increase property taxes is a negative to attracting new residents. Plus the city already has the highest real estate transfer tax in the country.
Exactly. When you sell your house you get nailed. That’s why I don’t really see the benefit for Wilkinsburg residents. I’m sure the overall tax burden being part of the city ends up being more at the end of the day. A modest decrease in property taxes but the highest real estate transfer tax in the country. No way this happens.
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Old 07-04-2021, 09:04 PM
 
408 posts, read 231,217 times
Reputation: 219
Quote:
Originally Posted by Knepper3 View Post
Yeah but you can't have that both ways, increase property taxes is a negative to attracting new residents. Plus the city already has the highest real estate transfer tax in the country.
Real estate transfer tax is pennies (and only once) compared to the double in property tax rate they pay compared to the City. Not to mention the Real estate transfer tax can be negotiated on who pays for it and by how much. If it’s a sellers market, the buyer is more or less going to be stuck with it or the seller is nice and they split it. Do the math, you will save more money on property taxes that are greater than the transfer tax for when you do sell your home. I don’t think their taxes would be higher if they joined the City. Granted they would have to get reevaluated but I would be surprised if they are the same rate they are paying now (which is insane btw).
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Old 07-05-2021, 12:57 AM
 
1,952 posts, read 1,129,168 times
Reputation: 736
Yes I don't disagree on that but many people can not look past the high up front costs and you are talking about drawing residents in which this already doesnt help so adding higher property taxes on top surely doesnt. As for Wilkensburg I dont care, I hope whatever the residents want is what actually happens. There are some good people there and hopefully they can lead the way, my son played football against them in HS and their boosters and fans were the best of any. Also the only halftime show I looked forward to.
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Old 07-05-2021, 07:33 PM
 
Location: In Transition
3,829 posts, read 1,683,330 times
Reputation: 1455
Quote:
Originally Posted by Knepper3 View Post
Yes I don't disagree on that but many people can not look past the high up front costs and you are talking about drawing residents in which this already doesnt help so adding higher property taxes on top surely doesnt. As for Wilkensburg I dont care, I hope whatever the residents want is what actually happens. There are some good people there and hopefully they can lead the way, my son played football against them in HS and their boosters and fans were the best of any. Also the only halftime show I looked forward to.
The overall average tax savings per year for a Wilkinsburg resident that owns a home is $1,593 per year. However that savings will only impact 35% of those living in Wilkinsburg as that is the percentage of owner occupied homes in the borough. Those that rent, which is 65% of the population, will pay roughly $800 dollars more per year in wage taxes. Median rent in Wilkinsburg is $838 per month. In Pittsburgh it is $958 per month.

And in Pittsburgh 47% of dwelling units are owner occupied compared with 35% of Wilkinsburg (as stated above). There is no way this is going to pass. 2/3 of the population in Wilkinsburg is renters. Why on earth would they vote for a wage tax increase and likely increase in medium rents. Merging into Pittsburgh would cost the tenant population roughly $2,000 dollars more a year with wage tax and likely rent increases.

This is a bad deal for 65% of the population while the homeowners and landlords get a tax cut. No way this passes the vote.

https://wilkinsburgmerger.org/
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