Allegheny County and its top official, Sara Innamorato, on Monday asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Pittsburgh Public Schools that is trying to trigger a countywide property reassessment.
The school district sued in April to force a countywide reassessment, something that hasn’t been done since 2012.
Pittsburgh Public Schools Solicitor Ira Weiss argued the school district faced a financial crisis caused by plummeting property values and voiced concerns the district would have to pay out millions in refunds for taxpayers whose property values have dropped.
Innamorato, however, argued in the latest court filing that the school district doesn’t have the standing for the legal challenge.
The district’s grievance, the county’s filing said, stems from an erroneous belief “that Allegheny County’s existing property assessment valuations result in the school district collecting less money in tax revenue than it would collect if Allegheny County reassessed all properties within the county.”
The school district also had argued in its suit that the system is unfair and creates unequal tax burdens for taxpayers.
Weiss has said lower-valued properties in the county are overassessed, and higher-valued properties are underassessed. He alleged this violates the Pennsylvania Constitution’s uniformity clause, which says taxes must be applied uniformly on similar types of property in the same taxing jurisdiction.
The county argued the district, as a taxing body, didn’t have legal standing to challenge uniformity in tax assessments. It said Pittsburgh Public Schools is not arguing the county’s property tax system treats the district differently from other taxing bodies.
The county’s filing also pointed out the school district has the authority to appeal specific assessments it believes are inaccurate or to adjust the rate it charges taxpayers.
Because the district can collect taxes only on property in the city, the county argued its demand for a countywide reassessment is “overly broad.”
Though Pittsburgh Public Schools alleges the district has been harmed by less tax revenue because of the lack of a reassessment, the county in its filing argued there would be “pure speculation that any court-ordered assessment would address this claimed harm.”
Innamorato campaigned on supporting a countywide reassessment to make property taxes more equitable and fair.
Julia Burdelski is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jburdelski@triblive.com.