SENATE COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS TAX EXEMPT PROPERTIES AT UPCOMING PITTSBURGH HEARING

            HARRISBURG, January 7 - The state Senate Democratic Policy Committee will hold a hearing in Pittsburgh next Tuesday to discuss a bill sponsored by Senator Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) that would allow municipal government to impose an “essential services fee” on tax-exempt organizations that own property within the municipality.

            “While no one would dispute that non-profits like schools, churches, hospitals and government buildings add to a community’s quality of life and overall appeal, financially-strapped government leaders are struggling to scrape together the revenue necessary to provide adequate services like police, fire and other municipal services,” said committee chairman Sen. Richard A. Kasunic (D-Fayette).

            Scheduled at Fontana’s request, the hearing will be held on Tuesday, January 12 at 10:30 a.m. in the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers’ Hall, 10 South 19^th Street on the South Side. 

             “No one is recommending that we entirely strip away these tax exemptions, but we do need to find ways to help our communities fill the widening financial gap between available financial resources and the level of local service they must provide,” Fontana (D-Brookline) said. “The math is simple. If one property is exempt from taxes, other property owners are burdened with paying more.”

            Fontana noted that Allegheny County last year had 26,059 tax-exempt properties worth an assessed value of $15.4 billion. His legislation would have generated $6.9 million in tax revenue from the proposed essential services fee.

            “The legislature needs to begin addressing the significant financial burden that these entities have on a municipality’s ability to obtain the necessary tax dollars it takes to provide vital community services.”

            Fontana’s bill (Senate Bill 1175), and a similar measure (House Bill 2191) authored by Rep. Tim Solobay (D-Canonsburg) in the House of Representatives, would allow municipalities to continue relying on existing voluntary agreements. However, the legislation also gives them the option of imposing a fee based on total square footage of properties, and/or establishing a limited real estate tax for properties owned by charitable institutions.

            “While we do not want to harm the non-profits, we also need to ensure that their growing property ownership doesn’t harm the municipality or its taxpayers,” Fontana said. “This bill is far from perfect, but it is a starting place to talk with all parties about how to address this growing issue.

            “This proposal is not carved in stone,” Fontana said. “The purpose of the hearing is to obtain feedback on the bill and talk about how best to address the issue.”

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