Washington County continues to question Trinity property tax levy
Washington County Tax Assessment Office
The chart shows what Washington County school districts received in tax revenue in 2016 under the old assessment and in 2017 under the new assessment, allowing for a tax increase up to the state index. It also shows what districts actually received after instituting new millage rates, and the difference between the actual revenue and what is permitted under Act 1.
Observer-Reporter
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, shown in this February 2018 file photo, had asked officials across the state to answer six questions about whether they accepted or were offered perks from voting machine companies.
Notice: Undefined index: width in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 354
Notice: Undefined index: height in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 354
Notice: Undefined index: width in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 356
Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 378
Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 387
Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 388
Washington County commissioners are continuing to question why Trinity Area School District used a property assessment value that was almost $400 million lower than what the county certified in its recent reassessment when the school board set its tax rates for the 2017-18 year.
Among complaints about the county’s recent reassessment, the commissioners found a disproportionate number related to Trinity tax bills when school tax invoices were sent out during late summer, said Scott Fergus, Washington County director of administration.
Two taxpayers last year brought their concerns to the commissioners’ public comment segment of meetings, and the first one in October coincided with the county’s inquiry to the state Department of Education, which files districts’ budgets.
The commissioners told the Trinity taxpayers the county does not have the authority to set tax levies for school districts, which are governed by their own elected boards of education. However, the commissioners agreed to ask the state to clarify whether the district was in violation of an anti-windfall provision in the law.
The commissioners also asked state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale to look into the matter Thursday morning when DePasquale visited the Courthouse Square office building.
School districts operate on a July 1 to June 30 fiscal year, while the county and municipalities follow a Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 calendar year for budgetary purposes. Property owners had their first tax bills under the reassessment in hand about a year ago, but school districts had until June 30 to set millage.
It took months before the county commissioners received a reply from the Department of Education about Trinity, but it arrived after Commissioner Harlan Shober, a former Chartiers-Houston School Board member, brought up the subject in person in December with a visiting Department of Education executive deputy secretary.
The reply arrived a few weeks ago, but the Department of Education requested more detailed information, and the county continues to seek answers.
In an email sent this week to the Department of Education, Fergus questioned the figures Trinity submitted to the department, which were almost $400 million less than what the county certified as the assessed value within the district.
For the tax year 2017-18, “Washington County certified the assessed value for Trinity School District at $2,466,979,935,” Fergus wrote, noting that instead of using the county’s figure, “Trinity used as its assessed value $2,074,900,551, or $392,079,380 less than was certified by the county.
“Our question would be, on what basis did Trinity reduce its assessed value almost $400,000,000? It appears they used this value to theoretically stay within the Act 1 limit.”
Act 1 provides an index used to determine the maximum tax increases a school district can levy without an exception granted by the state Department of Education or voter referendum approval.
Fergus wrote that a school district might establish a reserve fund because of property owners appealing their assessments, “but no other school district in the county reduced its assessed value to anywhere near the magnitude of Trinity.”
The total of all properties under appeal in 2017-18 in Trinity Area School District “was $385,753,619, a figure less than the actual reduction taken by Trinity,” Fergus wrote.
He also pointed out the county’s certified amount for 2018-19 for Trinity is an assessed value of $2,357,809,535, or more than $300 million more than the value Trinity used in computing taxes for 2017-18.
“Since it appears that Trinity will collect taxes on a higher assessed value (the $2,466,979,935 value certified by the county), Trinity would receive a tax windfall,” Fergus continued.
As an example, if Trinity had used the actual assessed value certified by the county, the millage would have to be set at approximately 11.4 mills, instead of the 13.6 mills approved by Trinity’s board, Fergus told his contact at the state Department of Education.
Perpetuating a miscalculation will result in inflated tax bills in the future, Fergus wrote.
Attempts to reach Matthew Howard, Trinity’s director of fiscal services, were not successful Wednesday afternoon. He previously said he preferred not to comment on the county’s calculations because they were not of his own making, but pointed out Washington Crown Center received an $82.2 million reduction in value after the school district finalized its budget process. He also said the Tanger Outlets shopping complex receives a partial tax exemption because it was built with tax-increment financing.
Dr. Michael Lucas, Trinity superintendent, in response to a request for comment, emailed a statement:
“As previously reviewed with the Observer-Reporter, the Trinity Area School District Board of Directors and central administration followed the anti-windfall regulation and provisions for public school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania when setting the value of a mill and the millage rate following the county-wide reassessments.”
Having run out of legal options and facing a contempt-of-court hearing, the Washington County commissioners agreed to hire a firm in 2013 to reassess property countywide for the first time in more than 30 years. The Washington and McGuffey school districts brought suit in 2008, seeking the reassessment.
Municipalities comprising Trinity are Amwell, Canton, North Franklin and South Strabane townships, a geographical area that borders the city of Washington on all sides.