Nov 29, 2016 By Harry Funk 3 min read

Because of Washington County’s first reassessment of property values since 1981, the real estate tax rate being considered in conjunction with Peters Township’s 2017 budget is a fraction of the 13-mill figure that has been in place since 2011.

The new rate is proposed at 1.522 mills, which is expected to generate nearly $4.5 million in revenue, according to township manager Paul Lauer. The figure is based on the county’s valuation for all properties in the township at about $3.1 billion.

“State law requires that when you have a reassessment that there not be a tax windfall, and they define that as not generating more than 10 percent additional revenues over the prior year,” Lauer said during a public hearing about the budget preceding Monday’s township council meeting.

Council members have committed to a revenue-neutral real estate tax rate.

“What we have taken that to mean is that we want to set the rate at a number that will generate what we would have expected under the prior system” of county assessment, Lauer explained.

The rate could be short-lived.

“In my opinion, in 2018 there will need to be a property tax increase,” Lauer told council. “The size of that increase is going to be dependent in a bunch of things.”

He cited, for example, the potential for a reduction in the overall value of property in the township.

“There will be assessment appeals, particularly commercial assessment appeals, which will have an impact on this aggregate number,” he said. “And what no one knows at this point is how many of these appeals will be filed, or what their impact will be on the aggregate assessment for the community.”

The township also will need to raise money to cover the debt service associated with a recent bond issue, used in part to purchase slightly less than half of the former Rolling Hills Country Club property as the site of a future park.

“There is a cost associated with the maintenance of Peters Hill Park,” Lauer said, “and we’re going to have to look at that and address that once we make a determination of exactly how we intend to develop and maintain that property.”

While taxes, especially real estate and earned income, account for a majority of the township’s sources of revenue, other avenues are contributing.

“This year, 18 percent of the funds that will be anticipated are coming from grants,” Lauer noted, adding up to some $3.5 million. Among the projects the grants could finance are improvements to East McMurray Road’s intersections with Valley Brook and Thomas roads, along with a streetscape program and a new playground and shelter in Peterswood Park.

Council plans to vote on the 2017 budget on Dec. 19, its final meeting of the year.