Mar 11, 2015 By Suzanne Elliott 3 min read

Mt. Lebanon Township commissioners extended an olive branch to property owners in an attempt to ease opposition to its controversial newcomer tax.

The genesis of the tax goes back to 2012, when Allegheny County reassessed homeowners. That, in turn, drew complaints from Mt. Lebanon residents who purchased homes in 2011 and 2012 for more than what the county assessed them for a year later. Both municipal and Mt. Lebanon officials challenged 150 of those properties and won 149.

Following heavy criticism from both its residents and the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, the advocacy group that counts most of the residential real estate agents in Greater Pittsburgh as its members, Mt. Lebanon officials have modified how the township will challenge assessed value of homes.

For 2015, all properties – 2,693 – with a sale price of more than $200,000 were studied. A standard inflation rate was applied based on the Federal Housing Finance Agency Housing Price Index to bring all sales prices up to the third quarter 2014 value. For homes with an assessed value HPI adjusted sales price below 50 percent, the township looked at comparable properties.

Any remaining property with a difference between the comparable value and the assessed value of more than $100,000 was selected for appeal. In this case, the township said it selected 26 properties to challenge.

“We think it is the county’s job to get the assessment right,” said John Bendel, commission chairman.

Mt. Lebanon hired Diversified Municipal Services Inc. last month to represent it in defending and appealing assessed values. It will charge Mt. Lebanon a flat fee for each appeal attended.

On the surface, it appears that Mt. Lebanon is becoming more conciliatory toward property owners. It is and it isn’t, according to Preston Moore, a residential real estate agent and president of RAMP. He said township officials could change its assessment process next year, again raising the property tax of unsuspecting homeowners.

“They threw us a bone,” Moore said.

Earlier this month, RAMP went live with a website (www.endthenewcomertax) opposing the newcomer tax. RAMP is spending $20,000 on the website and campaign.

Moore and other RAMP officials had hoped to address commissioners at the March 10 meeting about its assessment process. But because the meeting room was full of people who wanted to talk about Mt. Lebanon’s highly controversial deer culling program, Bendel limited public comment to township residents.

Mike Suley, a residential real estate agent and RAMP board member, said his organization had been in contact with the commission for at least two weeks and had expected to be able to discuss the newcomer tax.

“They knew we were going to be here,” Suley said.

Around 400 to 500 homes are sold in Mt. Lebanon each year. There are five residential real estate offices in the township that employ 135 agents, said Moore, adding that the agents are confused about what to tell homebuyers who want to know if their taxes are going to increase in a year.

“Where does this end?” he asked.