Seniors Sound Off on Property Tax

Everybody has an opinion on what to do about property taxes.

And state legislators admit there are lots of ideas out there about how to provide relief to those experiencing constant increases.

Therein lies the problem, though.

What works for a Clearfield County landowner probably won’t work for a Bucks County resident. The opposite is true, too.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

Those are some of the issues that face the state House of Representatives' Property Tax Reform Policy Development Team.

State Rep. Bernie O’Neill (R-Bucks) recently held an informational session on property tax relief at The Village of Buckingham Springs, a senior community in Buckingham. With him were state Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), co-chair of the team; and Todd Brysiak, executive director.

The legislators reviewed efforts from the past four decades to try to reform Pennsylvania's property tax system. Grove called property taxes "one of the most complex and controversial issues."

Property taxes provide a significant funding source for the commonwealth’s school districts. For this year alone, they’re projected to total almost $13 billion - $9 billion from residents and almost $4 billion from commercial properties, said Grove.

O’Neill said the committee is working to change the uniformity clause in the commonwealth’s constitution to separate businesses from homeowners.

The goal is to try to find solutions to make it equitable for all, he said. But if someone doesn’t pay, the money then has to come from elsewhere. Gaming sources, personal income taxes, and sales and use taxes are some options being reviewed.

In the school years between 1998 and 2008, property taxes increased by 77 percent, according to figures provided in a handout given out at the meeting. During the same time, state funding increased by 66 percent and the inflation level was at 33 percent. Broken down, for every $1 given from the commonwealth to schools, property taxes increased by $1.30.

Countywide reassessments were also addressed as a way of making taxation more equal.

Because of Pennsylvania’s diversity and growth – with some areas booming and others not so much – the disparity is an issue when it comes to property taxes. Some areas of the commonwealth, those in more rural central and western locations, show moderate or low increases while areas particularly in the southeastern region have a high growth. For example, portions of Bucks County, between 1991 and 2005, show a property tax growth of more than 200 percent.

“There are areas of this state where we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all,” said Grove, because the level of taxation wouldn't be an issue.

During the public comment portion at the end of the session, one senior suggested tightening the reins on school district spending.

“I look at expenditures and that equals taxation,” he said. “Unless you control expenditures, you’re never going to control taxation.”

John Cunninham’s frustrations were mirrored by others who attended the two-hour session. “You’re telling us about trying to fix this, but you haven’t proposed anything,” the Buckingham resident said.

Grove said there’ve been “tons of proposals,” but the key is getting them approved by the entire legislature when each home district has a different agenda to satisfy.

Senior Jack Diamond, who has forwarded O’Neill petitions from others wanting a senior tax freeze, said there needs to be action now. They don’t have time to wait four years for changes to be made in the Commonwealth’s constitution.

Some seniors “are just getting by on Social Security and not much more,” he said.

O’Neill said legislators need to come up with a tax-shifting plan to fund it – and that’s not an easy solution.

“The problem is getting the votes to pay for it,” he said.

The session was carried live by PCN, Pennsylvania’s cable channel that covers legislative matters.