Churchill homeowner Flavia Laun this week filed a lawsuit alleging that Allegheny County assessments are not uniform and violate the state constitution.
Laun was featured in a 2022 PublicSource story about uneven property taxes.
Laun is represented by attorney Ira Weiss, who is also the solicitor for the Pittsburgh Public Schools [PPS]. In that capacity, Weiss is leading another lawsuit alleging that the county’s ongoing failure to reassess properties hurts the owners of properties that have not kept pace with overall market appreciation, and burdens the school district.
The lawsuit naming Laun indicates that she bought her home for $225,000. At the time, it was assessed at $114,500. Woodland Hills School District appealed the assessment, and the county’s Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review raised it to $142,900.
The lawsuit says that assessment is unfair because the average assessment on the 66-house street on which Laun lives is $120,994, with ranges from zero to $214,100. It calls Laun’s house “comparatively inferior to several neighboring properties with lower assessments.”
The lawsuit notes that the county has not systematically reassessed property in 13 years. During that time, assessments on some properties — like Laun’s — have been altered via assessment appeals filed by school districts and municipalities. Other properties continue to be taxed based on 2012 values.
This year’s increase in the tax millage rate “places a higher burden on homeowners in economically depressed communities who have not seen their properties appreciate at the same rate as those in more affluent communities,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit calls on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas to order that Allegheny County, County Executive Sara Innamorato and Chief Assessment Officer Lou Fabian “immediately commence the reassessment” of more than 550,000 properties in the county, and asks for a timetable for implementing that process.
Innamorato in her 2023 campaign said she would work toward a reassessment, but with protections for vulnerable homeowners, some of which might require state legislation.
“Unfortunately the lawsuits have hampered our ability to have a public conversation or be more forward-facing on the policy,” said county spokesperson Abigail Gardner. “But I wouldn’t say [Innamorato has] philosophically changed her view on the importance of having equitable and up-to-date data” on county property values.
Gardner noted that a reassessment would not have bridged the county’s budget gap because state law bars governments from taking revenue windfalls as a result of a reassessment.
The PPS lawsuit is now mired in procedural disputes over a variety of issues, including whether the district’s budgets are relevant to the court’s decisions.
Rich Lord is PublicSource’s managing editor and can be reached at rich@publicsource.org.
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