Tax equity at the local level is what matters

As part of his campaign for higher office, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato talks about keeping millage rates the same. Generally good, but his unwillingness to deal with some areas where values have changed has now created a major issue that is going to cost millions to deal with and will, among other things, serve to make more money for lawyers.

In the end, it all will be of little help. Property taxes are very local by nature. My county property taxes are less than 15 percent of my total property tax bill. The major part goes to school taxes, a more modest amount to my township. The last time I looked I pay no state taxes based on property assessments.

I am only interested in assessment equity within my township. I don't think Mr. Onorato has shown good judgment in his handling of this issue.

JIM WELCH
Upper St. Clair

Most are satisfied

Regarding new assessments in Allegheny County and the lack of good sense on all sides: Other counties are living, in peace, with much older assessments. Meanwhile, 97 percent of the people in Allegheny County are happy with their assessments.

Isn't there a way to satisfy the other 3 percent without some expensive, burdensome, pain-in-the-neck, new assessment? If you take your car to the shop and you have a brake problem, you get the brakes fixed. You're not told to build a whole new car.

Do those who have challenged the county's system really want a new assessment that they hope will put thousands and thousands of people under the gun to fight or accept those assessments? Is it an attempt to embarrass Mr. Onorato? Is the unwillingness of the Republican Senate to correct this an attempt to embarrass Mr. Onorato? Are we being stuck with this mess because of politics?

I blame Mr. Onorato as much for not allowing any appeals under his particular base-year assessment. How would the court have ruled if there was no basis for individual complaints? Meanwhile Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. seeks "uniformity" in districts at a time, leaving a lack of conformity within the county and throughout the state. In Pennsylvania one needs to wonder where conformity begins and ends. It looks like something the politicians and courts can be very selective about, depending on the politics. People who simply want a new assessment should have been denied while so many other counties have such older assessments.

NORMAN AUGUSTINE
Arlington

The overassessed

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, again defying court-mandated fairness ("Onorato Says County Will Appeal Order on Tax Assessments," Nov. 17), sounds awfully like a 1960s segregationist. He says he hasn't heard anyone speak in support of the courts in this case, making it clear his hearing is tuned only to the voices of privilege, not the nearly one in five Allegheny County households that are overassessed.

The assessment of 2004 that he threw out would have reduced my taxes by more than 40 percent. The harm he does to his least powerful constituents is real, significant and quantifiable -- and makes clear the need for the constitutional protections provided by the courts.

The "back-door tax increase" bogeyman could be tamed by any undergraduate computer science class. The formula for keeping tax income within the legal 5 percent rise is pathetically simple. It is worth remembering that it was the Republican members of County Council, whose constituents would have been forced to accept their fair share of the tax burden, who voted to take the more principled position.

Now Mr. Onorato is trying to bully the Legislature into making a mockery of constitutional separation of powers -- which will no doubt incur legal costs that will dwarf the sums of taxpayer money already spent in the service of his arrogance.

If Republicans can bring their social positions more in line with those of average Americans on issues like civil unions and family planning, they may find that voters in some of the deepest-blue areas of this county -- hardest hit by Mr. Onorato's position -- are willing to give them a hearing.

SELENE dePACKH
Wilkinsburg

For tax fairness

Rather than continuing to live with assessments in such disparity, let's move forward with the four-year plan for property reassessments as directed by Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. In order to make this fair/equal to everyone, complete all four years of reassessments before school districts can raise or reduce anyone's individual tax.

Once all the data have been collected and analyzed, set the appropriate millage rate. Personally, there are areas that are priced and taxed beyond my means, so I don't live there. If you can't afford to live in your house, then move. You can't expect your neighbors to subsidize your housing.

DOUGLAS F. BRUCKNER
Plum

Sacrificed for profit

I saw an ad on TV by UPMC stating how many advances it has made and what it has done for the Pittsburgh area. This may be true, but don't tell that to the people in the UPMC Braddock area. UPMC is planning on closing the Braddock hospital. At least UPMC could wait until the hospital in Monroeville is built and operational.

The ad also said that UPMC is proud to be part of the city's past, present and future. So why is UPMC closing the Braddock hospital? Money -- if UPMC isn't making enough profit, close the hospital.

I always thought that hospitals and other services were to help the people. I guess not. I realize that these institutions need to make enough money to cover all their expenses and have enough for any future needs, but don't sacrifice this by closing hospitals and forgetting about the people.

WILLIAM SMITH
Turtle Creek

Star performers

Having read Maureen Dowd's recent hack at Goldman Sachs ("Doing God's Work!?!" Nov. 12), I offer a defense of the freedom to pay stellar pay to star performers, in a Pittsburgh context. Ben Roethlisberger makes just over $10 million a year, all things considered. Isn't that too much? Shouldn't the Rooney organization trim these excesses?

No, that way likes mediocrity, that's the road to uncompetitiveness -- just look at the Pirates.

You may object that, if every organization follows the same rules, you can still trim excesses. For a counter-example, look at Major League Soccer. There, every team has strict pay scales to adhere to; no MLS player makes even $1 million. (Beckham and Pele were some of the few special cases.) So, where do the best American soccer players play? Europe, where no such rules exist.

If you want to see the best soccer leagues in the world, you'd go to London or Frankfurt or Madrid. It would be a shame if the same were to be said about investment banks.

DAVID FITZSIMMONS
East McKeesport

Casinos are proving to be good for Pennsylvania

The growth of Pennsylvania's new casino market in the midst of the recession could not have come at a better time for many of our citizens. Since the opening of the first casino three years ago, 8,346 family-sustaining jobs have been created at nine casinos, with more than 93 percent of them obtained by Pennsylvanians. The two local casinos, the Rivers Casino and the Meadows Racetrack and Casino, have contributed about 2,200 of those jobs and thousands of additional construction jobs.

Over the past two years, revenue from the slots play at Pennsylvania casinos has returned $2 billion in property tax relief, including $125,611,442 to Allegheny County homeowners. This means more than 300,000 residences in this county alone have seen yearly property taxes sliced by an average of more than $200. In surrounding counties, the amount of property tax relief is similar.

Slot-machine gaming has also been instrumental in the construction of the new Penguins arena in Pittsburgh, with the Rivers Casino contributing yearly funding of $7.5 million toward the project.

Slots play has provided $220 million in host fees to local governments statewide to use for community projects, with Washington County receiving over $26 million and North Strabane receiving over $5.6 million since the Meadows Casino opened in June 2007. Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh have each received $635,129 in the short period since the Rivers Casino opened in August.

Casinos are also safe with mostly minor crimes occurring and perpetrators apprehended and prosecuted swiftly.

All costs to diligently regulate the casino industry and assure the integrity of gaming in Pennsylvania are borne by the casino operators. This means that the results I outlined are being achieved at no cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers, all the while resulting in a growing tax revenue base and increased employment opportunities.

GREGORY C. FAJT
Chairman
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
Harrisburg

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