In the wake of Allegheny County reassessments that have raised property values (starting in 2013) in Baldwin Borough, Whitehall Borough and Baldwin Township, the Baldwin-Whitehall School Board must lower the millage rate of the B-W School District in order to remain "revenue neutral."

Although the school board will not formally decide on what the district's 2013-14 millage rate will be until June 2013—that's when the reassessed values will figure into the school district's budget—the district's millage rate will have to fall, meaning that most residents will pay what they had been paying before the reassessment of their properties' value.

Law requires the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, as it does all Allegheny County school districts, to adjust its tax rate to remain revenue neutral—meaning that the district can't bring in more money than what is needed to balance its budget.

"We will reduce taxes to meet that," B-W Superintendent Dr. Lawrence C. Korchnak said. "We can't make money. Debits equal credits.

"We know how much the assessment is. We'll know how many mills we'll need to meet our budget."

Added district solicitor Ed Lawrence, "We will recalculate our tax rate as if we were taking into consideration any increases in assessment to bring it back to the dollar amount that it would have been without the assessment."

The B-W School District's current millage rate is 23.4, or $2,340 per year for anyone with a property valued at $100,000 (land and building value combined). (Click here to calculate your individual taxes.)

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