Allegheny County Council Passes Budget, Reduces Millage Rate

The Allegheny County Council has passed a 2013 budget that includes a millage rate decrease.

On Tuesday, county officials approved a $799.4-million budget, reducing the county real estate tax rate to 4.73 mills, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

The millage was reduced from 2012's rate of 5.69 mills to offset an increase in average property values stemming from the county's court-ordered real estate reassessment. By law, taxing bodies like municipalities and school districts can't receive more than 105 percent of their otherwise expected property tax revenues next year so as not to use the reassessment as a major tax increase.

Under the county's new tax rate, a resident would pay $473 for every $100,000 of assessed property value.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said in a statement that he is happy with the approved budget.

"(I) am glad that we are able to move into 2013 with no tax increase and a lower millage rate and that we did so without using one-time revenues to balance our budget," he said. "The final budget has a growth of 1.96 percent, and we are also projecting that we will be able to grow our fund balance."

Baldwin-Whitehall's three municipalities have not yet officially determined their local millage rates for 2013.

 ---

Follow the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch on Facebook and Twitter.

Sign up for the daily Baldwin-Whitehall newsletter.