BVA budget includes small tax increase

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

Property owners in the Belle Vernon Area School District will see a slight tax hike in a budget passed unanimously by school directors Monday night.

The general fund budget is $39,486.645, and taxes will go up by less than $20 a year for homeowners whose houses are at or below the median prices in the district. 

Because the district includes communities in both Westmoreland and Fayette counties, which have different property tax assessment systems, the state provides a tax equalization formula the district uses to determine the tax rate in each county.

According to business manager Crystal Clark, the rate will go up by 1.02 mills in Westmoreland County and .29  mills in Fayette County, less than one-third of the amount that the district could have increased taxes under the state index.

Clark said that means a house with a market value of $117,000 in Westmoreland County, the median value in the district, will bring a tax increase of slightly more than $19 per year. In Fayette County a homeowner with a house at the median property value of $86,000 will see an increase of $17.76 for the year. 

The Homestead/Farmstead exemption approved Monday by the school board will give homeowners in the district a savings of $173 a year in Westmoreland County and $174 a year in Fayette County.

There had been no tax increase predicted with the preliminary budget.

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