Higher property tax bills expected to hit mailboxes this week in Allegheny County
"The taxman cometh," as the saying goes and it's the week when property tax bills arrive in Allegheny County and this year, they come with a hefty increase.
As Jeff Dobbins unloaded his grocery cart in Heidelberg, no doubt spending way more than he would have a few years ago on groceries, this week he's also getting hit with increased property taxes.
"Sara Innamorato, the first thing she does is go in there and raise property taxes," he said. "I just bought a house in June and I can't wait for these interest rates to come down. I don't know, it is what it is, you gotta live, right?"
If you own your home, you do have to pay property tax, if you are paying a mortgage, your tax bill is paid by your mortgage company. While you don't have to physically write a check for property tax, it's part of your monthly payment so you can expect your bank to adjust your mortgage payment to cover the increase in taxes.
Now, if you own your house outright, then you have to pay the bill that you will get in the mail.
"I don't think it's fair," said Al Caldwell. "You should get some kind of warning, first of all. I've been paying the same for 5-6-7-10 years, maybe. Then all of a sudden, it goes up almost double."
In fairness, this has been discussed for months. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato has let county residents know on several fronts that she believed she had no choice but to raise taxes for several reasons, including the rising cost of running the county and the fact that taxes have not been raised in over a decade. After all of these years, this is the actual sticker shock of when those higher tax bills hit your mailbox.
"Obviously, I'm not happy with property taxes going up," said Amy Barrett. "I think we need to get new elected officials in Allegheny County as a whole but I guess that's up for the next election round."
In terms of increases, on average, the value of a home in Allegheny County is $110,400 - the average house would pay $157 more per year in taxes. Your tax increase will be lower or higher depending on what your house's value is assessed to be, but in all cases, you will be paying more.
