PPS taking Allegheny County to court over property reassessments

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Public Schools wants a county-wide property reassessment, and in order to get it, the district just sued Allegheny County and its executive, Sara Innamorato.

“In short, the system is broken, and it’s illegal, and the school district doesn’t lightly sue another public official, but there was no choice,” PPS solicitor, Ira Weiss said.

School solicitor Ira Weiss told Channel 11 that by suing the county, a judge could force a reassessment, which last happened in 2013.

“If this would have been done when it should have been done, sometime in the past 12 yers, we wouldn’t have nearly the problems that we have now,” he added.

The problem he’s referring to is the district’s poor financial standing, which he’s blaming on property values that don’t add up. If there is a reassessment, there’s no telling how much a homeowner could be impacted.

“It completely depends on what the new values are. Whether they’re higher than the existing values that the property has, or lower. When you have a reassessment, some will pay more, some will pay less, some will stay about the same,” he said.

County Executive Sara Innamorato responded in part by saying, “Ideally reassessments would be state-mandated, mundane, regular occurrences, and nit once per decade shocks to the system. Our preference is to work with stakeholders to build a more predictable system for everyone.”

Weiss added that the district will wait for the county’s formal response to the lawsuit, which will determine next steps.

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