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Thou shalt pay your property taxes
Board members of the Coatesville Area School District voted against a waiver that would have relieved the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from its obligation to pay rollback taxes on the land where St. Peter's Church and the Pope John Paul II Regional Elementary School were built.
The rollback taxes amount to a penalty for the archdiocese developing a a portion of the 217-acre property that previously had been protected as open space under Pennsylvania's Clean and Green Act.
The total tax bill owed by the church is more than $200,000, and about $190,000 of that is is due to the school district.
It appears to be a relatively tiny sum compared to CASD's annual budget, which this year is about $130 million, but the school district's persistence that it be paid is a sign of some belt-tightening as officials begin planning the 2008-2009 finances.
From Sunday's article:
The rollback taxes amount to a penalty for the archdiocese developing a a portion of the 217-acre property that previously had been protected as open space under Pennsylvania's Clean and Green Act.
The total tax bill owed by the church is more than $200,000, and about $190,000 of that is is due to the school district.
It appears to be a relatively tiny sum compared to CASD's annual budget, which this year is about $130 million, but the school district's persistence that it be paid is a sign of some belt-tightening as officials begin planning the 2008-2009 finances.
From Sunday's article:
Ken Lupold, CASD’s director of business administration and a member of the finance committee, on Friday said the decision to reject the waiver was financial.
The district, which has a $130 million operating budget this year, has begun calculating next year’s expenditures and revenues. Lupold said officials are realizing “our revenues from local sources are down quite a bit this year,” partly because of stagnant real estate values.
“Consequently our earnings from interest are also down,” Lupold said. “So we were looking at this for a boost to our revenues.”
posted by Daily Local at
10:28 AM
14 Comments:
Hey! all the comments seemed to have stopped all of a sudden. Is there another site where people are talking about Coatesville at?? Or did they give up talking?
Well if the church's money keeps the taxes in Coatesville the same or lower (we could only wish) then I'm all for it.
As to 3:17's comments, the only spin could be that no decision or update on the Flats or anything else has come up. Once a decision is made there will be plenty of posts here.
Taxing a church is plain and simply just wrong.
It isn't wrong. They are making money and a lot of it.
If you'd take all the Non-Profits like:
Churches, Fire Companies with bars, Social agencies like the CYWA and others and have them pay taxes it would spread the tax burden out thus lowering taxes for all. These agencies still get the same services such as Fire , Police, and street cleaning yet pay nothing. Totally unfair.
If you want lower taxes check into how many non-profits are in the coatesville area and city.
Nice point about fire , police, and street cleaning, but those servies are provided to this property by West Brandywine Twp, and WBT waived their portion of the tax.
What does the Church and School get for $194,000? Doesn't sound very equitable, does it?
how stupid are you people all churches pay property taxes. TThe church dedicated the land as nondevelopment and for doing this they got tax relief from the county, city and school. they used the land to build on so not only should they pay the school tax they should also have to pay county and city taxes. the county and city both did wrong the church made a deal and if they renig they should pay the penilty. they have set a bad example WTG CASH only one holding them responsible.
Your second word shows seems to show your level of understanding of this matter.....
Upon application (a mere formality) churches and schools do not pay real estate tax in Pennsylvania.
The rollback provisions of Act 319 were designed to capture back taxes when a party develops land and financially profits from the development of land. That is clearly not the case here.
"They used the land to build on" A self-funded and self-sustaining school was built without taxpayer funds. This facility saves the CASD millions annualy as CASD does not have to provide classroom space, teachers, and educate these 500+ children. However, CASD taxpayers who send their children to this schol still pay real estate tax and support the CASD school system (as they should).
I am not sure how the tax revenues are dropping with all the new construction taking place in the district? Can someone explain this please???
Just an FYI about the "Tax Exempt" properties in the Coatesville area. You have another large one on the way. The 70 acre property that will have the County's Public Saftey Training Center. I am sure this is needed somewhere in the county, but this are NEEDS TAX GENERATING BUSINESSES, not more tax exempt operations. The article was titled "EPA Grants ..." in the Daily Local. Here is the link:
http://www.dailylocal.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FDLN%2FNews%2FLocal+News&r21.content=%2FDLN%2FNews%2FLocal+News%2FTopStoryList_Story_1866043
This is just an unethical money grab by the Board. The amount is so small in relation to the entire budget, it makes you wonder why they just don't do the right thing and honor the intent of the law. They talk about setting a precedent, taking money from a church and school is definitely not a good precedent and not something I would be proud of. Bad karma if you ask me....
Lupold said officials are realizing “our revenues from local sources are down quite a bit this year,” partly because of stagnant real estate values.
How can that be? They raised the tax rate - no properties disappeared, more houses are being built....revenues are not down.
Take a look at the budget presentation on the CASD website and the local revenue from real estate tax:
2007/2008: $67,029,442
2008/2009: $70,052,952
How can they comment that revenue is down when they project $3,000,000 more?
Closing Gordon to save money.
Imagine how much additional expense another 500 children would add to this already overburdened school system.
They should thank the school, not insult them with some ridiculous assessment.
Anyone from the School Board want to take a shot at explaining why they will not waive the assessment?
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