Posted on 09/17/2004 7:05:48 AM PDT by WinMod70
I'm looking for advice/recommendations on challenging the constitutional merits of a Pennsylvania State law (Act). The specific law in question is Section 672.1 of PA Public School Code.
This Act addresses how PA school districts are to levy property taxes when a school district crosses county lines. The act provides that the school districts are to use certified State Tax Equalization Board (STEB) data to determine each county's share of their required property tax revenue.
In my particular cases the twp. I reside in is the only municipality that is not in the same county as the school. My twp. makes up approximately 1% of the student population (while this fact has no legal bearing it provides a sense of scale) and, depending on the method you use, makes up between 1-2.5% of the taxable real estate in the district. Clearly we are the proverbial little guy in this.
My angst is centered around the fact that the property owners in my twp. are taxed at a 40% higher rate than are the rest (97-99%) of the districts property owners. Both counties involved are assessed at a 100%, one went to the 100% ratio in 2001 and the other in 2002.
I understand that there are differences in assessment methods and practices between counties and that there are differences in real property appreciations. But the actual property sale values versus assessed values do not support a 40% difference, more like 4-5% between the two counties.
The STEB's primary focus and purpose is to provide input into the state's education fund allocations. Act 672.1 came along about 30 years after this board was established and required school districts to use this same data. The problem as I see it is the STEB produces data which is; (1) limited in that yearly changes are capped; (2) their goal is to produce a common level ratio (CLR) for each county (not each municipality) (3) they use anywhere from 3 to 5 years worth of sales data to smooth the yearly results.
It is my belief that Act 672.1 violates Article VIII, Section 1. of the Pennsylvania Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
My questions to the FR community are as follows:
1. Would you pursue a judicial or legislative remedy? 2. If judicial, any advice on law firms would be appreciated. 2(a). Would you consider using the ACLU?
Thanks in advance.
Sorry. I don't think this ended up where I intended it to go. Long time member-infrequent poster. I'll take my forty lashes.
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