Madeline Kilgore has lived in West Leechburg since January 2019.

“When we first moved in, our taxes were high,” said Kilgore, 29. “As the years went on, they went up and up and up.”

“From the time we moved here to now, we’ve had a $1,000 increase (in property taxes),” she said.

The tax inequity for West Leechburg, being the school district’s only Westmore­land County community, comes from the state-mandated tax equalization ratio.

That ratio is a formula required for school districts that cross county lines. Its function is to make sure parts of the districts in different counties pay a proportionate amount of taxes.

In some cases, like in West Leechburg, it doesn’t always work out that way.

It’s a problem that has been discussed for years. But now, Leechburg Area School District officials think they have a solution.

District Business Manager Jake Chapla presented a method that allows the district to calculate a uniform assessed value and market value across Armstrong and Westmoreland counties. The method creates an equal millage rate, and each mill would bring in the same dollar amount between Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. That’s not the case now.

Comparing the current method with the proposed method, Chapla said, there’s a $443 difference within the total collection of the budget.

He said that, while millage will increase for Armstrong County residents, they won’t be crushed with an extreme increase on their tax bills because the formula operates from a new, lower assessed value.

The new method is needed, district officials say, because property tax assessments are not uniform and can vary greatly by county.

In Leechburg Area’s case, rather than producing equal tax bills in Gilpin, Leechburg and West Leechburg, the ratio has produced consistent increases in West Leechburg tax bills.

The current millage rate is set at 158.91 mills for West Leechburg, resulting in a homeowner with a median assessed property value of $18,200 paying $2,892.

For Leechburg and Gilpin, the tax rate is 69.65 mills, resulting in a homeowner with a median assessed property value of $32,600 paying $2,270.

Kilgore said she and her family have been debating moving to Gilpin or Leechburg for years to escape the taxation pressure while remaining in the school district.

“It kind of seemed like nothing was changing,” she said. “We felt like we were being swept under the rug. As much as we love the area … anything is better than that.”

Kilgore has two children attending David Leech Elementary and one child who will be entering elementary school in the next couple of years.

“This is such a great district, and they do a great job with education,” Kilgore said.

The district’s new proposed tax formula might be just what Kilgore and her West Leechburg neighbors have been hoping for.

“I was very surprised to see they finally came up with something,” Kilgore said.

She was keeping up with the situation but had her doubts whether there would ever be a solution found because of disagreements between school board members and outside obstacles.

“I’m hopeful (about this solution), but there’s a seed of doubt because we’ve been dealing with this for so long,” Kilgore said.

She said any relief is better than what her tax bill has looked like for the past few years.

Using the 2025-26 school year as an example, Chapla calculated a mock tax bill using the proposed method. He divided the Armstrong assessed value by the product of the county’s common level ratio, then multiplied by the predetermined state ratio to get the uniform assessed value. To get the uniform market value, he multiplied that value by Westmoreland’s common level ratio.

Owners of homes in both counties valued at $100,000, paying 128.35 mills, had an equal tax bill of $1,139.75.

Doubts remain

On the other side of the county line, Gilpin resident Charles “Chaz” Minnich isn’t sure this is the best solution for all taxpayers. He owns property in Leechburg, Gilpin and West Leechburg and is concerned about how the solution will affect his taxes in Armstrong County.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind having a tax break on my property in West Leechburg, but I don’t want my taxes in the rest of the school district to go up.”

Minnich said he hopes the school board explores more options within the new calculation before making a final decision.

There is a version of the calculation method that allows the district to use the common level ratio of the municipalities rather than the counties, and another version that uses the aggregate of those numbers.

Going forward with the district’s calculation method, the district will obtain the market values and assessed values of each taxable parcel in the counties from each county assessment office. The calculation will be done by the district.

Rich Farah, director of tax revenue for Armstrong County, said the request is a simple matter of compiling information readily available to his department.

“The whole county is already assessed,” Farah said. “All the values are loaded. It was just a matter of having the IT department compile what they’re looking for.”

Other multi-county districts do it

Camdon Porterfield, chief assessor for Westmoreland County, said he has seen several other districts that cross county lines use similar formulas to solve similar issues. Like Farah, he said the assessment office is required to value parcels uniformly across the county.

“As far as our assessments are concerned and what they’re going to be pulling off of, that won’t be affected by this at all,” Porterfield said.

He said a list of values is certified by the county Board of Assessment each year and subsequently sent out to all taxing districts.

But Minnich worries the solution might end up reflecting badly on the district.

“My main concern with this solution is that our millage rates are going to appear high,” Minnich said. “I can only live in one house. I’m going to want to sell some of my houses someday. When people are looking for homes, they look at taxes, and they’re going to see that high millage rate.”

He’s hoping other options would be able to keep the district’s millage rates lower for potential buyers to see.

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