After a year of school district tax hikes, Alle-Kiski Valley residents largely got a break from their municipalities, most of which avoided tax increases for 2026.
That doesn’t mean they’re paying less to live in the Valley, though.
While only four of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s municipalities raised taxes for this year, all but two of the region’s dozen school districts raised taxes for the current school year.
At the county level, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Butler and Armstrong counties opted not to raise property taxes this year.
Here’s a look at some communities where property owners took a double hit:
Arnold
For the first time in 13 years, Arnold Council voted to raise its real estate tax.
The borough’s 2026 budget increases taxes 2 mills, or 4.6%. A homeowner with a median assessed property value of $14,600 will pay about $664 annually in city taxes under the budget, a $29 increase.
Mayor Shannon Santucci attributed utilities, health insurance and wages to the increase.
New Kensington-Arnold School District also approved a 3% increase in its property taxes. The 3-mill increase left taxpayers at the median assessed property value paying $44 more on their tax bills — $1,491 in school taxes.
The same property pays about $416 in Westmoreland County property taxes under the county’s 28.48-mill tax rate.
Bottom line: City homeowners with a median home value will pay a total of about $2,499, an increase of about $73 from 2025.
Buffalo Township
Township residents were among those hit twice by tax hikes. The township raised taxes for 2026 by 22%, or 3 mills, bringing the municipal tax rate to 16.5 mills. The increase amounts to a $67 increase for a homeowner with a median assessed property value of $22,290.
According to a TribLive report, the hike comes as the township tries to rebuild its reserve funds and purchase items such as police cruisers and a public works vehicle, according to township Manager Rich Hill.
Last year, Freeport Area School District increased its tax rate for Buffalo Township homeowners to 185.91 mills, a 5% increase. That meant a $194 school tax increase for a home of median value, bringing the school tax bill for such a home to $4,143.
Butler County taxes remain at 27.626 mills, or about $616 for a median value home.
Bottom line: Township homeowners with a median home value will pay a total of about $5,127 in taxes, an increase of $261 from 2025.
Harmar
Harmar supervisors approved a 0.25 mill — or 8% — tax increase, bringing the township’s millage rate to 3.4 mills.
Property owners with a home at Harmar’s median assessed value of $91,400 would see their township taxes increase to about $311, or $23 more than the 2025 bill of $288.
In addition to the township, Allegheny Valley School District increased the district’s property taxes by 0.315 mill, or 1.48%. The new budget raises the millage rate to 21.7049 mills. Harmar taxpayers at the township’s median assessed value will pay $1,984 in school taxes — an increase of $29.
The Allegheny County property tax rate of 6.43 mills means a median home in the township pays about $588 in county taxes.
Bottom line: Township homeowners with a median assessment will pay about $2,883 this year, an increase of about $52 compared to 2025.
Verona
By a slim majority, Verona Council approved a 9%, or 1-mill, tax increase, bringing its rate to 11.7 mills. People with a median assessed property value of $51,700 will pay nearly $605 on their tax bill, a $52 increase.
A December report from TribLive said the increase was attributed to the borough increasing the police pay rate from $28.35 to $31 per hour and plans to hire a fifth full-time officer. Public safety equipment and vehicle purchases, and the hiring of a full-time borough manager also are budgeted for 2026.
The Riverview School Board approved a 2.23% tax increase for the 2025-26 school year. The 0.5591-mill real estate tax hike brought the school district’s rate to 25.5 mills. Homes with a median assessed property value pay about $1,318, an increase of about $29.
At Allegheny County’s millage rate of 6.43 mills, a median assessed property pays about $332 in county taxes.
Bottom line: Median assessed properties in the borough will pay a total of about $2,255 in taxes this year, compared to $2.174 last year, an increase of about $81.
Brackenridge
Brackenridge residents saw a 21%, or a 1.5 mill tax jump in their property taxes this year to 8.5 mills. The owner of a home assessed at the median value of $50,900 will pay $432, which is an increase of about $76.
Mayor Lindsay Fraser previously told TribLive a recent $1.2 million bond is largely responsible for the tax hike, with the borough’s bond payment in 2026 expected to be $96,000. Subsequent yearly payments are expected to be about $84,000, Fraser said.
Taxpayers escaped higher taxes because Highlands School District was one of just two districts in the Alle-Kiski Valley that did not raise taxes for the 2025-26 school year.
At an Allegheny County tax rate of 6.43 mills, the median assessed property pays about $327 in county taxes.
Bottom line: With the school district tax bill for a median assessed property remaining at $1,279, the total tax bill for a median assessed property this year is about $2,038 or $76 more than last year.
Lower Burrell
Lower Burrell taxpayers are in the opposite boat, with no city tax increase but a hike in Burrell School District taxes.
The school district raised taxes for the current school year by 4.5 mills, a 3.8% increase that brought the millage rate to 122 mills. That means a home with a median assessed value of $23,000 pays about $2,800 in taxes.
That’s in addition to taxes of about $570 paid to the city at its 24.75-mills tax rate. Add to that Westmoreland County’s 28.48 mills tax of $655.
Bottom line: A median assessed home pays a total of more than $4,000 in taxes, compared to $3,927 last year, an increase of about $73.
Fees increase
Separate from any tax hikes, scores of residents across the Alle-Kiski Valley also are paying more for services such as water, sewage and garbage collection.
Lower Burrell, for example, saw rates for sewage increase this year from $162 to $175 per quarter for the base charge of 10,000 gallons of water used. Over the course of the year, that would add up to about $156 more in sewage fees. The city also is raising the charge for recycling collection to about $72 per year, about an $8-per-year increase.
In Springdale, sewage rates also increased to $14.75 per 1,000 gallons of water used, a 7% increase from last year.
Several other towns are seeing similar increases in sewage and garbage collection fees across the Alle-Kiski Valley this year.
Rate increases for things such as sewer and water service originate from regional authorities in charge of those services, not necessarily from local governments.
A common cause for those rate increases, as cited by the authorities, are needed infrastructure repairs and state-mandated upgrades to treatment plants to address the quality of treatment or the need for greater capacity, both of which are aimed at protecting regional waterways from pollution.
