West Leechburg officials have decided not to pursue a merger with Allegheny Township.

The decision comes after council reviewed the study conducted by the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The study looked at the impact of consolidation.

“It was very nonspecific, and it didn’t show it would be worth merging into Allegheny Township,” West Leechburg Councilman Matt Grantz said. He said council received and reviewed it last Wedneday and decided to drop the merger that day.

Borough Secretary Kayla Visnovsky said the study looked at various demographics including population, revenue, expenses and the average income of each municipality. She said the study took a year and a half to complete.

The study stemmed from residents’ frustration with Leechburg Area School District raising taxes for borough property owners but not in other district municipalities in 2020.

The school district passed a preliminary budget that would increase taxes for people who owned property in West Leechburg, which is in Westmoreland County.

Property owners in the school district’s Armstrong County municipalities, Leechburg and Gilpin, were not projected to see an increase. That’s because the property tax millage is different in every county, based on a formula derived from when the last countywide property reassessment. (The assessments in each county were last completed decades apart.)

A West Leechburg residents-only meeting was held June 2020. Residents expressed interest in a formal analysis and evaluation being done to show the outcome of a merger with Allegheny Township.

Afterward, West Leechburg officials met with residents to discuss options for leaving the school district. The first option proposed that West Leechburg merge with Allegheny Township. Another option was for West Leechburg to secede from the Leechburg Area School District and join a different one, such as the Kiski Area School District.

Borough officials determined both options proved not to be feasible.

Grantz said if West Leechburg merged with Allegheny Township, the school district would not be affected. Students living in West Leechburg would still attend Leechburg Area School District.

If West Leechburg chose to secede from the school district, it would be a longer, complex and expensive process, he said.

“Nothing in the report showed it would benefit taxpayers of West Leechburg,” he said.

Allegheny Township is home to about 8,000 people, while West Leechburg has a population of about 1,400, according to census estimates.

Allegheny Township Manager Greg Primm said Tuesday he and supervisors were reviewing the results of the study.

Primm said he respected the position taken by West Leechburg officials.

“If they’ve made that decision as a final decision, it’s really inconsequential what Allegheny Township believes. It cannot happen unless both communities agree on the cost-benefit analysis presented to us as being advantageous to both communities,” Primm said, adding the study was initiated by citizens of West Leechburg. “They need to make decisions that are in the best interest of their community.”

The study will be made available to the public within a week or two.

Staff writer Joyce Hanz contributed.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)