Residents, business leaders say Westmoreland tax hike could stunt growth, hurt pocketbooks

“Why was the tax hike so big?”

That was the question asked by Westmoreland County residents and business owners who reacted to the commissioners’ decision to raise real estate taxes by 32.5% next year.

It could have been done in smaller increments over the past few years, some people said.

“I can’t believe it. There are people who have retired and can’t afford to stay in their homes as it is” with rising consumer prices, said Janice Smarto, a real estate agent for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Unity.

The tax will have an impact on the real estate market, making it difficult for some prospective homebuyers to qualify for loans, said Smarto, who has been selling homes for 46 years.

But Ralph Scalise, a real estate agent and broker in Latrobe, said the tax hike “is not big enough” to impact the housing market negatively.

North Huntingdon developer Bob Shuster, who operates RWS Homes, said his housing plans — including a development adjacent to Cedar Creek Park in Rostraver — are ideal for Allegheny County residents seeking lower property taxes when purchasing houses ranging in price from $400,000 to $500,000.

“I get a lot of people moving in from Allegheny County. Half the people are basically coming because of the property taxes. I don’t think it will help sell some houses in Westmoreland County,” Shuster said.

For the small-business community, any increase in taxes, including property taxes, can pose challenges, said Dan DeBone, president of the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s going to hurt small business,” said Rosanne Novotnak, president of the Norwin Chamber of Commerce. Other costs, such as wages, are rising too, she noted.

Some people questioned the timing of the tax hike, coming a little over a month after the county commissioners were elected to new four-year terms.

If county officials knew about the need to raise taxes for years, “and did not do it because of political ramifications, maybe they should have taken a smaller bite of the apple” by implementing small tax hikes years ago, said Frank Gamrat, executive director of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, a Castle Shannon think tank.

The county has one of the oldest assessment systems in Pennsylvania, basing property values on 1972 construction costs.

Commissioners said this week a countywide reassessment is off the table. Only a court order that requires it to do so would trigger a reassessment, Commissioner Sean Kertes said.

Gamrat questioned whether county officials exhausted all avenues for cost savings before resorting to raising taxes.

“A tax hike is usually the last resort (for local governments) — especially that kind of number,” Gamrat noted.

Westmoreland, like other government entities, benefited from covid-relief funds that the federal government distributed in 2020 and 2021. The county received $105 million.

“That papered over some (financial) problems until later, and later is now here,” Gamrat said.

The county could fairly distribute the tax burden by reassessing real estate for tax purposes for the first time since 1973.

“It makes sure everyone is paying their fair share,” Gamrat said.

But politicians are loathe to undertake a countywide property reassessment, Gamrat said.

“Nobody wants to take it on,” he said.

Locals, business owners react

Amber Nelson, a stylist at Avalon Organic Salon in downtown Greensburg, said she and other people were surprised at how much county property taxes are increasing.

“They knew it was coming but didn’t expect how much,” she said. “I didn’t expect it to be that much.”

She wishes the reasons for the tax increase were clearer.

“They didn’t explain it very well, to (help people) understand why they came up so high,” Nelson noted.

Barry Smith, a South Greensburg resident, also was concerned.

“I’m on a fixed income, so it definitely affects me,” he said.

Mary Wilmes, owner of Penelope’s in downtown Greensburg, doesn’t expect an immediate impact on her business because she rents her storefront on South Pennsylvania Avenue.

Future impacts are still possible, she said.

“Any time you have a tax increase, it makes people wary and puts them on edge,” she said.

The tax hike will hit her personally because she also lives in Greensburg, she said.

“That’s going to sting a little bit,” Wilmes said.

Joe Napsha and Julia Maruca are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Joe at jnapsha@triblive.com or via Twitter @jnapsha and Julia at jmaruca@triblive.com or via Twitter @marucajulia.