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First I got this email:
... and then:
NPSD Needs your help! Important Message from Dr. Dietrich
Friday, May 19, 2017 12:20 PM
From: "North Penn School District" <webadmin@npenn.org>
Dear North Penn Families,
The North Penn School District and all public schools in the state of Pennsylvania need your help NOW. In just a few days on Monday, May 22nd, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is poised to move a bill that could have a disastrous impact on the North Penn School District. If House Bill 1213<https://www.votervoice. net/BroadcastLinks/ QIXSpv5kj4fUSrWnQOeREA> is passed by the House, North Penn and the funding of public education, in general, is in jeopardy. And, North Penn, in particular, will be hit the third hardest in the state, only behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The House bill not only prohibits a school district from engaging in reverse assessment appeals but also redefines market value for the purpose of changing the valuation of property to the detriment of school districts and other local taxing authorities. This shift in property valuation is based on the "dark store theory," in which properties are valued based on sales of comparable vacant properties.
Now let me put some scary but true numbers to this. The impact of the “dark store theory” would be a conservative 25 percent decrease in commercial property valuation, or an $11 million hit to NPSD. Being unable to engage in reverse assessment appeals would be another immediate $3.4 million loss in revenues from properties previously appealed and another $2.3 million loss in projected revenues for appeals in process.
This is catastrophic news for North Penn, a tax burden shift from commercial properties (primarily big box stores and apartment complexes) to homeowners, and it further limits our ability to provide the quality education that our students and community deserve.
It is imperative that you reach out to your House member TODAY to make sure he or she understands the impact of House Bill 1213 on the future of education and our children. Below are some ways that you can get the conversation started.
Talk to your House member on the impact of the prohibition on reverse appeals:
· Take a look at the FAQs on the bill here<https://www.votervoice. net/BroadcastLinks/ wk38af3PQDpsVJgLxxN29g>.
· Make sure they know that under-assessed commercial property means higher property taxes for homeowners.
· Give them ACTUAL EXAMPLES (listed above) from the North Penn School District.
· Tell them to support an amendment that would prohibit reverse appeals ONLY against homestead/ farmstead properties--still allowing reverse appeals on commercial properties.
· Make sure they understand that property--especially thriving commercial property--should not be valued as though it is vacant property.
· Make sure they know that this will spell disaster for school districts (and other local governments) and increased property taxes for homeowners.
Please CALL or EMAIL your house members, talk to them about BOTH components of House Bill 1213 and ask them to OPPOSE the bill.
Below is a link you can use to determine your legislator in the PA House. You should enter your home address. Please note that in completing the search, your State Senator and United States Congressman may also be located (see below). In the case below, Rep. Boyle does not need to be contacted.
Here is the link: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ cfdocs/legis/home/ findyourlegislator/
Below is an example of a search for the ESC in Lansdale.
PA House
Rep. GODSHALL<http://www.legis. state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/ member_information/house_bio. cfm?id=111>
District 53
Show on map<http://www.legis.state.pa. us/cfdocs/legis/home/ findyourlegislator/?doSearch= yes&addr=401+East+Hancock+ Street&city=Lansdale&zipCode= 19446&fullAddr=401+East+ Hancock+Street%2C+Lansdale%2C+ PA%2C+19446&geoLat=40.2320945& geoLng=-75.28014869999998& geoResponse=OK#address>
PA Senate
Sen. MENSCH<http://www.legis.state. pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/ member_information/senate_bio. cfm?id=1121>
District 24
Show on map<http://www.legis.state.pa. us/cfdocs/legis/home/ findyourlegislator/?doSearch= yes&addr=401+East+Hancock+ Street&city=Lansdale&zipCode= 19446&fullAddr=401+East+ Hancock+Street%2C+Lansdale%2C+ PA%2C+19446&geoLat=40.2320945& geoLng=-75.28014869999998& geoResponse=OK#address>
US House
Rep. BOYLE
District 13
Show on map<http://www.legis.state.pa. us/cfdocs/legis/home/ findyourlegislator/?doSearch= yes&addr=401+East+Hancock+ Street&city=Lansdale&zipCode= 19446&fullAddr=401+East+ Hancock+Street%2C+Lansdale%2C+ PA%2C+19446&geoLat=40.2320945& geoLng=-75.28014869999998& geoResponse=OK#address>
Thank you for your attention to this extremely important matter.
Sincerely,
Curtis R. Dietrich
Superintendent
NPSD
... and then:
Important Message from NPSD Superintendent - Update on HB 1213
Wednesday, May 24, 2017 3:42 PM
From: "North Penn School District" <donotreply@npenn.org>
Dear Families,
I have some good news concerning an issue that I wrote to you about last week and for which I asked your help. For those of you who called your local legislator about Pennsylvania House Bill 1213, your efforts have made a difference. The “Dark Store” (valuing a property as if it is vacant) portion of the bill has been removed and I have been told that the House is now taking the next two weeks to further discuss the implications of the bill in its entirety, including the implications of its provision which would prohibit a school district from initiating assessment appeals.
The removal of the Dark Store portion is a huge win for school districts across the state. It would have drastically shifted how properties are assessed, and in the case of commercial properties it would have been a financial windfall for large-sized properties (e.g. “big box” stores/apartment complexes) and a huge loss for public education. This would have been especially the case for North Penn where we were poised to lose more than $11 million per year if this portion of HB 1213 remained.
I have spent a great deal of time over the last week talking with legislators on this important issue and I am not finished. We are still looking at more than a $5 million loss in revenue if the bill is passed in its revised form, given that it still contains the prohibition of school districts initiating assessment appeals and contains retroactivity language which impacts previously negotiated settlements of such appeals. I will continue to emphasize that the need for the ability of either side to initiate assessment appeals is critically necessary and fair.
I urge your continued support of this important matter and ask you to once again contact your legislator on this issue. Please CALL or EMAIL your house members, thank them for removing the Dark Store portion of the bill but tell them that you still OPPOSE House Bill 1213 and its prohibition of school district initiated appeals. Ask them to maintain the ability of both the property owner and the school district to initiate an assessment appeal.
As a reminder, below is a link you can use to determine your legislators. You should enter your home address. Please note that in completing the search, your United States Congressman may also be located (see below) however that individual would not be contacted on this particular issue as it not a federal-level issue.
Here is the link: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/
I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done to help us fight this bill. I now ask for your continued support so that the North Penn School District can always provide this community a premier education, excellent programs and an outstanding staff.
Sincerely,
Curtis R. Dietrich, Ed.D.
Superintendent
North Penn School District