Shaler | Winter 2016 | icmags.com 35
TOW N SHI P OF SHAL E R N E WS
It’s that time of year when many residents visit the Township
building to pay their combined Shaler Township and Shaler Area
School District property taxes. The Tax Collector, Erin Bartkins,
who is elected in a general election by the registered voters of
Shaler Township is provided an office at the Township building at
no charge as a convenience for residents to pay their taxes. As
this office is located in the Township building, there is sometimes
a misperception that the taxes that are paid at the Township
offices are for Township operations and that the Township has
control over the Shaler Area School District budget and millage
rate.
Joint Bill Includes: In an effort to reduce mailing and
processing costs, the Township and the Shaler Area School District
render a joint bill. This bill includes property taxes, based on
your homes assessed valuation for both taxing bodies. The 2016
township tax millage is 2.49 and the Shaler Area School District
millage is 22.56. For a home assessed at $125,000, a property
owner will pay $311.25 to the Shaler Township and $2,820.00 to
the Shaler Area School District. The total tax bill is $3,131.25.
The Pennsylvania 2006 Taxpayer Relief Act was created to
use legalized gambling proceeds to help offset school district
property tax. The amount of the offset changes annually as
the proceeds from the gaming revenues fluctuates annually.
The Shaler Area School District calculates the total amount of
revenue and “offsets” your property tax bill by an equal amount
for all property owners. In order to qualify for this, you must file
with Allegheny County for a Homestead/Farmstead exclusion.
If you have filed for this exclusion, there will be a reduction of a
maximum $7,409 in your homes assessed value for 2016. If you
have this exclusion, your tax bill in the above example would
be as follows: Township $311.25 and Shaler Area School District
$2,652.85 for a total of $2,964.10
In 2015 the Township received a total of $4,143,850 in property
tax revenue. With these revenues, the Township provides
a full‑time, professional 24 hour/365 days per year police
department, a 24-member public works department that provides
snow/ice removal in the winter and roadway, storm sewer and
sanitary sewer maintenance in the construction seaso