No property tax hike for Richland residents in proposed 2023 budget

Richland Township residents won’t see their property taxes increase if the township’s preliminary 2023 budget comes to fruition.

“Richland’s Township’s preliminary budget holds the line on the same tax millage as last year,” township Manager Dean Bastianini said.

Right now, the proposed budget calls for a millage rate of 2.696 mills – consistent with the millage rate in 2022. The rate applies to the assessed value of all residential, commercial and non-exempt properties.

The unchanging rate comes after the township raised the millage rate by 0.496 in 2022. Prior to that increase, the township had only seen one increase in more than 35 years.

Richland’s neighbors in Pine Township currently enjoy the lowest property tax rate in Allegheny County at 0.998 mills. Other areas with the lowest millage rates in the county are McCandless and Franklin Park.

Richland’s 2023 budget proposal also includes an increase in the general budget by 6.9%. The township has proposed a $9.3 million budget in 2023 compared to a roughly $8.7 million budget in 2022.

Increases in earned income taxes allow the township to increase the budget without raising property taxes, Bastianini said. The state determines income tax levels.

The bulk of the township’s 2023 budget is intended to go toward public safety and highways, which make up 39% and 35% of costs, respectively. The majority of public safety funding goes toward policing.

Township officials will vote on the budget on Dec. 21.