"...we nearly have a tax revolt going here."

Most board members hope to target somewhere between a 0.5 and 0.55 mill tax increase, and to use between $750,000 and $1 million of the fund balance. 

Dan Remely was alone in preferring a significantly smaller tax increase of .25 mills. He favors using $1.5 million of fund balance. 

“There comes a point where we have to figure out some way to protect taxpayers as well as our other stakeholders,” he said. “I am concerned we nearly have a tax revolt going here. Our schools draw people into Mt. Lebanon. These families are then being taxed even further, as we’re seeing in the papers.” 

Remely’s comment references a controversial practice whereby the municipality of Mt. Lebanon targeted recent home buyers for property reassessments at or very near their homes’ sale prices – a practice the affected families have dubbed the “Mt. Lebanon Newcomer’s Tax.” Some of these residents’ tax bills increased by thousands of dollars following their reassessments.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am getting pretty tired of this well-worn script. To use a Jan Kleinism, it is "typical for this time of year." We can speak of bonuses, trophy cases, and lucrative raises any other time of the year, but come February and March, they all start crying the blues. They even put out fake budgets. Searching for the words "fake budget" on Lebo Citizens, I found Fake budget will be posted soon. We get the same lists of unknowns. We know, that darn governor... But how do you do it? You want to make cuts far away from the student, yet manage to give Timmy his raise every year.  What are you cutting this year? FLES?

Word is that "The Grievance" doesn't look good for the school district. Still hoping to hear any time now, right? Of course, "typical for this time of year."

For more on what Dan Remely refers to as a tax revolt, read Valuation changes, fairness pledged in Mt. Lebanon.