Allegheny Institute for Public Policy Brief

The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy has released its latest policy brief. The brief, "Mt Lebanon Schools Becoming a Taxpayer Nightmare", takes a critical look at Mt Lebanon taxes and calls the coming tax increases a perfect storm. From the brief:

The projected budget scenario is not a sustainable situation. Note that over the period 2000 to 2015, the total level of real estate taxes collected based on budget forecast figures will rise over 100 percent. However, the earned income tax collections-a fairly good indicator of income growth-over the same period will have risen only 45 percent, assuming the budget forecast is anywhere close to accurate. In short, the expanding burden on property taxpayers is far outstripping the ability of taxpayers to pay.* As a result, the impact of the tax hikes will begin to have detrimental consequences for the housing market in Mt. Lebanon.

It's a point that I have made many times. It's a point that is shared by many residents in Mt Lebanon.

The brief concludes with this salient point:

In a word, a perfect storm is developing for some Mt. Lebanon property owners. And it is too late to do anything about it, unless the school board starts to make significant spending cuts, and soon.

The brief is right on target. It is the perfect storm and this Board needs to do what it can to get ahead of it.

When you layer the national tax issues on top of what is happening at the local level, things start to look even more troublesome. From the ABC News article, National Debt, Budget Deficit: A Scary Forecast for Taxpayers:

...now the problem of mounting national debt is worse than it ever has been before with potentially dire consequences for taxpayers, according to a report by the nonpartisan Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform.

Two comments on this. First, looking at future obligations is the reason we do out-year budget forecasts. Anyone who says a five-year forecast (or longer) is worth less than the paper it is printed on clearly will have no success in running a business or government entity. You cannot make decisions today without thinking hard about what their impact will be years from now. Second, the alarm has been sounded at both the local and national level. Tax hikes and budget cuts will be coming from all sides. You could use quotes from the Allegheny Institute brief and they would aptly describe the national situation as well as they do the Mt Lebanon one.

Thanks for reading.

James