Local elected officials gathered at the Allegheny County Fire Academy training grounds on Tuesday to announce funding for the creation of a Western Pennsylvania Type 1 urban search and rescue team and to request further support from their colleagues.
Currently, the state’s only Type 1 urban search and rescue team — which respond to large-scale disasters — is based in Philadelphia, so when the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in January, it took rescue teams about six hours to get to the scene.
There were no deaths and only a few injuries from the collapse; however, many were concerned about the team’s response time if someone had been seriously hurt or trapped beneath the rubble.
State Sen. Jay Costa reintroduced legislation that he said could help to provide relief for certain homeowners paying property tax in the city of Pittsburgh.
Democratic lawmakers are promoting a new state bill that could enable longtime homeowners in certain Pittsburgh neighborhoods to claim property tax freezes.
During a press conference this morning to promote the initiative, State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Forest Hills) along with State Rep. Sara Innamorato (D-Lawrenceville) and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, spoke of soaring property values that have spiked property taxes in recent years and driven many longtime homeowners out of East End neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and East Liberty.
State lawmakers representing Pittsburgh unveiled new legislation Thursday that would let the city offer tax relief to longtime homeowners in neighborhoods where property values have skyrocketed.
If the legislation were enacted in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh would be allowed to create its own version of what’s known as a Longtime Owner Occupant Program, or LOOP — a tax relief system for homeowners in developing areas who get squeezed by big tax bills on increasing property values.
A group of local lawmakers are proposing state legislation meant to give the City of Pittsburgh the power to better manage property taxes in neighborhoods where longtime residents are at risk of being priced out.
The region has experienced rapid economic growth and increased development in recent years, much of it concentrated in neighborhoods including Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Garfield. For some who have owned homes in those areas for years, the rising property values have come with higher property taxes they can’t always afford.
