Today, the Commonwealth Court (the “Court”) granted an application for an expedited briefing and hearing schedule in the appellate case of Gioffre M. et al. v. School District of Pittsburgh that is on appeal from an Order issued by Judge Hertzberg setting the Allegheny County common level ratio at 63.53 for 2022. In November 2022, we reported that the School District of Pittsburgh appealed Judge Hertzberg’s Order, leaving Allegheny County taxpayers in legal limbo over the correct common level ratio to apply in pending tax appeals.
In the Court’s order today, it noted that there are nearly 10,000 property tax appeals pending before Allegheny County’s Board of Property Assessment, Appeals and Review, and that a substantial majority of these appeals cannot be resolved until the common level ratio issue is resolved.
The Court ordered the School District of Pittsburgh to file its brief on or before February 7, 2023, and directed Gioffre and the other taxpayers who are parties in this case to file their response briefs within twenty (20) days of the School District’s filing. The Court also directed oral argument for the appeal to be scheduled for the Court’s April 2023 argument session in Harrisburg.