Cambria County set to return more than $2M to CPV Fairview after tax appeal
Nov. 17—EBENSBURG, Pa. — With past Pennsylvania court rulings supporting the exclusion of technology and machinery from tax assessments of companies, the Cambria County commissioners have agreed to settle a tax appeal by CPV Fairview Energy Center by refunding the company's taxes in an amount of more than $2 million, $946,538 of which will be paid immediately.
The settlement of the company's tax appeal affects the county as well as another taxing jurisdiction, Central Cambria School District, which has used the county's tax assessment of the company to levy taxes. The school district's refund to the company that runs the Jackson Township power plant is more than $3 million.
The county commissioners on Thursday approved a settlement and refund payment agreement with CPV Fairview, referring in a statement to case law that has given companies the high ground.
"When you make improvements to your home, it adds to the value of the property, but the courts have ruled in favor with corporate attorneys that advanced technology and machinery could not be used to assess the value of the power plant," the commissioners' statement said.
The equipment specific to CPV Fairview that was at the center of the exemption from tax assessment was a generator.
CPV Fairview Energy Center will receive $946,538 immediately from the county, the settlement document reads.
The county will address the balance of the refunds due through a combination of credits and additional refunds in fiscal tax years 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The total return by 2026 will be more than $2 million.
CPV Fairview Energy Center was a $900 million investment in Cambria County, taking 30 months of construction to complete the natural gas-fueled combined-cycle electric generation facility at 2862 William Penn Ave., according to the commissioners. It has been in operation since 2019.
Due to the complexity of the project, the commissioners said in their statement, the county put out a request for proposal for an appraisal company to assess the property for taxation.
"Cambria County was working to make sure that a multinational corporation would be responsible to pay its fair share of taxes," the commissioners' statement said.
The property was originally assessed at $474,500 for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 tax years. However, in 2021, the county assessment office issued a change of assessment notice, increasing the assessment to $19.4 million, which was applied starting with the 2020 year. That change triggered CPV to file an appeal in the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas.
Despite the refund, the county's preliminary 2024 budget, which will be discussed next month, does not include a tax increase to make up for the loss, Cambria County Controller Ed Cernic Jr. said. He said the immediate payment will be made from the county's fund reserves.
Although the taxing jurisdictions are set to refund millions of dollars by 2026, negotiations have led to an assessment of CPV Fairview that is higher than the original assessment after the facility's completion in 2019.
The assessed value in the settlement agreement is $3.4 million. That is higher than the original assessed value and will generate about $102,000 annually in taxes for the county, but it's far less than what was hoped for by the county.
"It is a bitter pill to swallow, but in the long run Cambria County will receive increased tax revenues from this property," the commissioners' statement said. "This project employs more than 20 people with good-paying jobs. We have to remain encouraged that Cambria County was selected as a place for this investment, and we will need to continue to the work to attract new businesses and development in Cambria County."
The settlement agreement will be submitted to the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas for finalization. The county is to pay CPV Fairview Energy Center $946,538 within 30 days of court approval, the settlement reads.
