City officials approve tax settlement with Quaker Meadows housing development

David L. Dye, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·2 min read

Feb. 1—HERMITAGE — A property tax assessment settlement with a Hermitage housing development is going to cost the city and school district half the tax revenue the property had been paying.

At their latest meeting, the Hermitage board of commissioners accepted a settlement with Quaker Meadow LLC regarding a real estate tax appeal for the housing development at 3878 Quaker Circle, Hermitage.

According to city documents, the current assessment of the property is $337,200 for both the years 2022 and 2023. The proposed settlement would put the assessment for 2022 at $154,000 and for 2023 at $143,000.

The reduced taxes to the city for 2022 would be $916 and for 2023 taxes would be reduced to $971, the documents state.

The Hermitage school board likewise approved the settlement at their January meeting. The Hermitage city and school district were jointly represented by attorney Anthony Giglio, who recommended accepting the negotiated settlement, the documents state.

According to school documents, the district would receive $22,494 in tax revenue in 2022 and 2023 based on the current assessment. Under the proposed assessment, the district would receive $10,273 in 2022, a decrease of $12,221, and $9,539 in 2023, a decrease in $12,955.

Hermitage City Manager Gary Hinkson said the real estate tax reassessment originally sought by Quaker Meadow LLC was "significantly lower" than the settlement that was eventually approved by the commissioners and school board.

Commissioners President Duane Piccirilli said city officials were "never happy" with tax assessment requests, but that any further litigation would have been a large burden on the city's taxpayers.

"I think at the end of the day we were able to come to a more appropriate number than what was requested," Piccirilli said.

The Quaker Meadows development, which is off Route 18 in the northern end of the city, was first proposed in 2008. Commissioners at the time voted against the development, due to concerns by nearby residents.

The commissioners were then overturned by Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson, and the commissioners approved the project afterward.

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