Plum’s largest taxpayer has reached a tentative deal that would end assessment appeals and an application by the nonprofit retirement community to be declared tax exempt on 60 acres it owns in the borough, officials said.
In the first year of the eight-year deal, Plum’s Longwood at Oakmont would pay Plum School District, the borough and Allegheny County just more than $900,000 in property taxes.
Plum’s school board has voted to accept the deal, which runs through 2031. Borough council also must vote to approve it. The county will review the proposal and, if it’s satisfactory, accept the deal administratively without a council vote, according to county spokeswoman Abigail Gardner said.
“Longwood is our single largest taxpayer in the borough,” said Plum School Board member Mark Stropkaj. “We appreciate Longwood’s commitment to partner with the school district for many years to come.”
The school district receives the largest share of the tax payments on two Longwood parcels along Route 909 that are assessed at a combined $61.2 million.
This year, Longwood’s combined tax bill for the parcels would total about $902,980, up 3% from 2018 when the previous deal took effect. Nearly three-quarters of the money ($668,300) would go to the school district, while the county would receive $129,300, and the borough would get $105,380.
Payments to the county would be due by April 30 of each year, while payments to the school district and borough would be due by Oct. 31.
An affiliate of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, Longwood at Oakmont opened in 1992 and has independent living, personal care and skilled nursing facilities. About 500 people live there.
“Longwood at Oakmont is grateful to its counterparts at the school district, borough and county for their efforts toward reaching a fair resolution that provides substantial revenue to the taxing authorities while also providing (the nonprofit retirement community) with budgeting stability and predictability,” Kevin Henderson, senior director of Longwood at Oakmont, said in a statement.
Under the previous deal, payments could go up if the school district, borough or county increased its property tax rate, but increases were capped at 3%. The new agreement doesn’t have a cap on how much payments can go up, officials said.
Since 2018, only the school district’s payment has increased.
