Tax settlements for 2 apartment complexes cuts $77,000 from Greater Latrobe revenue

Greater Latrobe School District will lose more than $77,000 in property tax revenue in an assessment appeal settlement for two residential complexes in Unity.

The school board on Tuesday approved the settlements for the Whitney South Townhomes, owned by Ronald and Lauren Raimondo, and the Briarwood Townhouses Apartments, owned by Briarwood Associates.

“That will eat into our local real estate revenue,” said Greater Latrobe business administrator Dan Watson. He said the district will dip into its fund balance to cover the revenue losses.

Settlement of an appeal filed in Westmoreland County Court set a new fair market value of $6.4 million for the Whitney South complex, down from previous values of about $8.1 million in 2019 and $8.9 million in 2020, according to Watson. That equates to a retroactive loss of $48,650 for both years, he said.

The previous fair market value of the Briarwood apartments had been set at more than $2.6 million in 2018, $2.9 million in 2019 and $3.2 million in 2020.

Watson said the parties settled on a new value of $2.15 million, after the property owner argued for a value of $2 million and the district favored a value of $2.75 million.

The reduction in value translates into a revenue loss of $28,779 over the three years, he said.

Early intervention offered

Greater Latrobe also agreed to lease a classroom in Latrobe Elementary School to the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit for use in an early intervention program. It is designed to help children who have developmental delays or disabilities.

The intermediate unit will pay the district $750 per month during the one-year agreement ending on June 30, 2022.