Greater Latrobe School Board will lose $48K in annual tax revenue to settle assessment appeal with Latrobe Specialty Metals
Greater Latrobe School District will lose more than $48,000 in tax revenue each year because it agreed to reduce Latrobe Specialty Metals assessed property value.
The school board this week approved the settlement of a 2021 assessment appeal filed by the company that makes specialty metals and alloys and is part of Carpenter Technology Corp. The company’s expansive plant complex is bordered by Ligonier Street and Hillview and Lincoln avenues.
The settlement assigns a fair market value of $13.5 million for the property, according to district solicitor Ryan Cribbs. He said that figure falls between a previous value of $15.4 million and a reduction to $6.9 million the company sought in a series of two appeals, beginning in 2019.
Other involved taxing bodies — the Westmoreland County Commissioners and Latrobe’s city council — have yet to vote on the settlement.
The company argued that the property’s original assessed value was “substantially higher than assessments of comparable properties in the same neighborhood and the taxing district,” according to court documents.
Founded in 1913, the Latrobe steel plant previously was known as the Latrobe Electric Steel Co. Carpenter Technology completed a $558 million acquisition of Latrobe Specialty Metals in 2012.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.