Politics & Government
NIDs and their Assessed Costs
Part 2 of our overview of how Neighborhood Improvement Districts work in Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, June 8, Easton City Council will host its first hearing on setting up a (NID), that would assess a tax on downtown property owners to pay for things such as the Easton Ambassadors program and the Main Street Initiative.
Previously, what the state law governing NIDs says about them. Here, we look at how a NID could assess fees on property owners. Once again, we've included the full-text of the law as a PDF.
With details fairly sketchy on what the preliminary or final proposed plan for a NID might entail, it is extremely difficult to estimate what the cost to any individual property owner might be.
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However, the law does give guidelines of what is allowed.
The NID management association (NIDMA) is given the power to assess property owners in the NID a special fee.
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The funds raised from this assessment must be accounted for and used specifically for improvements, programs and services provided for in the NID plan.
The following methods may be used for assessing NID property fees:
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An assessment determined by multiplying the total service and improvement costs by the ratio of the assessed value of the benefited property to the total assessed valuation of all designated benefited properties in the NID.
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An assessment upon the several properties in the NID in proportion to benefits as ascertained by viewers appointed in accordance with law.
Any method that equitably apportions costs among benefiting properties.
In the case of improvements benefiting properties abutting the NID by the front-foot method, with equitable adjustments for corner properties and other cases provided for in the municipal ordinance. Any property which cannot be equitably assessed by the front-foot method may be assessed by any of the above methods.
The fiscal year for assessment of NID property fees begins on Jan. 1, and the revenue is billed and collected with regular property taxes by the municipality.
The special assessments for NIDs are to be filed by the municipality with the county at the same time and collected with the same form and in the same manner as municipal property taxes, the law states.
All information regarding the “Neighborhood Improvement District Act, Act of Dec. 20, 2000, P.L. 949, No. 130” was taken directly from the text of the law, a full copy of which is included in pdf format.
For more information about NID law in Pennsylvania, be sure to also read “”
