Pitt Study: County Revenue Sharing Not Working

New research findings at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) show that Allegheny County's tax revenue sharing program, implemented by Act 77 in 1993, is not working properly. On average, Act 77 provides $34 million dollars to the county's 128 municipalities each year. The original intent of the policy was to distribute more funds to the poorer communities. David Miller associate professor at GSPIA says instead the program is rewarding more to affluent communities because of their growing tax base, than to poorer communities. He suggests that the county re-think the formula used to determine how much money a municipality receives. Revenue sharing dollars play a major role in financially troubled communities, making up about 11 percent of their budgets.