Lock Haven Council Okays Payment in Lieu of Taxes with UPMC Lock Haven
LOCK HAVEN— Lock Haven City Council Monday night joined Clinton County in accepting a payment in lieu of taxes with UPMC Lock Haven.
Council voted 6-0 to approve an agreement with the hospital. It will run through the end of 2024 and calls for $40,000 to be paid to the city annually in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. UPMC has already paid its 2020 tax responsibilities in the amount of $71,073. Council vice-president Steve Stevenson called the accord, “the best deal we’re going to get.”
The accord means the city, beginning in 2021, will be getting about $31,000 a year less than it had received in recent years. The council resolution says the agreement reflects the city’s “desire to avoid expensive and protracted litigation over the hospital’s qualification for a real estate tax exemption.”
The accord is similar to a settlement approved by the Clinton County Commissioners at their meeting last week.
Terms of that county agreement mean that Clinton County will be getting roughly 52 percent of what the county has been receiving in real estate taxes in recent years. The county will be receiving just over $193,000 total for a 5-year agreement. The county has been the recipient of $72,421 annually in real estate taxes. That amount will drop to just over $38,000 a year.
The Keystone Central School District board has yet to act on a tax exemption agreement. The board’s next voting session will be Nov. 12. The school district has been collecting $161,190 annually.
