HARRISBURG Property-tax relief plan will take a year for results, officials agree

Waiting avoids an expensive rebate, said an aide to the Senate majority leader.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- As negotiations continued Tuesday on a $1 billion-plus property-tax relief plan that hinges on the legalization of slot-machine gambling, top legislators and Gov. Ed Rendell agreed that school districts would likely have to wait a year before seeing any relief.
Negotiators are trying to work out a plan for the state House of Representatives to vote on by the end of the week, and Republican and Democratic caucuses on gambling proposals were scheduled for Wednesday. Beth Williams, a spokeswoman for House Republicans, said GOP leaders hoped to consider a bill as early as Wednesday afternoon, but Barbara Grill, spokeswoman for House Minority Leader H. William DeWeese, said the prospects of a vote were less certain.
Time needed
But even if lawmakers in both houses sign off on any legislation, all sides agree that taxpayers may not get relief until the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2004, because of the time needed to open any slot-machine parlors to generate the needed state revenue.
"Real property-tax reform has been a challenge for three decades, and a solution that not only is achievable on both sides of the aisle, but also realistic ... takes some time. It may be another year before people see checks in the mail," said Rendell spokeswoman Kate Philips.
Erik Arneson, an aide to Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill, R-Lebanon, said that, since property-tax bills for the current fiscal year have been mailed out, any offsetting of those bills by the state would have to be in the form of a rebate.
"A rebate is expensive to administer, so waiting ... actually maximizes the relief to homeowners," he said.
The 50-member Senate has passed a measure that would allow slot machines at as many as eight racetracks, with all 21 Democrats and six Republicans in favor. House lawmakers are trying to draft an expanded gambling bill to avoid the 34 percent income tax hike that Rendell proposed to fund property-tax relief and other initiatives.
But the number of other gambling venues that would be added remains uncertain. House Speaker John Perzel plans to introduce an amendment Wednesday calling for nine racetrack licenses and non-track licenses for venues in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Williams said.
Money generated from the Philadelphia facility would go toward an expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The Pittsburgh facility's revenue would provide short-term financial relief for the city and help pay for a new hockey arena and continuing expenses for Pittsburgh's new convention center.
Democrats, however, are continuing to push for as many as 15 slots parlors, including 11 racetracks and four other locations, Grill said.
"We'd like to have some kind of cushion," she said.
Four racetracks
Pennsylvania currently has four racetracks: Philadelphia Park in Bensalem; Penn National Race Course near Harrisburg; Pocono Downs near Wilkes-Barre; and The Meadows in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The proposed property-tax compromise would require school districts to hold November referendums asking voters to approve a moderate increase in local income taxes.