Tax Refund or Credit Options on Heritage Village Parcels

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove may be required to refund property tax money collected during 2019 and 2020 from Heritage Sunnybrook Village LP, the corporate owner of office parcels on Creekside and Heritage Drives in the Sunnybrook Village complex, under a stipulation-to-settle agreement approved Monday (Jan. 4, 2021) by the township Board of Commissioners, Solicitor Charles Garner Jr. said.

Garner acknowledged – in response to a question posed by Commissioner Michael McGroarty – that it was possible the township may be asked to refund money, rather than apply it to future tax bills, which must be returned to the company as a result of real estate assessment appeal settlements at 440 Creekside Dr., 600 Heritage Dr., and 800-1000 Heritage Dr. The choice apparently is the owners’ to make.

Two other taxing entities, the Pottsgrove School District and Montgomery County, also have approved the agreements. Because it collects a comparably low amount of taxes, the township has far less to lose than the district. Pottsgrove’s Board of School Directors approved the same agreements during December.

In the 2019-2020 school tax year, the three parcels had a collective value of $4.84 million. By the 2021-2022 tax year, their collective value will drop to $4.46 million. Although the settlements potentially cost the district hundreds of thousands of tax dollars over time, its solicitor Marc Davis characterized the agreements as “pretty favorable for the district.”

“The district seemed satisfied with the results,” Garner confirmed to commissioners. McGroarty asked township Manager Ed Wagner to provide a review of how the agreements impact township tax revenues over the three-year period.

Photo from Quote Inspector, used under a Creative Commons license