Council to consider ordinance forgiving 2024 property taxes for historically tax-exempt churches after county reregistration

Bill 2 of 2025, introduced at the administration committee work session, would authorize the city to give and discharge 2024 real estate taxes, interest, penalties and costs and to strike off tax liens for certain properties that should have been tax-exempt as historically used houses of worship.

Solicitor Grover told the committee the request came from the Law Bureau after Dauphin County completed a reregistration of exempt properties. He said several churches did not refile exemption paperwork with the county and received tax bills for 2024 despite historically being exempt under the Pennsylvania Constitution and city code. "They were traditionally exempt under Pennsylvania constitution and under city code," Grover said. The county and school board had, he said, taken steps to grant exemptions going forward but lacked authority to forgive prior-year taxes without council action.

Grover said the three properties in the city identified to date are separate congregations, and that the school board and county commissioners have voted on at least some of them and are agreeable to the exonerations. He acknowledged he did not have exact dollar figures in the work session but said the Law Bureau could provide assessed values, tax bills and whether taxes had been paid for each property upon request.

Council members asked several clarifying questions. Councilwoman Daniels asked for the dollar value being forgiven; Grover said he had not looked up the amounts but would provide the details. Daniels also asked whether any refunds would be required for properties that had already paid 2024 taxes; Grover said he had not yet verified payment status for each parcel but would get that information. He also noted the county identified additional potentially affected exempt properties across the county and that some properties remained unresolved.

Council moved to add Bill 2 of 2025 to the next legislative session agenda for a vote; the transcript does not record a roll-call vote on that motion.

Why it matters: The action would forgive past due taxes that the Law Bureau described as arising from administrative reregistration at the county level, not from any change in the properties’ historic exempt status. If adopted, the ordinance would relieve the specific congregations of owed 2024 real-estate taxes and resolve tax-lien status resulting from the registration error.

What’s next: The Law Bureau will provide parcel-specific details and dollar amounts to council before the legislative vote, and the ordinance will proceed to the legislative session for a recorded vote.