Millvale property owners who just absorbed a 58% property tax increase in the 2026 budget could be facing another hike in 2027. Borough Manager Seth Abrams has proposed a 5-mill property tax increase that would push Millvale's overall millage rate to 20 mills, adding roughly $190 to the bill for a home with the median assessed value of $38,000.
The borough, according to CBS Pittsburgh, says the new revenue would help cover code enforcement, the police department, and other basic operating needs. For a home with the median assessed value of $38,000, the borough property tax bill would rise from $570 to $760 under the proposal. Millvale property owners are taxed based on assessed values, which in Allegheny County still reflect the county's last countywide reassessment, conducted in 2012 — the county has not reassessed property values since.
A Borough Already Reeling From a 58% Increase
This isn't the first time in recent memory that Millvale has gone back to taxpayers for more money. The 2026 budget approved by Millvale Borough Council already included a 58% property tax increase, according to WTAE. That hike pushed the borough's tax rate from 9.5 mills to 15 mills, and the proposed $4.93 million 2026 budget marked a 15.2% increase in spending over the borough's final 2025 budget, per TribLive.
The impact of that 2026 increase depends on which account you look at. WTAE reported the hike as a straightforward 58% jump tied to the new budget, while TribLive calculated that for a property at Millvale's median value of $37,900, the annual borough tax bill would climb by about $208, from $360 to $568. Alongside the increase, the borough planned to update its Senior Tax Relief program so that long-standing older homeowners under certain income limits would receive a 30% discount on their new Millvale real estate tax, per the same WTAE report.
Years of Deferred Maintenance Catch Up With the Budget
Borough officials say the roughly 58% increase was itself an attempt to catch up after years of keeping rates artificially low. Millvale raised about $3 million cumulatively between 2022 and 2026, according to CBS Pittsburgh's reporting, but officials kept tax rates low partly by deferring necessary building maintenance and by ending the borough's paving program altogether. Officials also say they reduced staffing as much as they said was possible and relied on emergency savings and other funds to keep the borough running.
Now those stopgap measures appear to have run their course. Abrams said the proposed increase would help address the borough's budget needs, per the same CBS Pittsburgh account, pointing to basic public works demands including winter plowing, grass mowing, pothole patching, and stormwater services that still need funding regardless of the budget picture.
A Deed Error That Could Work in Millvale's Favor
Separately, Millvale Borough Council has heard about an error in county deed recordings tied to the Mt. Alvernia development that could ease the borough's 2027 tax burden, according to Citizen Portal. The Mt. Alvernia property sits roughly 70% in Shaler Township and 30% in Millvale Borough, and council was told the correction may work out in the borough's favor for this fiscal year.
Millvale's situation isn't happening in isolation. Allegheny County property values are still pegged to that 2012 base year, according to the county's own Real Estate Portal, even as the average Millvale home sale price is about $125,000 — far above the $38,000 median assessed value properties carried after the 2011 flood. Other municipalities around the region are facing their own budget pressures too: Pittsburgh City Council approved a 20% property tax increase, while Allegheny County's proposed 2027 budget reportedly included no tax increases or layoffs at all.
What Comes Next for Millvale Taxpayers
Nothing is final yet. Millvale residents will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed budget at borough council meetings scheduled for November 2 and November 10, with a final council vote expected after those public sessions. For a borough that just pushed through a 58% tax hike, the coming weeks will determine whether homeowners are asked to dig even deeper in 2027.
