I don’t know about you, but I’m glad the 52 days of January are over. It was a tough month, both with the weather and what is happening in our country. Please look out for your friends, neighbors, and loved ones. Feel free to send this newsletter to anyone else you think would benefit from it, and click "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the page if you were subscribed by mistake.
County Council Highlights
Long-term Owner Occupancy Program (LOOP) (13812-26) - I introduced legislation to create a Long-term Owner Occupancy Program within Allegheny County (affectionately known as LOOP). This program would limit the tax increase that eligible homeowners (lived in your home for at least 10 years and household income up to 125% of AMI) can be hit with following a Countywide reassessment to 35%. Make no mistake, a Countywide reassessment is inevitable, and sorely needed. However, we also need to contend with the broken reassessment system that we've inherited and protect people from being taxed out of their homes following a reassessment. This legislation has passed out of the Assessment Practices Committee and will be voted on this Tuesday.
ICE & CBP Cooperation Limitation (13809-26) - I've heard loud and clear from you all: you’re tired of seeing masked, unaccountable ICE and CBP agents terrorizing people all over the country, and you don't want a dollar of our County taxes going to support the bloated, militant agencies. That’s why I have co-sponsored legislation that will limit the cooperation of county law enforcement with federal immigration to that required by state and federal law. The bill is currently in the Committee on Public Safety.
I want to wish a huge congratulations to Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Lissa Geiger Shulman, and Aaron Adams on being sworn in as our three new members of council! Congratulations as well to Councilmembers Catena, Naccarati-Chapkis, and Palmosina on their reelections! President Catena was also reelected as Council President.
County Council Meeting Summaries
Around District 5
This month I joined multiple vigils to mourn those lost and harmed at the hands of immigration enforcement, to call on our federal government to respect our constitutional rights, and to pledge to stand up to protect our neighbors.
As a member of the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Company, I had the opportunity to speak with students at Bethel Park High School about what an amazing experience joining the fire service can be. The students were an excellent audience and asked some wonderful questions.
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Paid for by Friends of Dan Grzybek