West of Philadelphia, schools fought for a share of millions of dollars flowing to a ritzy retirement community.

In Erie, the county wants to levy land that's publicly owned -- but rented to luxury marina operators.

In Allentown, the tax man has eyed shuttered churches now used as storage facilities.

At least 10 Pennsylvania counties have hosted tax-exemption fights since 2012, when the state Supreme Court improved government's position in its long struggle with nonprofit entities.

The nonprofits are fighting back, pushing the General Assembly to pass Senate Bill 4, which would spur a referendum on a constitutional amendment. That might restore a set of rules used from 1997 through 2012, which virtually snuffed out challenges to tax exemptions. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted narrowly for a referendum on Jan. 27, but no final Senate has been scheduled.

Advocates for the charities say they just want clarity.

Until 2012, you could "basically bring an accountant in, and do a test [on tax exemption], and either you meet it or you don't," said Kimber Latsha, a Mechanicsburg attorney who has represented retirement communities in defense of their exemptions. "Let's stop spending all the money on the wars, and let's come up with a test that everybody understands."

If that test is written by the nonprofits, countered southeastern Pennsylvania school solicitor Mark Sereni, "our hard-working families, vulnerable senior citizens, and struggling small businesses would badly suffer as they're forced to shoulder an unfair tax burden. And even worse yet, our deserving students would be cheated out of the revenue needed to fund vital programs and services."

Ease my burdens

What Mr. Latsha called "the wars" between governments and nonprofit entities entered their latest phase after Pike County denied a tax exemption to an Orthodox Jewish summer camp.

The county argued that the camp didn't relieve government of any burden -- one of five requirements for exemptions set down by the Supreme Court in 1985. That decision, in a case involving the Hospital Utilization Project, created the five-part HUP test for deciding tax exemptions.

The camp argued that it met the accounting rules set down by the Legislature in Act 55 of 1997.

The justices declared that HUP trumps Act 55. The camp was taxable.

That caught the attention of taxing bodies statewide. Many governments had long argued that tax exemptions relieved them of revenue, more than burdens.

Thirty percent of the property value in the city of Erie is tax-exempt, according to Erie County chief assessor Scott Maas. The city and county have sought payments in lieu of taxes from large nonprofit entities, and the Supreme Court's decision put teeth into the effort, he said. So far, taxing bodies there have challenged exemptions held by six entities.

The school district, for instance, argued that a former synagogue became taxable when it was bought by the 6-year-old Jefferson Educational Society of Erie. The think tank wasn't relieving burdens, the schools argued. The county's assessment board agreed.

The society has appealed to Common Pleas Court. Ferki Ferati, the society's vice president and executive director, said that by teaching people to be active in local and national issues, his organization is relieving a burden.

Mr. Ferati said the issue is bigger than the $30,000 a year in property taxes his organization now has to pay: The county's decision has deterred donors. "I've already gotten people telling me that, 'You aren't even tax-exempt,' " he said, even though no court has ruled that way.

Though his organization might benefit from a constitutional amendment, he said its leadership is "leaning towards nay" on the referendum. He said a return to Act 55 would move decisions further from the local level and that the issue "has not been studied to the extent it needs to be."

Senior luxury

Dunwoody Village in Newtown, west of Philadelphia, offers what it calls "unparalleled lifestyle" for seniors, and has charged "entrance fees" approaching $250,000. In 2007, the retirement community argued that it should be tax-exempt.

Mr. Sereni, representing Marple Newtown School District, led the charge to keep it taxable. He won before Commonwealth Court, securing more than $500,000 in annual school taxes.

Similar disputes are occurring in several counties -- with different results.

Some retirement communities don't accept Medicaid. So taxing bodies have argued that they fail the HUP tests requiring that they donate "a substantial portion" of services or benefit "a substantial ... class of persons who are legitimate subjects of charity."

"That word 'substantial' can keep lawyers employed for a substantial period," said Mr. Latsha.

He successfully defended an exemption claimed by Albright Care Services, a retirement community in Lewisburg. Union County tried to take the case to the state Supreme Court, which declined to hear it.

In 2013, Chris Savage, director of the Butler County assessment office, denied an exemption to the 53-unit St. John Community for seniors. "Reading that [Supreme Court] ruling, I didn't feel comfortable with them being tax-exempt," he said.

The two sides eventually reached a 10-year agreement for St. John Community to pay a portion of the property taxes that would normally be due.

"I didn't want to go to court," said Mr. Savage, "and they didn't want to either."

Half-exempt?

In Erie, "some of our most valuable property" is owned by the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, but leased to private leisure boat marina operators, Mr. Maas said. He challenged the exemptions on the parcels, in a fight that is headed for court.

"I fully understand the position that the municipality, the county and the school district are in," said Brenda Sandberg, executive director of the port. But, she added, the port uses rents from commercial tenants to pay for maintenance of public boat launches and pathways, plus helps the city with maintenance and vehicle purchases.

The port case reflects another vein of post-2012 challenges: Governments are attacking exemptions on parcels that are owned by nonprofits or even governments, but that include commercial tenants.

Cumberland County taxed a building owned by the city of Philadelphia, in its role as trustee for the nonprofit Girard College, and rented to the Office of the Attorney General. The state Supreme Court, in a 53-page decision in 2013, ruled that the building is tax-exempt.

After Warren General Hospital sought exemptions for some outlying medical offices, Warren County reviewed the entire hospital's status, and decided to send it a tax bill.

"We have over 740 properties that are tax-exempt," in the rural county, said Karen Beardsley, the chief assessor. "The commissioners' position is, if they truly are tax-exempt, they should have that status. If not, they should pay their fair share."

The Board of Assessment also revoked exemptions for the Warren YMCA and The Rouse Home for seniors.

Common Pleas Judge Gregory Hammond, though, ruled that the county did not give the entities a chance to defend their exemptions before attempting to tax them, and ordered it to create a board to hear such cases. Ms. Beardsley said the county is assembling the board.

Churches, hospitals and floodgates

Some counties haven't seen challenges, because, according to their assessors, their tax-exempt parcels are largely owned by nonprofit hospitals or churches.

In other, similar counties, the tax man hasn't held back.

The Supreme Court decision led Cambria County in 2013 to challenge the tax-exempt status of the former Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown.

"One of our primary concerns was whether there was a private profit motive in their executive compensation and retained earnings," said Tom Leiden, the county's solicitor. Conemaugh's CEO in 2013, Scott Becker, made more than $900,000 that year, and the hospital made $30 million in excess revenue.

The challenge was rendered moot last year, though, when Duke Lifepoint, a national, for-profit health system, bought Conemaugh.

Schuylkill County has seen several challenges to exemptions on closed churches.

The Diocese of Allentown converted a few shuttered churches to non-religious uses, including equipment storage, said assistant county solicitor Glenn Roth. The county argued that the churches then become taxable parcels, and one such case is already in the court of common pleas, he said.

Northampton County undertook a countywide review of tax-exempt parcels, which put some $8 million worth of land back on tax rolls. Roughly half that value stemmed a single property, a former seminary school that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia used as a retreat until 2009. The archdiocese has tried to sell the property.

Advocates for the amendment argue that taxing bodies are using the HUP test's vagueness to pursue unwarranted challenges and wrest settlements from solidly nonprofit organizations.

Erie County last year got $545,577 in payments in lieu of taxes from nonprofits, in part because it challenged exemptions on parcels owned by the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Millcreek Community Hospital and UPMC Hamot.

Mr. Maas said that if the constitution is amended, challenges to exemptions will likely fail and such payments may dry up, even as today's tax base erodes.

"The onus would be on us to prove that they're not tax-exempt," he said. "The amount of nonprofits, charities seeking exemption -- I see the floodgates opening."

Rich Lord: rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542. Sean D. Hamill: shamill@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2579. Chris Potter and Lillian Thomas contributed.

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