It is not a surprise that Butler County property owners haven't rushed to return to the county tax assessment office paperwork tied to Act 72 school property tax relief passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly last July 4.

Such relief isn't guaranteed; it depends on whether the individual school districts agree to participate in the program. But even if districts opt into the program by the May 30 deadline, it could be two years or longer until taxpayers begin to see any actual tax-dollar benefits from the program - so some property owners understand that there really is no urgency in meeting this year's March 1 paperwork deadline.

When tax relief will be forthcoming in participating school districts will depend on how soon slot-machine gambling is operational in the state and how quickly slots revenue reaches a set level at which that relief will kick in - $1 billion.

No doubt some property owners are suspicious about what other tax implications lie ahead if they and their school district agree to participate. Under the program, a district's earned-income tax must be at least 1 percent, which many districts already have.

However, a big issue is whether districts want to subject themselves to the requirement of a voter referendum if they want to impose a tax increase in excess of 1 percent over the rate of inflation. If district's agree to participate in the Act 72 program, referendums will be required for bigger tax hikes.

Meanwhile, there will be no turning back. If a district opts for Act 72's provisions now, it won't have the option of backing out in the future if school officials decide their district erred in agreeing to participate.

From taxpayers' perspective, the General Assembly can be faulted for passing a program consisting of so many uncertainties, and with relief not close to what most property owners had hoped to realize - the savings are expected to be in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands.

But at the same time, lawmakers were right in trying to ensure that lower property taxes under Act 72 would not provide a window for questionable property tax increases later.

From the perspective of school officials, who have a better feel for districts' needs and expenses than residents unfamiliar with school systems' day-to-day operations, Act 72 will provide financial limitations that some officials might consider dangerous from the standpoint of being able to take care of business in students' and other residents' short- and long-term best interests.

Concerns on both sides of the tax issue are valid.

Despite the concerns, the best option is for property owners to fill out the tax-relief forms they have received from the county, return them to the tax assessment office by March 1, and then keep abreast of how the whole matter shakes out over coming months.

The second bit of applicable advice is that it is too soon to begin thinking about ways to spend the tax-relief money because, in some - maybe most - instances, "relief" will amount to an empty, six-letter word.