Reassessment called ‘fiasco’

A group of Hazleton area property owners urged Luzerne County Commissioners to rethink the reassessment, arguing that many of the new assessed values are inflated and loaded with mistakes.

Tony Biago, a land developer, told commissioners during Wednesday’s on-the-road meeting at Hazleton City Hall that the process is a “fiasco.”

Victor Lutsky, a Realtor, said the reassessment “is just fraught with mistakes” and advised commissioners to postpone enactment of the new values for a year to make sure everything is corrected. He cited a one-bedroom home on 0.4 acre in Black Creek Township with taxes increasing from $2,000 to $5,000.

Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said property owners should undergo informal reviews and formal appeals to correct errors and make sure their values are fair and accurate.

Hazle Township property owner Shannon Tobias said the informal reviews are a waste of time. She said her 0.17-acre parcel along state Route 309 has been valued at $31,200.

She said she presented examples of three other similarly sized properties along the same road less than a quarter mile away that were valued at $16,200. The reassessment company, 21st Century Appraisals Inc., was willing to lower her value by $3,000.

A Black Creek Township property owner told commissioners he bought his home for $272,000 two years ago, and his new assessed value is $406,000. He said he and about 30 residents of Black Creek Estates are in the same boat and can’t see the logic behind the new values.

Hazleton City Councilman Jack Mundie said lots in the Ridgewood development in Hazle Township sold for $30,000 in recent years and are now assessed at $55,000 and $60,000. He asked commissioners to appoint a local board of Realtors or experts to examine the values.

“The appeals process might work, but it’s going to take money and time, and a lot of people don’t have that money and time,” Mundie said.

Petrilla said she hears his concerns, but a reassessment was needed to rebalance the tax base -- something that should have been done years ago. She said the county can’t throw money down the drain. “I’m in favor of doing everything possible to make it go smoothly,” she said.

Mundie said he’s spoken to certified appraisers. “They said they’ve never seen anything like this, so many miscalculations,” Mundie said. “This reassessment is wrong. It’s the wrong time and maybe it’s the wrong company.”

County assessment office director Tony Alu urged property owners to take advantage of informal reviews, saying the reassessment firm will “tweak” its valuation model if enough complaints are heard from a particular neighborhood. Such revisions have already happened, he said.

Tom Marnell, a Realtor and former Hazleton Area School Board member, told commissioners that he has learned of new assessed values that are “mind boggling.” He asked commissioners to freeze the process until the reassessment company can better explain the values.

Marnell said he’s afraid the reassessment will eventually be halted, which will be unfair to people who spent money at the beginning of the process. However, commissioners did not make any mention of a delay.

Minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said the reassessment process will be in limbo indefinitely if the county stops without mailing all values before the July 1 deadline. The project was already delayed two years.

Commissioner Greg Skrepenak said he and former commissioner Todd Vonderheid were criticized when they put off the reassessment for a year because of the quantity of mistakes. “A year later, we’re still having the same issues,” he said.

Skrepenak advised property owners and elected officials to channel their frustration at state legislators and push them to allow counties to use alternative tax methods, such as personal income or sales taxes, to reduce reliance on property tax.

Hazleton area property owner Theresa Wanich said she is particularly concerned about the potential rise in her school tax bill, which is the largest component of her property taxes. She said she already waits a week to muster up the courage to open her school tax bill.