Luzerne County Government

Approximately 87,000 residential properties will get $52 off their 2010 tax bills

February 23, 2010

Homestead break is restored

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Luzerne County’s homestead tax break has been restored, which means roughly 87,000 residential properties will get $52 off their 2010 county tax bills, officials said Monday.

The county is in the process of advising tax collectors to refund all 2010 county taxes already paid because new tax bills will be printed and mailed, probably starting the end of this week.

The Times Leader alerted property owners that the homestead was missing from tax bills last week, prompting a backlash from angry taxpayers.

County minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban, who fought for the break as part of reassessment, said the break can’t be eliminated without a vote because it was authorized by a resolution.

County Solicitor Vito DeLuca said Monday that he researched the law and concluded that a homestead tax break must continue unless commissioners vote to rescind it.

Urban said he and Commissioner Thomas Cooney had no idea the break had been eliminated and both agreed that the homestead should be restored.

County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said last week that she never knew the break had to continue beyond 2009. She maintained that a higher tax increase would be necessary to fund the break.

However, county Budget/Finance Director Tom Pribula said the cost of the tax break was never removed from the budget, and the county would receive an unanticipated $3.5 million to $4 million windfall if the break was not offered.

Urban said the break was meant to reward property owners who choose to make the county their primary residence.

“We value home ownership and understand the importance of this program, particularly at this economic time,” Urban said.

The homestead knocks $10,000 off an assessment for county taxes -- not school or municipal ones.

The county’s millage rate is 5.215 mills this year. A mill is $1 tax for every $1,000 in assessed property. A $10,000 reduction amounts to $52.15 per property.

The county already spent thousands of dollars on mailing, printing and labor to prepare the tax bills that must be scrapped. The county mailed 12,262 tax bills last week, and another 36,700 were printed but not mailed.

County Information Technology Director Steve Englot said he had to order about 70,000 more tax bill forms and additional postage and printer cartridges to prepare the new bills for roughly 165,000 property owners.

The computerized tax bill system must identify and credit the property owners who are approved for the tax break, and payment deadlines must be changed on all bills to give property owners the opportunity to pay their taxes in the rebate period, he said.

Municipalities and the county issue their bills together. The county is already behind mailing the bills because commissioners decided to take more time to amend the 2010 budget that was passed at the end of last year.

Englot said he’s confident the new bills will start hitting the mail by the end of the week, but he wants to leave enough time for proofing.

“We’re going to be extremely careful. There’s a tendency to rush to get them out right away, but we have to make sure everything is correct on the bills,” Englot said.

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

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