Property Reassessment

August 9, 2008

Appeals deadline means pressure on

About 9,500 formal appeals have been filed so far, official says. 2,000 heard so far.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
Jennifer Learn-Andes on Facebook   |   @TLJenLearnAndes on Twitter

Monday is the last day to file formal assessment appeals in Luzerne County’s reassessment, and roughly 9,500 appeals have been filed to date, county assessment director Tony Alu said

Appeals board members have heard about 2,000 to date, leaving some to wonder if the county can realistically meet the mandate to hear all appeals by Oct. 31.

County Assessment Appeals Board Chairman Andy Shiner said the board had devised a schedule to hear as many as 17,000 by Oct. 31, so he does not foresee any problems.

However, he does not believe the board will be able to release appeal decisions before Oct. 31, as requested by county commissioners and many tense property owners.

Shiner said the trained staffers who are processing and scheduling the formal appeal applications will then oversee the auditing and mailing of final decision notices.

“There’s just no time or personnel to introduce another layer of paper at this stage,” Shiner said.

Hearing all appeals before Oct. 31 must be the top priority because the board doesn’t want the reassessment to fall through because it did not meet that legal mandate, he said.

“We had to make tough decisions. I know people have needs and desires, but we have to meet the time frames in the law,” he said. “We don’t want to see the county spend another million dollars just to sit still.”

If the board wraps up hearings earlier than expected, the decisions may be released sooner, but the board isn’t making any promises, Shiner said.

“We’re trying to do our best, but we can’t please everyone,” he said.

The board’s decision to wait until Oct. 31 is particularly upsetting to property owner Darryl Tomko, who owns about 38 acres in Hanover Township.

Tomko is eligible to participate in the Clean and Green land preservation but doesn’t want to make a decision until he finds out if he receives a reduction through a formal appeal.

The kicker: Oct. 15 is the deadline to sign up for Clean and Green.

Under Clean and Green, a parcel that contains 10 or more acres is not assessed at its value in the real estate market. Instead, the value is based on the property’s worth as agriculture, woodland, pasture or open-space land.

However, Tomko said he had been planning to sell the land, and Clean and Green participants must repay some or all of the money they saved through the program if they sell the land for development.

“I didn’t want to it in there if I don’t have to,” Tomko said. “Now I’m between a rock and hard place.”

Some appeal tips

Meeting set

Luzerne County officials want to set the record straight on some common questions about the formal appeals:

• Property owners do not have to have an appraisal dated Jan. 1, 2008, though that is the most-recommended evidence. An older appraisal will suffice.

• Property owners who opt to do their own research, without obtaining an appraisal, should present examples of sales of three similar structures, preferably properties that sold between Jan. 1, 2007, and Jan. 1, 2008. Similarity means a home about the same size and style, on a similar lot, in the same neighborhood.

• Some property owners have complained that they can’t find enough sales in their neighborhood. In that case, property owners may look for sales in the closest development or similar neighborhood.

• A person who lives in a house but has deeded it to a relative or someone else may not represent that property at a formal appeal unless the owner of record has authorized the person to do so in a notarized document.

• Errors in land measurements must be corrected in the county mapping department.

A meeting has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Jackson Township fire hall on Chase Road to discuss Luzerne County reassessment and proposals to eliminate property tax.

All property owners are invited to attend, including those who are satisfied with their new values, said organizer Dorothy Spencer.

For information or directions, contact Spencer at 779-1253 or Grace Griffen at 779-4179.

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