Property Reassessment

Reassessment

December 5, 2008

Mediation meetings on values begin

Court sessions for 15 property owners challenging appeal rulings are the first of many.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Sam Guesto said he has already held around 15 mediation conferences for Luzerne County property owners who are challenging their formal assessment appeal board rulings to court.

Guesto, the specialty courts director, started the conferences on Monday. Several resulted in settlement agreements, and the rest have proposed settlements that might be passed after a review by county assessor’s office certified Pennsylvania evaluators, Guesto said.

A public record of all mediation outcomes will be available in the prothonotary’s office. Guesto said he will start filing these mediation reports next week.

Reports must be filed on all conferences, regardless of whether they result in settlements.

Guesto said he doesn’t know how long it will take to hear all the challenges because the number keeps growing.

By the end of the workday Thursday, 679 court challenges had been filed in the prothonotary’s office. Of these, 186 were filed Thursday. Another rush is expected today because it’s the filing deadline for the 9,000 property owners who received appeal board rulings last month.

Property owners have 30 days to file court challenges, and an estimated 9,000 property owners still have not received county appeal board hearings or rulings. The second batch of appeal board rulings is set to be mailed next Wednesday, followed by a final mailing on Jan. 5.

Court officials have determined that mediation conferences are not open to the public because the sessions are not face-to-face hearings, Guesto said.

Instead, Guesto meets with the property owner in one room and then with the county appeals board solicitor in another room, going from room to room attempting to resolve differences, he said.

Guesto said he gives both sides as much time as they need to present their arguments on value.

“I’m not going to rush anyone through,” he said.

He’s had a mix of property owners who come alone, with an appraiser or with an appraiser and attorney.

He summarizes the property owners’ arguments to the appeals board solicitor to determine if the board is willing to lower the value, and, if so, by how much.

“I try to close the gap between both sides as much as possible,” Guesto said.

Attorney David Schwager, who represents the appeals board, said the mediation conferences are “running smoothly.”

For the most part, property owners are presenting the same information about their values that they presented at their formal assessment appeals, Schwager said.

“It’s really a fresh set of eyes,” he said. “A property evaluation is not necessarily an exact science as some would want us to believe. That’s what taxpayers and everyone must be aware of.”

Schwager said settlements should be reached in most cases “as long as both sides are reasonable.”

Guesto said property owners who have filed court challenges will receive notices of their mediation conference dates in the mail. He said he is trying to accommodate scheduling conflicts and has already agreed to reschedule some conferences at the request of property owners.

“While it’s a new process, it’s been successful to this point,” Guesto said.

Court-level challenges advance to arbitration and special master phases if necessary. The filing fee to start a court challenge is $111.75 per parcel.

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

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