Owner gets $1M off original assessment

Prominent local engineering company owner Michael J. Pasonick, who has been identified by an attorney as paying a bribe in the county corruption scandal, was granted a nearly $1 million assessment reduction on his Plains Township home, public records show.

County Board of Assessment Appeals member Rick Oravic awarded the reduction after a formal appeal in November, according to county records.

The county and reassessment company 21st Century Appraisals Inc. had valued the property at $1.7 million as part of the countywide reassessment.

That amounted to $196,000 for the 171.87 acres on Jumper Road and $1.5 million for the 7,163-square-foot stone home, a 2,558-square-foot attached garage and tennis court, county records show. The home was built in 2002.

Pasonick and his wife, Arlene, hired Rosen Real Estate Inc. to prepare an appraisal for the appeal, and certified appraiser Alan P. Rosen concluded the property was worth $662,000 as of Jan. 1, 2008, the effective date of the reassessment, records show.

The appeals board reduced the property to $725,000 – $174,000 for the land and $551,000 for the building.

Pasonick could not be reached for comment. Attorney John P. Rodgers, who was hired to represent the Pasonicks at the formal appeal, said Friday that the reduction was warranted.

“In fairness to Mr. Pasonick, he didn’t come up with that value. He hired a certified appraiser who came up with $662,000, and the board reviewed the appraisal and adjusted it accordingly,” Rodgers said, adding that Rosen has “impeccable credibility.”

Rosen’s appraisal points out three comparable properties in Hunlock Township, Bear Creek Township and Mountain Top.

Oravic could not be reached for comment Friday. He is only one of three appeals board members appointed by county commissioners.

As in this case, the board usually separates and hears appeals individually instead of as a group. The legality of this practice has not been challenged in the county.

The assessment reduction saved the Pasonicks about $21,100 in property taxes this year.

School, county and local taxes would have been about $36,423 on the original assessment this year, compared to $15,324 on the current one.

Before reassessment, the property had been assessed the equivalent of $704,375, county records show.

Because the Pasonick assessment reduction was so substantial, the assessor’s office had to use an override option in its computerized property database to put the new value in effect.

The override option is used when tweaking of the property description does not reduce the value to the desired amount after it is plugged into an assessment calculation formula.

The county must be careful about altering property descriptions because these descriptions – things like measurements, condition and age – will still be used as a basis for the next reassessment update. Redoing all property descriptions will not be part of the next reassessment, officials have said.

In addition to the override, the condition on the Pasonick property was downgraded from “excellent” to “good.” Condition is one of the top 10 factors that play a role in value, with options ranging from unsound and very poor to good, very good and excellent.

Pasonick’s name has been linked to the corruption probe because Michael Butera, attorney for Gerald Bonner, on Friday identified Pasonick as the person who paid $1,400 to William Maguire.

Federal authorities, who have not identified the person who paid the bribe, say the money was paid to reimburse Maguire for a trip he took to Florida in January for county Housing Authority business.