Property Reassessment

December 17, 2008

Public assessment release angers man

Hanover Twp. man said he has been waiting for ruling since Nov. 3.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Hanover Township property owner Vic Kopko said he was “outraged” to learn that Luzerne County publicly released a change in his property assessment when he’s been unable to obtain the information on his own.

Kopko saw the assessment change on newspaper online databases. The database values came from a computer disc of all values certified by the county around Nov. 15.

The certification says Kopko’s property is valued at $285,200 -- $57,300 for the land and $227,900 for the house and a pool.

Kopko said he has not received this value from the county and has been waiting for an assessment appeal board ruling since his Nov. 3 appeal hearing. His ruling was not among the batch of rulings mailed Dec. 10, and his value is still blank on the reassessment company’s online assessment database.

Kopko said he contacted the assessor’s office twice to obtain his value and was informed that a decision was “still pending.”

“I am egregiously offended to learn about this through a newspaper assessment database, rather than from the county,” said Kopko, who is still contemplating a promised lawsuit over the reassessment. “Why hasn’t my own county government told me what my value is?”

Tim Barr, of reassessment company 21st Century Appraisals Inc., said the certification report was essentially a snapshot reading of all values around Nov. 15, both official and unofficial.

“It included whatever the values were at that point in time, whether they had been officially sent to the taxpayer and gone through the auditing process or not,” Barr said.

The reports are generated to give overall assessment totals to taxing bodies, and Barr said this is the first time he’s seen newspapers post the individual values on databases for the public.

Barr said decisions on Kopko’s property and others were not mailed last week because they are still undergoing a verification process. That’s why appeal board rulings on properties undergoing verification have not been posted on 21st Century’s online database, he said.

“The county Board of Assessment Appeals doesn’t want to mail a final decision order until they’re sure it was the right number. Our Web site doesn’t show these numbers yet because they’re not official,” Barr said.

Kopko, who must now wait until the Jan. 5 mailing to receive his official ruling, questions why the county included unofficial values in the certification.

“Certification means the act of attestation or making certain assurance to the accuracy of information, as in a ‘certified statement,’ ” Kopko said.

Kopko’s value was originally $392,300 for his two-story, four-bedroom house on 0.81 acre along Countrywood Drive. The value was reduced to $333,700 due to an informal review. He said the unofficial value of $285,200 is higher than his certified appraisal.

Barr said the public release of unofficial values has not harmed property owners because they have 30 days to file court-level challenges after receiving their official decision orders.

Owners may go to www.timesleader.com to check out values assigned to properties at certification. Click on the “local property assessment database.”

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