Property Reassessment

September 29, 2009

Reassess cuts over $50M

Approximately 1,200 more reassessment-related mediations must still be processed.

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

Louis Rossi scoffed at the original $20,000 assessment on his 15-by-32-foot plot on Grant Street in Hazleton.

Luzerne County and its reassessment company wouldn’t budge at an informal review, and he convinced an assessment appeal board to reduce the value to $6,000.

Still unhappy, Rossi challenged the board ruling to court. Both he and the county this month agreed on a $1,000 value at court-level mediation.

“I was determined,” Rossi said.

As of Monday, around 800 properties had been settled since the mediation process started in December 2008, according to settlement orders filed in the prothonotary’s office.

Roughly 1,200 more reassessment-related mediations must still be processed.

Reductions have now surpassed the $50 million mark, with a total $54.48 million in assessment knocked off at mediation to date, a Times Leader analysis shows.

Both the property owner and county assessment solicitor David Schwager must sign off on settlements, though Schwager has said that he obtains clearance from assessor’s office evaluators before agreeing to a reduction.

Rossi also accepted a $12,000 mediation settlement on his 1.97 acres of hunting ground in Butler Township.

Rossi bought the parcel for $800 in 2001. 21st Century Appraisals Inc., which completed the reassessment, had valued it at $48,000.

Property owners must pay taxes based on the contested value as they wait for mediation, which means Rossi had to pay $336 in taxes on the appeal board value of $24,600.

His mediation-revised tax bill: $164.

Taxing bodies must refund overpayments to those who receive mediation reductions.

Rossi said he was especially concerned about straightening out his value because he fully expects an onslaught of 2010 property tax increases.

“The county’s broke. Hazleton city is broke. The Hazleton Area School District is broke. I believe all taxes will go up next year,” Rossi said.

Luzerne County faces a $30 million deficit in 2010, and the county’s financial recovery consultant has suggested drastic solutions, including the elimination of 150 workers or a 29 percent property tax hike.

Schools, municipalities and the county were limited to a 10 percent revenue increase in 2009 because it was the first year after reassessment, but the cap is lifted in 2010.

Go to www.timesleader.com to see a chart of the latest mediation reductions.

Tweet	Follow @TLnews

Send Question or Remark to the Publisher