Property Reassessment

First reported on timesleader.com on August 15 at 3:43 p.m.

October 28, 2010

Skrep calls for reassessment delay

Also seeking probe into data collection

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
Steve Mocarsky on Facebook   |   @TLSteveMocarsky on Twitter

Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak said he will call for a vote at next week’s commissioners’ meeting to indefinitely delay reassessment.

But Commission Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla suggested her colleague was “playing political games.”

The “Skrepenak Action Plan,” unveiled at a press conference Friday afternoon, calls for halting the implementation of new assessed property values for 2009, investigating how the data used to determine those values was collected, and pushing state legislators for tax reform.

Skrepenak said he has heard that 21st Century Appraisals data collectors may have rushed through data collection to meet quotas and achieve bonuses, leading to many skewed values. 21st Century is being paid $8 million to conduct the county’s first reassessment since 1965.

“I’m not accusing anyone of being a criminal. But too many people have told me too many things about these data collectors,” Skrepenak said.

Tim Barr, chief technology officer for 21st Century, said bonuses were offered, “but not in the way (Skrepenak is) describing it.”

Barr said data collectors were chosen based on a list of qualifications, went through several weeks of training and had to pass exams to be hired. Their work was monitored by field supervisors and computer-based quality checks, he said.

“Bonuses were only offered to select individuals who had the highest quality work combined with efficiency,” Barr said. “They had to have high-quality work before they could be considered for bonuses.”

Barr said the data collection processes were reviewed and approved by the county’s reassessment management team, of which Skrepenak is a member.

Skrepenak believes an investigation is necessary because there were too many inconsistencies between the data reported by 21st Century and actual property conditions and dimensions. He said there were “too many reports of falsifying data,” and “too much pressure to meet quotas and receive bonuses.”

“If that data was wrong from the beginning of the process, it skews the entire process,” he said.

Skrepenak encouraged anyone who has information about falsification of data or pressure to meet quotas and make bonuses should come forward to aid an in-house investigation.

“If no one comes forward with any information, our hands are tied,” he said.

Skrepenak said about 75 percent of the “hundreds” of calls his office has received about the reassessment were from constituents unhappy with the process.

He said he believes the data collection process is skewed in part because of significant differences between many reassessment values and appraisals done by certified appraisers hired by property owners. He said those values “should be relatively close, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

Barr contends the process is “going as expected. If there were fewer appeals, it would be an indication we had not done our job correctly. As it is, we have done our job correctly,” he said.

Petrilla, meanwhile, said she is disappointed that Skrepenak was “working behind closed doors” with Realtors earlier this week, and held his press conference Friday “without seeking counsel from his partners and the assessment team that he voted to put in place.”

“My commitment is first and foremost to the county taxpayers,” she said. “I will not play on people’s vulnerability and raise false hopes. It’s very easy to say ‘Put this off’ to gain public popularity. That’s not practical. We put this off and then what? We wake up tomorrow with a property assessment that is 45 years old.

“We spent close to $9 million. We can’t play political games. We have to work with the experts to give the residents the time they deserve to get the mistakes corrected and move forward. If on Oct. 31 the assessment appeals team tells me we aren’t ready to move forward, then I will be the first to make a motion to delay,” Petrilla said.

County Commissioner Steve Urban said the reassessment process must move forward, although he doesn’t object to a 30-day delay to make sure all assessment appeals are heard and property owners get fair hearings.

“The Board of Assessment Appeals told us a couple weeks ago that if the values aren’t correct, they won’t certify them.” he said. “But there is a process in place: The formal and informal appeals process.”

Urban said he wants 21st Century “to do their job,” and wants errors on property records corrected.

“And I want the public to bring those errors to their attention, either in writing, online, or through the formal appeals process.”

Urban said he also wants the appeals boards to share their decisions with property owners on the day of their hearings.

Urban said he has received no reports of data collectors intentionally changing information.

“If Greg knows information we don’t know, he should follow through with it,” Urban said.

In addition to his comments on reassessment, Skrepenak Friday suggested enacting legislation for property tax reform. He said a 1-percent county sales tax would decrease property taxes by 27 percent, a 0.5-percent personal tax would reduce property taxes by 39 percent, and a 0.5-percent county earned-income tax would reduce property taxes by 38.5 percent.

To increase revenue and reduce county expenses, Skrepenak also proposed that the county:

• Create a Gas Exploration Task Force to determine if the county could capitalize on Marcellus Shale natural gas resources.

• Create a consortium of public agencies that would purchase electricity and other energy collectively to save money.

• Decrease the use of paper by recording county business digitally whenever possible.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Luzerne County Commissioners meet for a work session at 1 p.m. Monday in the county courthouse at 200 N. River St., Wilkes-Barre. Their regular meeting will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Luzerne County Community College Educational Conference Center, 1333 S. Prospect St., Nanticoke.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 459-2005.

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