Property Reassessment

January 8, 2009

Taxes due before reassessment end

Some property owners to pay on contested values

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Hundreds of Luzerne County property owners will receive their 2009 tax bills before their assessment challenges are resolved, which means they’ll be expected to pay property taxes on their contested values.

Taxing bodies must then refund excess payments to property owners who win reductions in court, officials say.

As of Wednesday, the owners of 1,156 properties had appealed their new assessments to the county Court of Common Pleas.

These cases must go through mandatory mediation. County officials had originally projected that up to 40 mediation cases would be processed per week, but it turns out that estimate was too ambitious.

County Specialty Courts Director Sam Guesto said Wednesday that closer to 20 cases will be processed weekly, though the number might be less because some cases are more complex than others.

Using a goal of 20, it will take the court more than a year – 57 weeks to be exact – to process the existing mediations. Additional mediations are expected because thousands more property owners still haven’t hit the deadline to challenge their county assessment appeal board rulings to court.

Guesto said he won’t be surprised if 1,500 to 1,700 challenges are filed, which means mediation conferences wouldn’t wrap up until the middle of 2010. The last property owners to be scheduled could get stuck paying 2009 and 2010 taxes on their contested values.

Court of Common Pleas President Judge Mark Ciavarella does not want taxpayers to feel “rushed through the process,” Guesto said.

“Each person has their story to tell, and people want their chance to be heard,” Guesto said.

Guesto said he has receiving many calls from property owners questioning when their mediation will be scheduled. Property owners will be notified of their conference dates at least 15 days in advance, he said.

The court is scheduling conferences in the order in which the court challenges were filed, he said. Property owners who file challenges over the next few weeks may not hear from the county for many months.

County Assessment Director Tony Alu said skeptical property owners can rest assured that they will be reimbursed for overpayments if they obtain reductions.

“We routinely issue refunds. We have to give the money back when it’s court-ordered,” Alu said.

Alu said he’s concerned that some property owners will sit on their tax bills and miss the opportunity to pay their taxes at a reduced rebate.

Property owners save 2 percent on their tax bills if they pay within 60 days. County and municipal tax bills will be mailed in February, while school tax bills are usually issued in July.

After the 60-day rebate period, property owners have another 60 days to pay their taxes at face value.

A penalty of up to 10 percent is added after 120 days. For example, a tax bill of $2,000 would increase to $2,200 during the penalty phase.

School/county/local taxes must be paid by Dec. 31 to avoid additional charges that may be incurred.

Jackson Township tax collector Jackie Latosek said she’s advising property owners to pay during the rebate or face-value periods if they don’t get timely mediation dates.

“Yes, it stinks that the taxing bodies will be holding money that may eventually be returned to you without interest, but I don’t want to see people getting stuck with that penalty,” Latosek said.

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

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