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Appeals postmarked Sept. 1 or delivered to office by 4:30 p.m. today will be accepted.
More than 100 people filed assessment appeals Monday, and a rush of filings is expected for today’s deadline, said county Assessor’s Office Director Tony Alu.
“We got swamped today. A lot of people waited until the last minute,” Alu said Monday. “It’s great. It shows people are paying attention to the deadline dates.”
The Assessor’s Office will accept any appeals postmarked Sept. 1 or delivered to the office by 4:30 p.m. today. His courthouse office opens at 9 a.m.
More than 2,000 new appeals were filed this year, Alu said. Reductions granted in this year’s appeals will take effect in next year’s taxes. Some of the 2009 appeals have already been heard, and the rest will be processed by Oct. 31, he said.
Appeal hearings have been scheduled for Thursday and Sept. 17, 24 and 30 in Wilkes-Barre and Sept. 10 and Oct. 27 in Hazle Township.
Andrew Shiner, Angelo Terrana and Richard Oravic sit on the appeals board.
Property owners may file challenges every year.
The county typically has about 1,000 assessment appeals per year, but the number has doubled this year because property owners are still contesting values set during the countywide reassessment.
Property owners have the right to appeal to court if they disagree with the County Assessment Appeal Board ruling.
County judges have not decided if the 2010 appeals will go through mediation conferences or revert back to an old system of appearing before a judge.
Appeal forms are available at the Assessor’s Office in the courthouse basement or on the county’s Web site at www.luzernecounty.org (click on departments and then assessor).
Appeals cost $5 for residential properties and $30 or more for commercial properties.
Computers have been set up in the courthouse Assessor’s Office and the southern county annex in West Hazleton for property owners who want to research other values in their neighborhood.
The Times Leader also has a free online property database at www.timesleader.com. Click on the “local property assessment database” box on the left side of the main page to access the database.