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While Luzerne County has been hit with big-ticket assessment reductions, the owners of three southern county commercial properties must pay more because the Hazleton Area School District successfully argued their values were too low, court records show.
Through a process known as a reverse appeal, state law allows school districts and municipalities to seek increased assessments so they won’t have to wait until their counties perform another reassessment of all values.
The highest reverse appeal increase is for the 25-acre Weis Markets commercial property on Susquehanna Boulevard in West Hazleton.
Owned by Sunbury-based Weis Markets Inc., the property’s assessed value was $3.98 million.
The new settlement gradually increases the assessment annually, starting with a value of $5.5 million in 2011 and rising to $7.5 million in 2020, the court order says.
At the 2020 value, the company’s total real estate tax bill to all three taxing bodies is $161,050 based on current tax rates. That’s an increase of $75,483.
In the second reverse appeal, the Hazleton Area School District sought an increase for the 2.67-acre Sheetz property on the Airport Beltway in Hazle Township, which is listed under the ownership of Frances L. McMahon in Altoona.
The assessed value for 2011 forward was increased $30,600, for a new total $1.8 million.
In the remaining reverse appeal, the assessment of an apartment complex on Faith Drive in Butler Township increased $155,300, for a new total $1.7 million, the court order said. The property is owned by Kingston Township-based Mira3 LLC.
In addition to Hazleton Area, local attorney Raymond Wendolowski said he has been involved in pursuing reverse appeals for the Wilkes-Barre Area, Crestwood and Wyoming Valley West school districts. The process is important to “make sure all taxpayers are paying their fair share,” he said.
The county administration has argued a reassessment of all 167,800 parcels is not warranted at this time because the state’s outside analysis of sales data concluded the values are still accurate. The last reassessment took effect a decade ago, in 2009.
Property owners also have the right to file challenges annually if they believe their values are too high.
The county administration recently made a $40,000 budget transfer to cover refunds, saying the $450,000 that had been budgeted won’t be enough. More large commercial reductions, some retroactive several years, are settling due to a push to resolve inactive cases, officials have said.
One reduction previously granted for the 18-acre Citterio property in Foster Township has been altered, according to a recent court order.
Owned by Euro Foods Inc., the assessment for the business specializing in Italian meats and cheeses had been reduced from $6.88 million to $3.75 million earlier this year. A subsequent court order issued Oct. 2 canceled out some of that drop, changing the new assessment to $5.5 million, it said.
The county had refunded the company a total $36,682 for 2017 and 2018 but will receive a portion of that money back due to the recent revision, officials said.