Stormwater fee opponent crowd predicted at Luzerne County committee meeting

Anticipating and encouraging a crowd of property owners upset about stormwater fees, Luzerne County Council’s Legislative Committee will meet Tuesday at the Best Western Plus Genetti Hotel & Conference Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

County Councilman Walter Griffith, who serves on the committee with colleagues Harry Haas and Stephen J. Urban, said state representatives are scheduled to update the public on the stormwater issue during the session.

He also urges fee payers to attend and inform legislators how the fee has negatively impacted them.

County council has no jurisdiction over the fee, but council last week passed a resolution opposing the fee and authorizing the county law office to research options to challenge the fee and a federal pollution reduction mandate. However, county officials have stressed it’s still unclear if legal action is viable and, if so, what it would cost and the time and resources involved. Under the county’s charter, the manager would have to recommend legal action to council for its approval.

The committee meeting starts at 4 p.m. at the Genetti hotel, located at 77 E. Market St. The committee is planning to hold a similar session involving federal legislators in March, Griffith said.

More meetings

The county Retirement Board, which oversees the employee pension fund, will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

On Thursday, council’s Real Estate Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the courthouse.

The committee has been awaiting outside appraisals of approximately 56 unused and mostly undeveloped county-owned properties before they can be auctioned.

These properties are each assessed at more than $10,000, which means the fair market value minimum bid must be determined by council, the county assessor’s office and a certified broker or appraiser.

Once the outside appraisals are done, the committee plans to review them with the assessor’s office and present minimum bid recommendations to the full council for its consideration and approval, she said.

Tax bills

The county has mailed 2020 county/municipal tax bills. Tax collectors will start accepting payment Feb. 18.

Property owners will receive a 2% discount if they pay the bills by April 17. A 10% penalty is added for bills not paid by June 17.

The county reminded property owners to contact their tax collector if they do not receive their bills.

“Failure to receive the bill does not relieve the taxpayer of any penalties and interest incurred,” a notice said.

Ethics question

Although confident he has no conflict, Griffith said he has decided to seek an advisory opinion from the state Ethics Commission on whether he can vote on matters involving the county district attorney’s office.

District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said she believes Griffith must abstain because her office had investigated and approved search warrants in a case referred to the state Attorney General’s Office that resulted in his 2013 guilty plea to three misdemeanor counts of obstructing the administration of law for illegally recording three conversations when he was county controller in 2010 and 2011.

Courthouse holiday

Nonemergency county government offices are closed Monday for Presidents Day.