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Former Luzerne County controller Walter Griffith has been receiving the homestead tax break on two homes and an auto repair business he owns, even though the benefit is only supposed to go to one primary residence, according to documents gathered by current county Controller Michelle Bednar.
Griffith said Tuesday he had no idea breaks were granted on the second residence and garage, and he said the discovery reveals the need for a complete review of the program.
The county’s homestead break, which amounted to $57 last year, was canceled in 2015 to boost needed county revenue. However, the homestead program continues for school real estate taxes because that break is funded by gambling revenue.
Bednar said she plans an extensive review of the roughly 86,000 properties participating in the homestead but started with Griffith’s because he raised the issue at last week’s county council meeting, which she attended.
Griffith, who regularly is a vocal critic public meetings, took to the podium at last week’s work session and questioned how the county was going to fund unbudgeted union raises. He reiterated the budget was balanced with $4.9 million in revenue from the homestead.
“I’m paying $200 more in taxes this year because of my homestead being taken away, and I’m not happy about it, but that’s the way it is,” Griffith said.
Councilman Tim McGinley questioned the $200 figure, saying property owners could only claim the $57 homestead break on one property, their primary residence.
Griffith said he has multiple properties and would check his tax bill.
“I think you should,” McGinley replied.
According to information compiled by Bednar:
• Griffith applied for a homestead on both his Nanticoke garage and a home he owned in Wilkes-Barre in 2004.
• He indicated the garage was not a primary residence, and the application was denied. However, the homestead break appeared on both his school and county tax bills from 2009 through 2014.
He received a total $314 in county reductions on the garage during those years and $876 in school tax breaks. The annual county homestead ranged from $45 to $57, and the gambling-funded school breaks for the Nanticoke Area School District ran from $144 to $150 per year during the period.
• The homestead for Griffith’s former residence on Simpson Street, Wilkes-Barre, was granted from 2009 through 2014 for both school and county taxes. The annual homestead break in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District ranged from $210 to $215.
In 2013, Griffith moved to another property in Kingston Township that he co-owns with his daughter in Kingston Township. He sold the Wilkes-Barre property in November 2014.
• The Kingston Township property was transferred to Griffith and his daughter, Samantha, in March 2011 after the death of a family member.
Samantha applied for the homestead in January 2012, stating it was her primary residence, and received the school tax break in 2012 and both the county and school breaks in 2013 and 2014. The annual homestead break in the Dallas Area School District was $52 or $53 during the period.
Bednar said public records indicate Samantha has worked in another state since 2013, prompting her to question the request for the homestead in her name.
Griffith said the Kingston Township home was Samantha’s primary residence at the time of the application in 2012. Griffith said he did not know his daughter had obtained the break for the Kingston Township residence.
He said he didn’t see the homestead reductions marked on his tax bills and has no idea why the county rejected his application on the garage and then started deducting the break in 2009.
“Why wouldn’t the county or tax collector not catch a commercial property receiving the homestead?” Griffith said.
Griffith was controller from 2010 until he stepped down in August 2013 as part of a plea agreement for wiretapping.
He said his recent reference to the $200 tax increase was an estimate, and he thought some of the increase stemmed from a municipal taxes.
Nanticoke city taxes remained the same in 2015.
Griffith said he expects to be singled out because he speaks out but questions if the county will identify other errors — he predicts there are many — and publicly highlight them.
“Michelle has opened up this can of worms. She’d better go globally and find out how many others are receiving benefits they shouldn’t be,” he said.
Bednar said she is studying the county’s computer software to find a way to generate a report on same-named homestead recipients to narrow down the field of applications that must be individually reviewed.
In the meantime, she has presented her findings on Griffith’s homestead to the county district attorney’s office, which is reviewing the matter.
Bednar said the county had publicly posted information about the homestead, which indicates property owners who don’t notify the assessor of changes that disqualify them from the receiving the break may be required to repay prior tax breaks with interest, pay a 10-percent penalty and face a fine up to $2,500.
County Assessment Office Director Anthony Alu said he welcomes a controller’s office review of homestead recipients because he doesn’t have staffing available to conduct such an examination.
The county reduces the potential for abuse by automatically canceling homestead breaks on properties that change hands, forcing the new owners to reapply, he said.