The LuLac Edition #31, June 15th, 2006

NEWS OF THE DAY……………The State Legislature has finally passed property tax reform. Or a version of it. The bill speeds property tax relief cuts to lower-income seniors. Gov. Rendell plans to sign it. The House voted 137 to 61 on the very same legislation they opposed six weeks ago. That would be before the primary election which saw many incumbents lose their seats in hard fought primaries.
The plan aims tax relief to a segment of homeowners in 2007 by increasing the income eligibility for senior citizens who participate in the state’s property tax and rent rebate program, or PTRR. The only local legislator voting no was Representative George Hasay who after 36 years declined to stand for re-election. As a matter of fact, Hasay even reportedly hung up on reporters when asked his views on the payraise and his salary and perks.

Lynn Swann wants to cut the size of the State Legislature by 40%. Swann made that comment to reporters in a conference call. The plan calls to reduce the overall number of seats in the entire legislative body from 253 to 151 the House from 203 to 121 and the Senate from 50 to 30 which Swann said would save taxpayers money. The change would require amending the state constitution. Swann did not elaborate on that aspect of the proposal.

MEDIA WATCH…………Hazleton’s own, L.A. Tarone a guest panelist tonight on PCN Pennsylvania Cable Networks “Journalists Roundtable." The show airs at 8pm tonight and Sunday nights at 7PM and 11PM. Tarone wrote the widely recived book, “We Were Here Once/Successes, Mistakes, and Calamities in Hazleton History."

COMMENTARIES ….Luzerne County Reassessment……Here is a list of County Commissioners who served from 1967 through 2006.
Ed Wideman
Frank Crossin, Sr.
Ethel Price
Stephen Yanoshak
Frank Trinicewski
Joseph Red Jones
Edward Brominski
Frank Crossin, Junior
James Phillips
Rose Tucker
Thomas Makowski
Thomas Pizano
Besides having served as county commissioners, what else do they have in common? In a span of over 39 years, not one of these individuals serving as commissioners acted on a county reassessment. These two: GREG SKREPENAK and TODD VONDERHEID actually started a process that has not been discussed in 4 deacades. Here is a reprint of the letter both Commissioners wrote to the taxpayers, voters, and citizens regarding their view on why reassessment should be placed on hold:


If you've ever taken a child to the dentist for the first time, you’ve learned that when you prepare them in advance, they’ll probably face the visit with less fear and apprehension.
While it may not be fun or something they’ll want to do frequently, with knowledge and reassurance they’re more likely to make it through just fine. As majority county commissioners, it’s that line of thinking that, in part, formed our decision to delay Luzerne County’s property reassessment.
Let’s face it -- the adjustment of our property values and tax bills is as troubling as heading to the dentist for a root canal. We began with field assessors scouring our homes and businesses to gather measurements and information. With more than 164,000 parcels to check, it was a huge job, admirably taken on by our contractor, 21st Century Appraisals.
But, as you may have learned when you received your preliminary data mailers, there were plenty of errors. Once they are ironed out and fair market values assigned, the experts predict about 10 percent of Luzerne County’s property owners will see their taxes go up, about 10 percent of taxes will go down, and the rest will fluctuate one way or the other around our present rates. If you disagreed with your rate, you would have to go through a series of appeals before a final tax rate on your property would be set.
On May 30, we held a well-advertised meeting on reassessment, and quite frankly it was troubling for us, as well as our highly qualified Board of Assessment members. More than 20,000 taxpayers had already indicated that initial data on their properties were incorrect.
Residents who attended the meeting pointed out similar problems, as well as profound confusion, uncertainty about how to have them corrected, and where and how the reassessment process would go from this point.
Compounding this problem was a reassessment time-line developed before we took office. It called for an extensive series of public meetings to be set up and held in barely one month’s time, the setting of all property values by July 1, and unofficial appeals to take place during a short, four-month window.
Our contractor, 21st Century Appraisals, hadn’t made the county’s commercial property preliminary data available for review until the beginning of June. 21st Century also admitted that if commercial and residential values were mailed by July 1st, there would be a deluge of more than 40,000 reassessment appeals.
Minutes of a reassessment team meeting even show that 21st Century’s Director of Operations Gene Porterfield voiced concerns that problems with pinpointing exact, satellite-mapped locations of hundreds of properties by the deadline would mean the company wouldn’t be able to establish their reasonable, fair values.
We believe the county and 21st Century simply don’t have the human or physical infrastructure to deal with several monumental issues in such a short period, and that the rushed process would discourage some property owners from making appeals.
The clincher came a few days later in a letter to the Luzerne County Commissioners from a taxpayer group in Venango County where 21st Century performed reassessments in 2000 and 2004 and continues to run that county’s assessment office. The letter, signed by the group’s officers and board, was sent after they read online reports of our reassessment situation.
They told us about the continuing taxpayer frustration over Venango’s reassessment process and the resulting property values that they believe are unequal, and unfair. The letter contained a laundry list of decisions and actions that they find unacceptable and are trying to fight.
The letter from the officers of “Taxpayers United-Reform Needed” concluded with this quote: “Luzerne County Commissioners Skrepenak and Vonderheid are to be commended for addressing their taxpayer’s needs by waiting till the county is comfortable with the data presented by 21st Century and also right that the appeal process will not address the discrepancies on properties that do not file appeals.”
As candidate, and now Commissioner Skrepenak, I’ve always been against reassessment. Commissioner Vonderheid was still convinced of its merit. But our circumstances, topped by this unsolicited letter from taxpayers at the other end of the commonwealth put us on the same page when it came to doing reassessment right.
We had to make an administrative decision to instruct 21st Century to stay the course, or give everyone involved — the county, contractor, and taxpayers — some room to breathe, and a chance to absorb what was happening.
In an attempt to develop some direction for the contractor and the process, County Manger/Chief Clerk Sam Guesto’s office polled each commissioner individually. After the public meeting, reviewing the information, and hearing from others who had been through reassessment, we independently came to the conclusion that slowing the process was the prudent thing to do.
Commissioner Steve Urban told Deputy Chief Clerk Bill Brace he wanted to stick with the old timeline. Based on the majority response, the county manager/chief clerk told 21st Century that no mailing of valuations or data should be conducted for the time being. We’ll take public input and make a formal decision on that at our next commissioners meeting at Hazleton City Hall on June 21.
In all sincerity, the easiest thing to do would have been to plow through with the old plan, overwork our assessors, frustrate our residents, and let the chips fall where they may. But as we just learned through the implementation of our new electronic voting machines, some prudent decision-making and an informed public can often make a new and potentially intimidating experience a little less threatening.
Very soon, you’ll be hearing about reassessment appeals briefings in your community. We’ll also be scheduling the appeals process during six to eight months, rather than cramming it before this Nov. 1.
While pacing the process may not please property owners who believe their taxes will drop when the new values come into play, we remind them that there’s always been opportunity for them to appeal their current assessments.
We believe it’s our duty to pace reassessment to ensure its outcomes are fair and equitable for every taxpayer in Luzerne County. And we knew going in that upholding our duty would never be painless.