election-11-3-15.pdf

Low turnout expected despite some high profile races in Luzerne County

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Coroner confirms Horton Street fire victim was Duane Lawrence

Newport Township has no tax collector for 2016 because a majority of Luzerne County Council members voted last week to stop allowing the county treasurer&#8217;s office to perform the work.The treasurer&#8217;s office started collecting both county and municipal taxes in the township this year at the request of township officials following the resignation of the township&#8217;s elected tax collector.Municipalities have three replacement options when an elected collector resigns, said Treasurer&#8217;s Office Manager/Tax Administrator Laura Beers: another township resident, an elected collector in another municipality or the county treasurer&#8217;s office.The matter was on last week&#8217;s council agenda because the township would be required to start paying the county $2.50 per bill instead of $2 next year &#8212; a fee increase also taking effect for the county&#8217;s elected tax collectors.Township officials had agreed to pay the increased fee. Beers said the county receives about $8,000 in revenue from collecting taxes in Newport Township and also saves $5,000 because it doesn&#8217;t have to pay an elected collector to receive county taxes.The following council members voted against the treasurer&#8217;s office collecting in Newport: Edward Brominski, Kathy Dobash, Eileen Sorokas, Stephen A. Urban and Stephen J. Urban.Five votes were enough to defeat the motion last week because Councilmen James Bobeck and Rick Morelli were absent, leaving nine of 11 present.Dobash said another person had offered to collect the taxes in Newport, but Beers said township officials preferred her office.Brominski said he did not believe the county should handle the task and described the township as &#8220;a community that doesn&#8217;t want to take responsibility.&#8221;The county treasurer&#8217;s office also collects county taxes for properties in Wilkes-Barre, Pittston and Hazleton and both county and municipal taxes for properties in Nanticoke.The remaining municipalities have elected tax collectors, in-house collection or outside companies to handle their county and local taxes.Beers told the council last week the decision will leave an $8,000 revenue shortfall in the proposed 2016 county budget that must be filled by other receipts or cuts in addition to the county&#8217;s increased $5,000 expense to pay someone else to collect county taxes in the municipality.&#8220;When we&#8217;re looking for money, $8,000 might not seem like much, but every penny counts,&#8221; Beers told the council.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Jennifer Learn-Andesjandes@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</shirttailMeta></div>

Newport Township left without a tax collector for 2016