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Parking garage sale pulled from Wilkes-Barre council agenda for lack of support

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Our view: Wilkes-Barre chief hire must be transparent process

<p>Luzerne County must refund UGI Penn Natural Gas Inc. a combined $129,161 in real estate taxes from 2012 through 2017 due to an assessment reduction, according to a newly released April refund report.</p><p>The assessment on the company&#8217;s 16.43-acre complex on East Northampton Street in Wilkes-Barre was reduced from $8.89 million to $5 million through a court-level mediation settlement.</p><p>Refunds date back to the year challenges were filed, leading to some multiyear payments that have strained past county budgets.</p><p>The county has budgeted $550,000 for refunds in 2018, which is the same as the amount the prior two years.</p><p>Under its original assessment, UGI paid $155,129 in real estate taxes to the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and $53,141 to the county. Wilkes-Barre taxes are handled separately because the city has its own assessments.</p><p class="n_ 52 v2">With the new assessment, UGI pays $87,217 in school taxes, or $67,912 less, based on current tax rates. The company&#8217;s county tax bill will be $29,877, or a reduction of $23,264.</p><p><strong>Other reductions</strong></p><p>Three other big-ticket commercial assessment reductions have been awarded since February, according to tax refund reports posted by the manager at <a href="http://www.luzernecounty.org/tax-refunds-2018" target="_blank">www.luzernecounty.org</a>.</p><p>The assessment of Keystone Automotive Operations Inc.&#8217;s warehouse and office on Slocum Street in Exeter was lowered from $11.45 million to $6.385 million.</p><p>The business is on 20.95 acres. The county refunded the company $69,872 in overpayments from 2015 through 2017.</p><p>This $5.06 million assessment reduction equates to an annual revenue loss of $9,164 for the borough, $80,780 for the Wyoming Area School District and $30,288 for the county, analysis shows.</p><p>The company will pay a combined $151,466 in real estate taxes to the three taxing bodies with the decrease.</p><p>In Hazle Township, Inland Container Corp.&#8217;s plant on 15.21 acres on Forest Road in the Humboldt Industrial Park is now assessed at $3.95 million instead of $3.1 million.</p><p>The county paid the company a $14,550 refund from 2015 through 2017.</p><p>Multiple cabin structures on 6.32 acres on Route 315 in Plains Township owned by Mitch, Ross and Eric Kornfeld also were reduced, from an assessment of $995,000 to a new $675,000.</p><p>The county refund was $8,742.16 from 2012 through 2016 for this parcel.</p><p>County officials have been pushing for resolution of outstanding assessment challenges, particularly with larger commercial sites, to minimize the hit to government finances.</p><p>County Manager C. David Pedri has said the county may reach its $550,000 budget allocation for refunds this year as the remaining backlog is cleared.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Luzerne County Courthouse </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_luzcocourthouse01-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Luzerne County Courthouse </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

More big-ticket assessment reductions granted in Luzerne County