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Assessment appeal refunds racking up in Luzerne County budget

Institute Insights: The numbers are in, and they are good for NEPA

<p>The Luzerne County assessor&#8217;s office has reviewed 94 percent of properties flagged as possibly missing from real estate tax rolls, county Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz said last week.</p><p>Its review list came from Rochester, N.Y.-based Pictometry International Corp.&#8217;s software, which detects new structures based on aerial photography.</p><p>To date, the initiative has added $15.5 million in assessed value to the tax rolls, which equates to $92,624 in additional tax revenue for the county annually. County officials had set a goal of finding enough overlooked properties to cover the $50,000 Pictometry investment.</p><p>The software generated 49,224 potential targets, and 46,565 have been checked by the county to date, Swetz said.</p><p>Not all properties were missed. The software pinpointed every building footprint change that occurred between flyovers in 2008 and 2016 but did not include a check of current assessment data to rule out ones that had been detected &#8212; a task that fell on the assessor&#8217;s office, officials have said.</p><p>Now that the county is close to wrapping up its review, officials may consider obtaining a fresh Pictometry report to &#8220;keep everything up to date,&#8221; Swetz told council.</p><p><strong>Tax forgiveness</strong></p><p>Representatives of the vacant former Penn Refrigeration site on Woodbury Street in Hanover Township told council the property&#8217;s prospective buyer &#8212; Teos, LLC &#8212; is in the process of paying $65,275 in 2018 taxes Teos owes on another property in the township.</p><p>Council Chairman Tim McGinley questioned the delinquency because Penn Refrigeration is asking council to forgive half the delinquent taxes on the deteriorating Woodbury Street property so it can be sold to Teos.</p><p>Teos had not paid the 2018 taxes on the property it already owns because its billing office relocated from New Jersey to Hanover Township, and the bill was sent to the prior address, the representatives said.</p><p>Council plans to vote on the tax forgiveness request at its May 28 meeting.</p><p>The three-parcel property on Woodbury Street was kept out of tax auctions due to a bankruptcy. The county is owed $50,675 on the three parcels, which means it would accept $25,337 if the plan is approved, in addition to half of interest that accrues until closing.</p><p><strong>Blight committee</strong></p><p>The county Blighted Property Review Committee will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with plans to review a revised application.</p><p>The committee had invited townships and boroughs to submit abandoned properties for possible inclusion in a new blighted property database earlier this year. Several applications were submitted but missing documentation required to proceed, prompting the committee to rethink the application format, officials said.</p><p>Once the database is up and running, the county Redevelopment Authority may consider taking action to remediate problems, including acquisition, demolition and rehabilitation, officials have said.</p><p>Under the committee&#8217;s plan, vacant properties could be declared blighted and placed in the database for numerous reasons, including public nuisance code violations, safety problems that may attract and endanger children, unaddressed vermin infestations or broken or disconnected utilities, plumbing, heating or sewage systems.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Courthouse </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_web1_luzerne-county-courthouse-1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>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>

Luzerne County wrapping up search for missed properties on tax rolls