`nutcracker' Enlivens The Holiday

Alex Wrobleski 
Dec. 17, 1994 
Alex A. Wrobleski, 73, Of North Gates Avenue, Kingston, Died Saturday In 
Nesbitt Memorial Hospital, Kingston.

By TOM OBRZUT JR.; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, December 21, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 6A 





WILKES-BARRE -- Reassessments are "killing" the Wilkes-Barre Area School
District's tax base, so the school board voted unanimously Tuesday to fight
the Holiday Inn's request for an assessment reduction. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "You're telling me they want a reduction?" asked board member Michael
Rushton, citing the recent opening of a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant at the
hotel on Kidder Street. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Attorney Michael Toole, who represents the district, said the hotel did not
add any space when the restaurant opened, but just renovated the hotel's
former banquet rooms. The assessment reduction request was filed several years
ago, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The hotel has asked for a reassessment that would reduce its annual tax
payment by more than $300,000, said district business manager Ralph Scoda. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Board members agree reassessments and tax-exempt properties such as
colleges and hospitals are the district's biggest ongoing problem, cutting
into a tax base already depleted by residents and businesses moving to the
suburbs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And businesses that do stay often are granted an assessment reduction,
board members said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Tuesday, the board voted to pay $62,439 to the Wilkes-Barre Industrial
Development Authority for the Ramada Hotel on Public Square for taxes paid in
1991. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The downtown hotel successfully had its assessment reduced from $770,860 to
$385,430 in June 1992. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's a shame," said board member Alice Corba. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scoda said the district paid more than $150,000 in refunds in 1993 and more
than $100,000 this year. One mill of property taxes brings in about $118,000,
he said. A mill is a $1 tax on each $1,000 of assessed property value. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The district's current millage rate is 196, up three mills from 1993-94. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Board president Owen Costello said the district has no control over
reassessment requests because they are decided by the Luzerne County Board of
Assessment Appeals. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We lost $1 million in tax revenues in the past year," Costello said. "We
don't want to raise millage. This is a major, major concern." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Board member Dolores Seacrist suggested going after tax-exempt properties
to raise revenue. The board agreed. It voted to compile a list of the
district's tax-exempt properties. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Carefully choosing a target case to challenge an entity's tax-exempt status
is important, said Toole. If the district wins its target case, then
tax-exempts might voluntarily give the district money. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole said more than 40 percent of the property in Wilkes-Barre is
tax-exempt. Corba said the district would not challenge the tax-exempt status
of churches. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In other business, the board voted unanimously to begin disciplinary
proceedings against a 17-year-old male student who brought a .22-caliber
revolver to Meyers High School in November. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Superintendent Thomas Rushton recommended that the student, who is still
lodged at the Luzerne County Juvenile Detention Center, be expelled. A formal
hearing must take place before expulsion. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I will not tolerate this action in our schools," Rushton said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In January, the student's parents will be notified by registered letter of
their rights and the specific charges against their son, Rushton said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A hearing will be conducted before the school board, and the board will
decide whether the student will be expelled. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

W-b Area To Fight Hotel's Reassessment Plea