Pocono News Section

Luzerne Co. Reassessing Their Reassessments

Luzerne Co. Reassessing Their Reassessments - Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 5:56PM EST

Reported by: Mike Trim
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 @ 05:56pm EST

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY- For the first time in more than 40 years, Luzerne County homes are being reassessed all at once.

For people who own homes, reassessment places a value on your house and land. The bottom line, it determines how much property tax you'll pay.

The first batch of reassessments is from northern Luzerne County . That's where nearly 29,000 homes and properties were assessed.

It wasn't hard to find a complaint at Luzerne County's Northern Regional Reassessment Office in Plains. People here are planning to appeal their new proposed property assessments. Frank Histolsky says his Franklin Township reassessment is outrageous. “They don't have a lot of the information, it's incorrect on it. They don't even have your house on the right property," says Histolsky.

He says he would pay about $7,000 more in property tax a year. That's pale in comparison to Jean Santasania's reassessment. She says it quadrupled her West Wyoming property value. "If this stuck, $10,000 more a year in property taxes," says Santasania.

Now homeowners like Santasania and Jeff Winn of Kingston are filing an appeal. "Hopefully get things back in check. I understand there are anomalies in any type of process like this," says Winn. The company who did the reassessments for Luzerne County , 21st Century Appraisals, hopes people are patient. 21st Century Chief Appraiser Tim Barr says, "The first thing to keep in mind is that there is a process in place. The values are not set in stone until November when they're certified."

That's when the county's Taxroll is finalized and the property reassessments would stay permanent. Until then, many homeowners are filing appeals, hoping to get things right.