Pocono News Section

Scranton's Single Tax Office Under Investigation

Scranton's Single Tax Office Under Investigation - Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 3:59PM EST

Reported by: David DeCosmo
Wednesday, Mar 26, 2008 @03:59pm EST

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY- There has been another call for a probe of the so-called Single Tax Office in the City of Scranton.

Lackawanna County officials on Wednesday joined the city council and the school board saying they want to know how twelve million dollars was left sitting in an account that should have been empty.

Scranton's Single Tax Office was established as a convenience for local taxpayers. If you live in Scranton you could pay your city, school, or county taxes with just one stop at that office. Earlier this month just over twelve million dollars was discovered in an account that should have carried a zero balance.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Mike Washo said he and his colleagues want an audit of the office as soon as possible. "We want to see a forensic audit done. We want the Scranton Single Tax Office to commission it and at the end of the day we want to pay our share of that audit in proportion to the amount of money that Lackawanna County taxpayers receive" explained Commissioner Washo.

Commissioner Washo stopped short of supporting Scranton City Council's call for an investigation by the District Attorney's Office.

Andy Sbaraglia of Scranton is one taxpayer we found that said there should be a probe. But he feels it should be done by the state of Pennsylvania. Sbaraglia explained "If anything I'd rather see the state come in and investigate and let them (the state) wonder why the law was violated. Why they didn't have the audits when there were suppose to have been the audits. So it’s a complex thing where state law was being violated."

Marilyn Vitali Flynn just recently took over as Tax Collector and immediately asked for an audit. She said it can't come soon enough. "I absolutely welcome it in order to get things straight and get back on the track of doing what we need to get done.”