LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Homeowners in Lackawanna County are receiving a significant piece of mail from Tyler Technologies: A new property assessment notice.
28/22 News explains what's in these assessments and how you can contest them if something doesn't add up.
This is Lackawanna County's first reassessment in nearly 60 years. The new property assessments aim to reflect the current market value of homes, but not without controversy.
According to Lackawanna County's Tax Assessment Office, despite fears of skyrocketing taxes, that isn’t quite the case.
Tax rates, or milages, are expected to drop significantly to compensate for these new values.
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"The good people of Mayfield have offered us a handout that they've offered to their taxpayers, which indicates that their current mileage is 38.5 mils, and in 2026, they are anticipating a mileage rate of 3.8, which is a drastic drop in mileage, and that type of activity is going to happen in every municipality throughout the county," said Pat Tobin, director, Lackawanna County's Reassessment Office.
The assessment process is based on recent sales of comparable homes in your area.
"They have derived a market value of your home based on five homes in your immediate area that have recently sold. So it's not this crazy, outrageous number. It's what homes around you have sold for," Tobin explained.
But what happens when the numbers just don't add up? For residents like Patricia Volpe, an unexpected extra 362 square feet on her property's assessment led to confusion and the need for an appeal.
"I got a tape measurer out and I started measuring and started realizing they were very wrong," stated Volpe.
Volpe is thankful she was able to catch the mistake and warns other county residents to examine their reassessment letter when they receive it.
"I am 70 years old and I live by myself, I spent two days with a tape measurer in hand, remeasuring and remeasuring, inside, outside, to make sure my calculations were correct before I had this phone call, no one should be going through this," said Volpe.
If you disagree with the assessment, like Volpe, reach out to Tyler Technologies directly.
"If they have questions about it, please schedule an informal appeal with Tyler Technologies. When you go there, you can discuss any errors you may have found in what they found at your home, be it square footage, maybe they don't know that your basement perpetually floods," Tobin explained.
Tobin says if you still don't agree with your value after the informal appeal, they will be hosting a formal appeal process starting on August 1 and will run through October 31.
