SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Formal hearings on property value appeals began on Monday in Lackawanna County after tax hikes are expected to affect some property owners.
Some homeowners are expressing their frustration with the process.
28/22 News Reporter Joe Mason spoke to property owners and county officials about the reassessment.
"I'm kind of frustrated that Lackawanna County used my taxpayers' money to hire this company that produced completely bogus results," Lackawanna County land owner Maksim Kunim said.
Reassessment appeal hearings began on Monday in Lackawanna County for property owners who disagree with the recent reassessments of their property values.
The hearings are being held on the first floor of the marketplace at Steamtown.
According to the county's website, the last time a property assessment was done in Lackawanna County was in 1968
"It's been nearly sixty years since one of these was done. What took so long?" Mason asked.
"I, no comment," Lackawanna County Tax Assessment Office Director Patrick Tobin replied.
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The reassessed values of the 102,685 properties in the county began in July of 2022 and continued into 2024.
They were mailed to property owners in late June. Around 4% of property owners are appealing.
Kunim is a land owner in the county and says the reassessment process has been frustrating.
"In April of this year, I received a letter from Tyler Technologies with a new value of my land, which was probably ten times higher than real market value. We had these conversations, and they told me I had to put everything on the paper and send it to Lackawanna County Assessment Office. Which I did and received no response," Kunim explained.
Kunim says he spoke with county reassessment officials today and is optimistic.
"It looked like they were very understanding, but I will only two weeks of the results," Kunim told 28/22 News.
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Patrick Tobin is the director of the county's Tax Assessment Office.
"The goals of the reassessment is to equalize the tax base, make it more fair for everyone, so that everyone is paying their fair share," Tobin stated.
He says most of the complaints he's been hearing have been in regards to property sales.
"Most of the concerns we're hearing is that they couldn't sell their house for that. But, the values are based on five comparable sales in their area that have sold near that amount," Tobin continued.
The reassessment appeal hearings are set to last until October 31, with the county expected to certify final property values on November 14.
