TAYLOR, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— The hotly contested topic of property tax reassessment continues for one NEPA county, and dozens of residents aired their concerns over how much more it will cost them to live in their homes.
Lackawanna County is in the process of conducting its first tax reassessment in over 50 years.
Residents gathered at Riverside High School to find out how much more they could pay in taxes.
After Lackawanna County property taxes already increased drastically this year, the phrase “Tax reassessment” has many concerned.
“We just had a 33% increase with the county tax, which my county tax went up $300,” said Taylor resident, Peg Derenick.
“People that have older homes are going to be taxed out of their homes, and that’s the way I feel about it,” added Old Forge resident, Laureen Cummings.
In May of 2022, the county contracted Tyler Technologies, an appraisal company out of Texas, to conduct a county-wide reassessment to correct what they call “Unfair property assessments”.
Basically, if a person purchased a home in 1967, they are still being taxed for the value of their home at the time of purchase, but representatives of Tyler Technologies says the fear is overblown.
“Even though those assessed values are going to increase, when those assessed values do increase, the millage rates that the taxing bodies set do then have to decrease,” explained Samantha Edwards, Project Manager, Tyler Technologies.
The millage rate is essentially a number that represents the amount per thousand dollars of assessed property value.
The millage rate will decrease because Pennsylvania law requires that all countywide reassessments on property tax be revenue neutral, meaning that the county cannot collect more taxes in the year after a reassessment.
“In a perfect world in a reassessment, 1/3 of the county will stay the same, 1/3 of the county will decrease, and 1/3 of the county will increase,” said Edwards.
These changes will not take effect until 2026. Residents have been sent mailers to let appraisers know about any updates or changes they’ve made to their homes that may affect the value.
Another mailer will be sent in march, giving residents the tentative value appraisers reached in their assessment. Residents will then be able to request an informal review if they are not satisfied with the appraisal.
For now, all residents can do is wait.
“I don’t know where we’re going to be in the future. You know I just don’t know,” added Derenick
Representatives of Tyler Technologies will be meeting with residents seven more times between this week and next to address any concerns they may have with the reassessment.
