Another big-ticket property assessment challenge — this one involving a Hershey plant — has been settled as part of Luzerne County’s push to close out languishing cases.
County officials sought timely resolution because assessment reductions — and thus, refunds — date back to the year challenges were filed. A series of larger commercial appeals, some stemming from the 2009 countywide reassessment, have strained county budgets in recent years.
In response, court administration sent notices to approximately 70 property owners last year indicating their assessment challenges will be terminated without further notice due to two years of inactivity unless they file action to proceed.
The Hershey Company’s candy manufacturing plant in Hazle Township was among the notice recipients, prompting the company to proceed with its case, court filings show.
According to county Manager C. David Pedri’s newly issued July refund report and other county records, Hershey Co. has obtained a $1.54 million assessment reduction.
As a result, the county had to refund $34,043 in taxes from 2013 through 2016, which does not include the return of school and municipal taxes, the report says.
With its new $4.5 million assessment, the business will pay $74,819 in school, county and municipal taxes, or $25,604 less. The tax bill was $100,423 on its prior assessment of $6.04 million.
The settlement was approved by the township, Hazleton Area School District and county Board of Tax Assessment Appeals, court filings said.
The property is located on 28.5 acres in the Humboldt Industrial Park.
The county spent about $450,000 on refunds last year.
Refunds have cost the county approximately $207,087 this year to date, or 38 percent of the $550,000 budgeted, records show.
Court Administrator Michael Shucosky said Monday all 70 stale cases were dismissed, withdrawn or have completed or pending settlements.
“Some required multiple conferences and negotiating sessions, but all were resolved in one manner or another,” Shucosky said.
Meanwhile, officials have identified another 100 assessment challenges that have had no activity in two years and forwarded that list to the county administration Monday for its review, Shucosky said. These cases were pinpointed in the court’s recent review of 4,367 stale civil court cases, he said.
Assistant county Solicitor David Schwager, who handles assessment matters, said he is also reviewing inactive cases and may find more warranting steps seeking closure.
Judges will be assigned to all open assessment appeals to advance their resolution.
“Council members wanted us to prioritize this and we did because this is an unknown financial liability to taxing bodies,” said Shucosky.
Other top reductions this year include assessment drops of $1.79 million for the Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club and an adjoining tract in Dorrance Township; and $900,000 for The Woodlands Inn, a hotel and entertainment complex on Route 315 in Plains Township, records show.
Despite the losses, the county’s overall tax base grew $26.8 million from January through July, for a new total of $20.197 billion, a recent snapshot reading showed. The increase stemmed from new construction and the aggressive pursuit of reverse appeals in some school districts to boost the value of commercial and industrial properties that officials maintain are assessed too low.
