Lackawanna County panel urges property owners to file appeals, explains appraisal thresholds and timelines

LACKAWANNA COUNTY — County officials and a panel of local attorneys and an appraiser told a packed town hall at Abington Heights High School that property owners must file formal appeals by Aug. 1 if they wish to challenge newly mailed reassessments and that certain properties will require state-certified appraisals to be heard.

“August 1 is the deadline to appeal,” said attorney Anthony Loma, who explained the new consolidated county assessment process and the timeline and administrative steps residents must follow for informal and formal appeals.

The panel included Commissioner Chris Chermack, real-estate attorneys Pat Lavelle and Anthony Loma, and certified residential appraiser Jay Conrad Bosley. PJ Labelle, serving as moderator, said the county mailed new valuation notices to more than 110,000 properties and that those notices went out Friday, June 20 to allow a 40-day window before appeals start.

Why it matters: The county’s reassessment resets assessed values to fair-market estimates that will be used to set millage rates later; county officials and panelists said state law requires the overall taxing bodies to be revenue neutral but individual taxpayers can see increases or decreases in tax bills. Many attendees said the new valuations are substantially higher than they expected and raised affordability concerns for seniors and fixed-income households.

What residents were told to do

Loma and Lavelle walked residents through the administrative steps. Loma said the county’s assessor website now lists each parcel’s 2026 assessment and that filing a residential appeal requires a $35 fee and a county form. He advised residents to use the informal-review process first and to gather photos and comparable sales before a formal hearing.

Pat Lavelle told commercial owners the new county “fair market value” figures were produced by Tyler Technologies rather than by Pennsylvania-certified general appraisers and urged commercial property owners to obtain an appraisal from a PA-certified general appraiser before a hearing. Lavelle said the appeal form for commercial properties requires specific data — building square footage, annual rent, lease type and construction date — and cautioned that the board and subsequent court appeals include tight deadlines and technical filing rules.

When appraisals are mandatory

Appraisal requirements featured prominently. Bosley, the certified appraiser on the panel, said property owners whose improved parcels are assessed at $700,000 or more must submit a certified state appraisal; unimproved land assessed at $150,000 or more also triggers that requirement. He said those appraisals must be effective in the January 1, 2022–June 30, 2024 sales window the county is using and must be filed two weeks before a scheduled hearing.

“If you’re mandatory to have an appraisal done…get your appraisal done immediately, and then set your hearing date,” Loma said.

Panelists’ warnings and practical advice

Pat Lavelle and Bosley said the county’s new valuations were produced from Tyler Technologies’ models and not from on-site certified appraisals. Lavelle advised that owners should expect hearings to be contentious and that an unfavorable board decision can be appealed to Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas within 30 days. Bosley and Loma recommended gathering photos documenting condition (unfinished basements, dated kitchens, etc.) and searching for comparable sales in the county’s specified 01/01/2022–06/30/2024 window.

Commissioner Chermack said he has heard stories of large and small mismatches in valuations and urged patience while the appeals process runs its course. He also raised policy options for protecting vulnerable residents, including payment plans, deferrals, phase-ins of increases and the state Clean and Green program for qualifying large parcels.

Public concerns voiced at the meeting

Multiple residents described what they called “horror stories” — a downtown lot listed at $2.1 million, vacant parcels assigned significant land values and parcels where the assessor’s initial data sheet listed incorrect bedroom and basement information. Jo Mayer, a Jessup resident, urged collective legal action and a forensic accounting review of county spending and contracts, calling the system “a maze designed to overwhelm.”

Several attendees asked whether low-income or elderly homeowners could have the $35 filing fee waived; panelists said they did not know of a waiver and encouraged people with financial hardship to contact commissioner offices for help. Gary Duncan of Dunmore said many seniors and disabled residents lack the resources to pay for appraisals or attorneys and described the changes as a threat to homeowners on fixed incomes.

Other programs and timeline notes

The panel identified other relief tools: Clean and Green (typically for 10 acres or more), homestead exclusion provisions from the Taxpayer Relief Act (Act 1 of 2006), and veteran exemptions for 100% disabled wartime veterans; Chermack and others referenced pending legislative efforts to expand veteran protections. The county must complete hearings and provide final assessed values to taxing authorities under statutory deadlines; Loma cited an October 31 last day to hear appeals and a county submission deadline around Nov. 14–15 so municipalities and school districts can set millage and issue tax bills.

Next steps and where to get help

Panelists recommended filing the $35 residential appeal by Aug. 1 to preserve the right to a hearing even if the filer later decides not to pursue the case. Several panelists said residents could represent themselves before the Board of Assessment Appeals and submit appraisal reports or comparable evidence without an attorney, though they also said legal representation is important for court appeals. Commissioner Chermack told residents to contact his office for assistance and said the panel would stay after the meeting to answer detailed questions.

“People should take advantage of the opportunity; you only have until August 1,” Loma said.

Ending: The town hall underscored broad public concern about the scope and speed of Lackawanna County’s first reassessment in decades and laid out the procedural steps — filing, documentation, appraisal thresholds and hearing dates — that property owners will need to follow if they want to challenge newly mailed valuations.