13-03-2025
County property owners to receive new valuations as reassessment project continues
Residential property owners in Lackawanna County will soon receive new property valuations calculated as part of the county's ongoing reassessment project — valuations they'll have a chance to appeal before they take effect next year.
It's the latest step in the yearslong and overdue process of updating assessed values for all 103,000-plus parcels countywide in the interest of tax fairness. Tyler Technologies, the firm the county hired in 2022 to conduct and complete the first comprehensive reassessment since 1968, recently completed tentative valuations for residential parcels.
Officials plan to mail about 50,000 of those new valuations Friday and another 50,000 on March 21, county assessment Director Patrick Tobin said in a news release. The tentative valuations are not tax bills, have no bearing on 2025 property taxes and aren't necessarily set in stone.
What they're meant to reflect is the market value of a property based on current conditions, as the goal of reassessment is to restore tax fairness by bringing assessed property values used to calculate municipal, school and county real estate taxes in line with current market values.
It's necessary because the county's present system became skewed over the 57 years since the last reassessment, with many property owners paying far more than their fair share of taxes and others paying far less.
The tentative valuation notices property owners will soon receive will include instructions for those who choose to appeal their new valuations, a two-part process that begins with an informal review. Assessors will explain during the informal review period how they arrived at a property owner's new value. Those who still disagree with the new valuation may file a formal appeal.
All formal appeals must be filed by Aug. 1, and will be heard in August, September and October, Tobin said last month.
Anticipating a large number of appeals, the county will establish four three-member auxiliary appeals boards to hear cases. The boards will complement the permanent appeals board already in place.
Auxiliary boards will hear cases five days a week during the three-month appeals window. Board members will be paid $24,000 each.
People interested in serving on the auxiliary boards can send an application with accompanying qualifications to the Lackawanna County Assessor's Office, Lackawanna County Government Center, 123 Wyoming Ave., 2nd Floor, Scranton, PA 18503. The office's phone number is 570-963-6728. Its email address is assessor@
An application form for county boards and authorities is available on the county's website, by clicking the 'Boards & Authorities' link under the government tab at the top of the site.
Prospective applicants with Certified Pennsylvania Evaluator status are automatically eligible to serve on the auxiliary appeals boards. Other applicants must take a six-hour online training course.
Final valuations used to calculate 2026 municipal, school and county taxes must be established by Nov. 15.
