Tyler Technologies holds “What you need to know about reassessment” meetings

Tyler Technologies, the company chosen by Monroe County to conduct a reassessment of property in the county is holding a series of public information meetings. The first meeting was held Monday evening at Pleasant Valley High School and was well-attended by residents.

“There was a short presentation by Tyler followed by questions from the attendees,” said County Commissioner John Moyer. “The questions were really good and a lot of information was shared.”

The next meeting is from 6:30 to 8 tonight at Stroudsburg High School auditorium located at 1100 W. Main St. in Stroudsburg.

Additional meetings are set for Pocono Mountain East High School at 231 Pocono Mountain School Road in Swiftwater on Monday and at East Stroudsburg South at 321 N. Courtland St. in East Stroudsburg on Wednesday. The meetings all begin at 6:30 p.m.

On March 1, property owners in Monroe County will be receiving a notice that shows the tentative value of their property. On that date a website will also become live which will show the property values assigned throughout the county.

Property owners will have from March 1 through June 30 to schedule an informal meeting with Tyler Technology representatives to discuss inaccuracies in their assessments.

“Tyler had sent out a mailer for property owners to respond to with corrections,” Moyer said. “Unfortunately only about 20 percent responded.”

On July 1, property owners will receive a certified valuation of their property. Property owners can schedule a formal appeal with an Auxiliary Board of Assessment between July 1 and Aug. 9.

Following the appeal period, the County’s Chief Assessor will forward the assessed property values to each of the municipalities and school districts. The taxing authorities will use the new assessment values to establish taxes. County and municipal taxes will be due June 30, 2020. School taxes will be due Sept. 30, 2020.

Moyer added that it was originally believed that in a reassessment, one-third of properties’ taxes would go up, one-third would stay the same and one-third would decrease.

“That’s not quite what is being found,” Moyer said. “I am not sure what the percentages are, but a much larger number are staying the same, which means a lower number are decreasing and a lower number are increasing.”

Moyer also said that the previous assessment used a 25 percent valuation, and that the new assessment is using a 100 percent valuation, which will mean a decrease in millage by a factor of 4.

For those homeowners who experience a significant increase in value, the taxing authorities are not permitted to increase greater than 10 percent in the first year.