Candidates for Schuylkill County commissioner made their positions known on critical issues facing the county Oct. 10 during a debate on the Penn State Schuylkill campus.
Sponsored by the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce government affairs committee, the debate was the first time the candidates appeared together during the campaign.
On Nov. 7 voters will choose the three commissioners to lead the county for the next four years.
The candidates are Democrats Gary J. Hess and Rita Anczarski Baldino; Republicans Larry Padora and Barron L. “Boots” Hetherington; and Libertarian Gregory A. Woll.
Reassessment
The current reassessment of properties in the county was the first issue put to the candidates.
Padora, the first to respond, left no doubt where he stood on the issue.
“I will never be a fan of reassessment, or of anything that raises taxes,” he said.
Padora acknowledged reassessment was brought on by a class-action lawsuit and said the best thing to do now is to see to it that everyone is treated fairly.
He called for property owners to have two appeals without having to pay for the legal expenses involved.
Woll argued the reassessment was brought on by a failure of county leadership since the last assessment in 1996. He advocated reassessing property every four or five years.
He said the commissioners should be kept to their statement that reassessment would lead to a third of the properties having a tax increase, a third having a tax decrease and a third remaining the same.
Hess, an incumbent, pointed out that the current system, in which two homes across the street from each other could be paying different tax rates, is not fair to everyone.
While the county is paying consultants $7 million to conduct the reassessment, Hess said it would have cost more to go to court and fight legal challenges.
“The reassessment brings fairness,” he said, “and through the process we will ensure that it will be fair and square to everybody.”
Hetherington, county commissioner chairman, said all three commissioners voted for reassessment to settle a lawsuit brought by taxpayers who felt the system was not fair.
“The Pennsylvania statute says that all properties are to be appraised, assessed and taxed equally,” he said. “Our job as commissioners is to create fairness.”
Baldino supports the reassessment.
“This is a classic example of government leadership pushing the can down the road and not making the tough decisions,” she said of the failure to reassess since 1996. “Reassessment needs to occur in some kind of cyclical fashion.”
Fiscal responsibility
Hess and Hetherington defended the county against Woll’s charge that it is carrying $26 million in debt and showed a $10 million deficit last year.
Hess said the commissioners raised taxes only three times in his 12 years in office. The county is financially healthy, he said, and carried a rating of AA from Moody’s, the third best rating.
Hetherington said there has not been a tax increase since 2018 and that it appears there will not be one in 2024.
The county uses a zero-based budgeting system, he said, meaning that each department starts from scratch and has to justify its expenses every year.
“They have to justify every nickel, every penny, they list on their budget,” he said.
Transparency
Padora said the commissioners should hold evening meetings rather than in the morning when most working people can’t attend.
Woll agreed that holding meetings at 7 p.m. would increase accessibility of the public to the workings of government.
Other topics were the environment, human services and the county prison.
There are no plans for a debate that would bring the candidates together again before the election.
Source: Berkshire mont
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