Photo by Rick Hiduk
Wyoming County Commissioners (from left) Tom Henry, Judy Mead, and Ron Williams listen to commentary from a resident in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting at the courthouse in Tunkhannock.
At the regular meeting of the Wyoming County Commissioners on Nov. 5, the board adopted a new tax claim computer program on the recommendation of county tax claim director Theresa Gannon.
Bruce Grandjean and Michael Wolfe from Honesdale-based Grandjean & Braverman, Inc. handled questions about security and ownership of files that were posed by the commissioners, who unanimously approved the implementation of the program.
“We are very excited to be involved in the automation of the Wyoming County Tax Claim office,” Grandjean said after the meeting.
The program is already currently in use in Wayne and Adams counties and is designed to help manage delinquent parcels of property from notification through sale. According to the company’s website, the program coordinates the auction process by generating sales notices, producing a bidders list for the auctioneer, receiving payments from successful bidders, and distributing payment back to the county.
The commissioners learned that the system will be operable within a few months and ready for the next tax season in January.
The hardware is in place,” said Gannon, who noted that this is the best time of the year to integrate the new program with the old one as collections are traditionally at their lowest point.
The new system will cost Wyoming County about $21,000, $10,000 upon signing the agreement, $6,000 upon receipt of the software, and the remaining $5,000 after 30 days and a consensus that the system is functioning properly.
County solicitor Jim Davis provided an update on the Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) efforts to involve the county in a dispute in Nicholson over the future of a bridge on Station Hill Road.
As noted at previous meetings, the road, which passes over railroad tracks owned by Canadian Pacific, is also State Route 1025 and therefore the providence of PennDOT. Several residents in Nicholson borough used the bridge to access their homes.
The PUC had scheduled a hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 20 to address the matter after PennDOT designated the bridge to be restored or sold. Davis received a petition asking for a postponement of the hearing. He recommended that the commissioners support the apparent will of the residents there.
“I’m OK with postponing the meeting,” Davis remarked. “It keeps us out of it.”
In a previous meeting, Davis reported that he had sent letters to attorneys involved with the controversy that made it clear that the county would not contribute funds toward restoration of the bridge, which was shut down this past summer.