Judge dismisses county tax collectors’ lawsuit [The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.]

Oct. 31--More than eight months after the Luzerne County Council narrowly voted to gather taxes using county employees rather than elected tax collectors, a judge dismissed the Luzerne County Tax Collectors Association's lawsuit to block the move Monday.

The dismissal opens the door for in-house tax collection to start in January, county solicitor David Pedri said Wednesday in an email to council. It's a change proponents say will save the county nearly $400,000 annually. Opponents have expressed doubts the county can achieve those savings by hiring only three additional employees, as it had planned.

The association of tax collectors, which will continue to work for school districts and municipalities, filed suit in March, asking the courts to block the county ordinance and calling it illegal.

Senior Judge David Grine disagreed. The Pennsylvania Constitution and the Home Rule Law, which governs Luzerne County, "clearly permit" home-rule municipalities to exercise that right, he wrote in his opinion. The enactment of in-house tax collection "falls within the broad powers set forth in the (the county's home-rule) charter," Grine wrote.

The county's outside legal representation, led by Matthew Carmody, argued that counties such as Lehigh and Allegheny had made similar moves. Jack Dean, another member of the legal team, said the county was "very, very pleased" with the ruling.

Carmody and Dean received a rate of about $160 an hour, they said, but were paid from the county's legal insurance company rather than from county coffers.

Michael Savona, one of the association's attorneys, said he had not yet received the order and declined to comment.

But the victorious politicians had plenty to say.

"This case is not just a victory for the County on tax collection, but for Home Rule itself," said Councilman Jim Bobeck, who introduced the ordinance, in an email Wednesday. "The County can choose its own destiny without bowing to litigation threats. The tax collectors' attorney tried to intimidate Council from making the correct decision by threatening litigation at a Council meeting, and the majority of council was not deterred."

Grine, of Centre County, was brought in to rule on the case because he has no affiliation to Luzerne County, Dean said.

pcameron@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2110, @cvpetercameron

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