Luzerne County property owners may be eligible for financial assistance to pay delinquent Wyoming Valley Levee fees and real estate taxes, officials said Tuesday.
The funding would come from the $350 million Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund aimed at helping state homeowners facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state’s Housing Finance Agency is administering the program, with funding coming from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The subject came up during Tuesday’s meeting of the county Flood Protection Authority, which imposes the levee fee to cover maintenance of the flood control system along the Susquehanna River.
Authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman said he inquired with the state, which determined past-due levee fees can be considered an eligible expense under the program. The maximum levee fee receipt would be for two years of delinquency or $5,000, whichever comes first, he said.
The authority board agreed Tuesday that its delinquent levee fee tax collector, Portnoff Law Associates, should work with delinquent fee payers eligible for the funding. Portnoff also has posted information on the program at www.portnoffonline.com, and the flood authority will be advertising the program availability on its website and through social media, officials said.
Belleman said the state determined delinquent levee fees are eligible under a program assistance category for delinquent homeowner association/condominium fees.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to help our ratepayers who may have fallen behind on their levee fee payments,” Belleman said in an email.
Real estate taxes
In regard to relief for delinquent real estate taxes, county tax-claim administrator Elite Revenue Solutions LLC has requested a discussion at county council’s next meeting on April 26, company representative Sean Shamany said Tuesday.
Sam Falcone, an attorney for Elite Revenue, said the relief program applies to delinquent real estate taxes dating back to 2020 and 2021 and provides up to $5,000.
Homeowners must apply for the program.
County council clearance will be necessary because some of the assistance program’s provisions do not mirror the protocols followed by Elite Revenue under the real estate tax sale law, Falcone said.
For example, Elite Revenue must first apply payments it receives from property owners to the oldest delinquency, he said. If a property owner owes taxes dating back to 2019, the assistance could only cover the portion of unpaid taxes incurred in 2020 and 2021, he said.
“Council may allow people to receive court orders or put something else in place that attempts to help them, but Elite doesn’t have authority to do that under the statute,” Falcone said. “We’re on top of it. We want to work with the county and property owners because it’s a win-win.”
More information
Details about the assistance program are available at https://pahaf.org/ or (888) 987-2423.
The site includes links to figure out income qualifications and an online portal to submit an application.
In addition to past due property taxes and homeowner association fees, the site discusses available assistance for delinquent reverse mortgage insurance premiums, utilities and mortgage payments.