County joining Shen. Valley in lawsuit against borough
County, district seeking full payment, with interest, of PILOT funds from 2000-2015
POTTSVILLE – Schuylkill County is joining Shenandoah Valley’s lawsuit against Shenandoah borough, county commissioners approved today.
Schuylkill County Commissioners voted 2-0 Wednesday morning to approve and release a statement regarding Shenandoah’s failure to pay Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) funds to the county and the Shenandoah Valley School District, as per a 1967 agreement between the borough and the Schuylkill County Housing Authority.
Commissioners George Halcovage and Gary Hess voted to approve, while Commissioner Barron “Boots” Hetherington was absent.
The statement announced that the county would join the school district’s lawsuit, announced last month.
The matter came to light in early 2020, when the school district received $46,732.83 from Shenandoah’s former borough manager, according to the statements from both the district and county.
Investigation by the county found that the payment was for the years 2016-2019 under a 1967 agreement between the Schuylkill County Housing Authority and Shenandoah Borough for Payments in Lieu of Taxes for the Shenandoah High Rise and Shenandoah Family Development in Turkey Run.
Under the agreement, the borough collected funds from the authority as part of the Federal Housing and Urban Development program, and was obliged to make pro rata payments to the district and county.
The borough stopped making such payments in 2000.
In March of 2020, the borough made a payment of $12,725.54 to the county, covering the years 2016 through 2019.
According to the county’s statement, Shenandoah owes Schuylkill County $39,582.72 for the years 2000 through 2015, which remains outstanding. Shenandoah Valley is owed $134,487.63, per their statement issued on Jan. 27.
The county met with district officials and the borough’s solicitor in an effort to resolve the debt, the statement says. The borough requested an offer from the district to settle the dispute. The county deferred to the district, as it typically does for real estate tax issues.
The district demanded payment in full without interest for the years 2000 through 2015, the county said, while the borough counteroffered to pay a minimal amount.
“The County and the District have an obligation to its taxpayers to collect all amounts due and owing,” the statement reads. “Therefore, the County will join with the District and proceed with the filing of a civil lawsuit against the Borough and seeking the past due amounts, along with interest from the date when each annual payment was due, along with court costs and attorney fees.”
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