Residents and frequent county meeting speakers urged commissioners not to pause or delay the county's property reassessment during public comment at the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners meeting.

Several speakers described how the reassessment process would produce certified assessed values shortly and that those values, combined with the millage rate, would allow homeowners to estimate their 2026 tax bills. Anne Kennedy told commissioners she and many residents had been preparing to see assessment notices and that pausing certification would "hold the people hostage" by denying them information they need for budgeting. Kennedy said earlier county communications estimated roughly 30% of homeowners might see increases, 30% little change and 30% potential decreases; she said a pause would not change those underlying distributions and would only prolong uncertainty.

Other speakers echoed that view. Joe Guhauly reminded the board that property owners have appeals remedies through the local board of assessment and suggested pausing the reassessment would create confusion and potential legal risk. Bridal Cronin Holmes and others said they personally paid for the reassessment and that it represented a multi-million-dollar county expense implemented under the previous administration.

At least one commenter, who identified himself as Bob Ballas (speaker used strong language), said a lawsuit had been filed to prevent the assessor from certifying the values and criticized Tyler Technologies, the company that conducted the reassessment work, calling prior work in other jurisdictions problematic. The transcript includes claims that a suit has been filed; the meeting record does not show the court filings themselves or a court order; the transcript captures public-comment claims rather than board action on the reassessment.

Board members responded to questions about whether a pause would be effective. County officials and several commissioners noted that homeowners retain the right to appeal assessments through the normal appeals process once values are certified. Commissioner Schirmack and others expressed support for continuing the reassessment process to provide residents clarity on their tax obligations.

No formal motion to pause the reassessment appears in the meeting record excerpt; the board did not adopt any pause or certification change during the reorganization meeting.

"If you delay that information, you're doing us all a disservice," Anne Kennedy said during public comment. "We should be able to know where to budget for next year."