SUNBURY - A state appeals court has upheld a Northumberland County judge's decision to reduce the property tax assessment of the Weis Markets Distribution Center in Milton Industrial Park that angered Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi.
When Saylor heard the case last year, he ruled the property was worth $23 million - a $5 million drop that Clausi said would hurt the county, Milton Borough and Milton Area School District.
The county claimed the fair market value of the property is worth nearly $30 million, while company officials said it's worth $17 million.
At the time of the ruling, Clausi accused Saylor of "taking $4 million from the working people" and showing favoritism toward a rich company.
Saylor took offense at Clausi's criticism and blasted the commissioner in a press release in November. The judge stated, "To suggest that I have acted out of an improper motive in the decision reached in the recent Weis Markets tax assessment appeal is blatantly false. These slanderous comments by Mr. Clausi reflect a total ignorance of the judicial process."
Saylor said his decision was based solely upon the law and the proper evidence presented in the courtroom, regardless of the status of any of the litigants appearing before him.
Saylor said both the county and the company presented credible evidence to support their claims, but since there was an approximate $14 million difference, Saylor did not feel comfortable adopting either claim.
Saylor used a former case decision, approved by the state Supreme Court, in which the fair market value was determined to be somewhere in the middle of the claims. He also compared several other Weis properties in the state that were sold.
The court found the market value to be $23,936,000 and the assessment to be $5,409,536.
When contacted Thursday for comment about the appeals court upholding Saylor's ruling, Clausi stated, "It's a sad day in Northumberland County because the borough of Milton will lose a lot of money. In my opinion, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In my opinion, the original assessment was correct and I don't know why it was lowered."
The commissioner added, "If that is the ruling, then we must honor it. But I can't believe a multi-billion dollar corporation like Weis Markets is trying to take money from the county, Milton Borough and Milton Area School District."
Saylor was unavailable for comment Thursday.