For three hours yesterday on “Corbett,” listeners had a chance to call two high-ranking Luzerne County officials and the head of the company that county commissioners hired to perform the long-overdue property reassessment.
Communications Director Jason Jarecki, Assessment Office Director Tony Alu and 21st Century Appraisals Inc. technology chief Tim Barr patiently answered question after question about the nuances – subtle and otherwise – that have many county taxpayers in a tizzy.
Callers waited on all lines between 4 and 6 p.m., the time frame we had set aside to talk about reassessment. Because of the high number of calls, though, I asked if the men would stay on the air for an extra hour.
They quickly agreed.
This experiment in public service began last week when Harveys Lake resident Michelle Boice called the show to challenge Barr to an on-air debate. Boice has been one of the most vocal opponents of the way the reassessment has been carried out and doesn’t place much faith in Barr’s company.
Yesterday Boice was the first caller on the line. And, despite Boice’s usually vociferous approach to discussion, even she agreed to ask a quick question or two and make room for others.
One call after another asked the men – usually Barr – details about the process, the appeal procedure, and other aspects of the review. Some callers challenged the qualifications of field inspectors. Others spoke of properties that weren’t even on the tax rolls until the review.
I asked Alu how many such properties inspectors had discovered.
Alu said about 40.
I made a note to find out who owned those properties and how that could have happened. Was it a simple mistake or had somebody done a favor for somebody who was connected politically or otherwise?
An alert listener quickly emailed me that he knew of one property that he believes is owned by an elected official that had not shown up on tax rolls until the reassessment.
I made another note to look into that one in particular.
And the calls continued.
WILK News Radio had opened the flood gates of public inquiry and expression.
The interactive quality of the program allowed the participation of people who might not otherwise have been able to ask a direct question of the man who runs the company that has been so much in the news lately.
County officials Alu and Jarecki broke new ground for the public trust. Nowadays it’s rare for public officials to take unscripted questions from the public with no holds barred.
To Jarecki’s credit, he initiated yesterday’s program. Normally an irate taxpayer calls out a public official or two and that’s the end of it. Rarely do elected and appointed officials respond.
I usually don’t prefer this format. I rarely have guests in the studio and usually interview callers on the phone. Until yesterday, I have never taken calls for guests to answer on the air.
But I learned something yesterday.
I learned that there’s a time and place for almost everything in news talk radio. People sometimes want to ask their own questions of people they normally might not have a chance to interrogate.
Although most public officials don’t want to take that risk, more and more need to talk directly to the people. Town halls and other public appearances allow people to ask questions.
Talk radio adds to the opportunity.
Public meetings also sometimes get out of hand.
But, yesterday, every caller spoke civilly. Even when callers took issue with an answer, they conducted themselves politely. Callers asked good questions and came away knowing more than they did before they called.
When the show ended, Jarecki, Alu and Barr agreed that everyone had made good use of their time.
Maybe we can do it again.
Lackawanna County’s reassessment is coming up. Most of the field work is complete. Barr’s company conducted this one, too.
When the fur flies there, WILK News Radio will be right in the middle of the debate.
Rush Limbaugh
