Property owners in Luzerne County can sign up to receive alerts related to property reports

The Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds Office has launched a free deed notification system that will notify property owners in the county of any records recorded on their properties.

Mary Dysleski, who oversees county deed offices, said many counties offer the service due to reports of deed fraud, although she has not been notified of any such incidents in this county.

“It’s just another precaution and method of staying aware,” Dysleski said.

The Office of the Registration of Deeds has no way of knowing whether a document is fraudulent if all required information has been entered correctly, Dysleski said. While the alert system does not prevent a document from being registered with the office, it allows property owners to monitor the registration of documents containing a property identification number (PIN) or name and surname from the moment they register for the service, she added.

The warning system is provided by deed recorder supplier Landex. Property owners can register up to five PINs or names for monitoring.

Dysleski recommends entering PINs to avoid receiving notifications about unrelated properties owned by other people with the same name. PIN numbers can be found on your tax returns or by searching for your parcel on the free GIS/Mapping portal at luzernecounty.org.

To register for the free alert, visit: https://www.landex.com/recordalert/luzerne.

Microsoft deal

The county council last week approved a contract with Microsoft Corporation to license office software and operating systems.

The $1.68 million contract will run from July 1 to the end of June 2027, with annual payments of $562,300.

As requested by District Director of Information Technology Andrew Mesaris:

This is a continuation of the Microsoft enterprise agreement implemented by the county in 2015, which covers a range of products and services.

“This agreement has enabled Luzerne County to maximize the use of technology to conduct government operations and provide the best quality services to the public,” it said.

In addition to maintaining the current version of Microsoft server and office software for each user, it will also enable continuous software maintenance to update each user to the latest version at will, software support directly from Microsoft, and installation of Microsoft products on multiple devices per licensed device. user.

“For the past nine years, this Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft has provided security, stability, accountability and efficiency for Luzerne County,” it said.

Scientific commission

The County Government Study Commission will meet Thursday at 6 p.m. at the County Courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, and remote participation instructions will be posted at the board meeting link on luzernecounty.org.

Committee members are developing a plan to evaluate the county government’s charter and identify deficiencies.

Consistent with the practice of previous study commissions, this one plans to hire an outside consultant who, along with a lawyer and an official, will provide additional expertise and guidance. He must also prepare a budget request for council approval.

The commission, empowered by voters in the district’s April 23 primary election, will have nine months to present its findings and recommendations, and another nine months if it decides to prepare and present a change in government. An additional two months is allowed if the commission recommends electing councils on a district-by-district basis rather than as a whole.

For it to go into effect, voters must give final approval to any of the commission’s recommendations.

Land owned by Butler Borough

County officials have approved an appraiser agreement to appraise county-owned properties in Butler Township that may be sold, but county Operating Services Division Director Jennifer Pecora said appraisals cannot begin until other work is completed and permits are obtained.

Under the contract with Alyson Kole General Appraisal Services in Kingston Township, the county will pay $450 for each appraisal.

The proposed subdivision, which must be approved by the council and the municipality, calls for 10 parcels of land grouped into three packages to be put up for sale, Pecora said.

The parcels are located near West Foothills Drive, South Old Turnpike Road and South Hunter Highway.

Pecora said legal descriptions and property deeds would also be needed to appraise them.

In all, the county owns about 530 acres in the borough because it operated the Kis-Lyn juvenile delinquent labor camp from 1912 to 1965.

The two parcels cannot be sold and must be separated because the county has a long-term lease on the youth camp (17.8 acres) and the Keystone Job Corps Center, which operates a federally funded residential vocational education program on 122.9 acres. , officials said.

Officials say the land for sale will not include the part identified by third parties as a possible location for a wastewater treatment plant from the Jeddo mine drainage tunnel.

Contact Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.