Carbon County and several Kovatch affiliated entities have reached an agreement on tax appeals of numerous properties.

During the county commissioners' meeting on Thursday, the board voted to refund taxes to Kovatch Corporation, Kovatch Enterprises Inc., John Jr., and Joseph J. Kovatch, and Kovatch Partners LP, all of 1 Industrial Complex, Nesquehoning, in the amount of $21,020.10.Commissioner William O'Gurek said the refund was the result of an appeal Kovatch made on over a dozen of his properties.The appeals went to a hearing before the county tax assessment appeals board, which ruled in favor of the county. Kovatch then appealed the decision to the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas and provided enough pertinent information to have the decision reversed and the assessment values of the properties lowered.O'Gurek added that an agreement between taxing bodies and Kovatch had been reached and the refund reflects that.The assessed value of the properties now drops from nearly $5 million to just over $1.1 million.The reduction affects not only Carbon County, but also the Panther Valley School District, and Nesquehoning borough.The appeals have been in the works for years, when Kovatch Corporation appealed previous tax assessments on numerous properties.Kovatch stated at the time that the county's assessed values of the properties were too high and requested that property taxes be reduced to reflect the assessment value the company obtained.