The Schuylkill County Commissioners can’t understand why more county residents have not taken advantage of the Homestead property tax exemption, or admitted their properties to the Clean and Green program — in light of the current county property tax reassessment.

Wednesday morning, the commissioners pointed out the Homestead exemption is open to any homeowner for their primary residence.

The Clean and Green program that offers reduced property tax assessments to landowners who enter their agricultural or forest properties.

Commissioner Chairman Larry Padora said in discussions he’s had with county residents, a lot of them are unaware of those programs.

“Notice of the Homestead exemption goes out from school districts every year with property tax bills,” Padora said. “Now, you’d have to wait until next year. The deadline for Clean and Green has been extended to Oct. 15.”

New mitigation plan

At Wednesday’s meeting, the commissioners approved a new hazard mitigation plan for the county.

Named “Our Resilient Strategy,” the plan is the result of two years of collaborative work aimed at addressing flooding, blight, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and emergency preparedness.

“We’re not waiting for disaster to strike,” Padora said. “Everyone’s working together— agencies, local governments, and community partners — to make it happen. It’s a big step forward for Schuylkill County.”

Implementation of the strategy is underway:

Hosted by the first-ever Schuylkill County Resilience Summit, bringing together over 100 participants from 36 municipalities;

Launched a countywide blight assessment in partnership with the Center for Community Progress, who will soon deliver tailored, actionable recommendations to strengthen neighborhoods;

Create a Community Resilience Internship program to support planning, public outreach, GIS data collection and capacity building, and Partnering with Land Studies on targeted watershed assessments in flood-prone areas to develop smart, nature- based mitigation solutions.

“Thus isn’t just a plan on paper,” said Commissioner Barron “Boots” Hetherington. “We’ve adopted it, and we’ve started the work, and we’re committed to see it through.”

Residents can share their input by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/PictureSchuylkill.

“This plan is a living effort,” said Commissioner Gary Hess. “Our ongoing engagement ensures we continue to listen, adapt and build resilience together.”