LORAIN — A county Common Pleas Court judge has ruled that he cannot extend the appeal deadline for Lorain residents who were denied property tax abatements.

Judge Mark Betleski wrote in Friday’s decision that the court was not within its rights to extend the appeal date — which would have been Friday — and there was not enough evidence that anyone would be harmed if he did not grant the extension.

Just in case Betleski’s ruling didn’t go their way, hundreds of west side residents went ahead and filed their notices of appeal Friday in Common Pleas Court.

The city, along with the county commissioners, wanted to extend the time at least for another month while Betleski decides whether county Auditor Mark Stewart was acting within his power to deny more than 300 applications for a 15-year, 100-percent abatement that the city of Lorain offered.

Stewart’s attorney, Subodh Chandra, said the city went outside its scope when it offered the abatements for all homes built in 2000 or later because the abatement wasn’t approved by council until 2006. As a result, people who had moved to Lorain years earlier were being offered the abatement, even though the purpose of such abatements are to entice new residents to move into a city, Chandra said.

If the abatements are approved, the county will lose out on millions of dollars, which will affect school districts and other agencies, Chandra said.

Contact Adam Wright at 653-6257 or awright@chroniclet.com.

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