[Southsider2k12]

http://www.michigancityin.com/articles/200.../13/news/n1.txt

Residents take assessor to court
By Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch

Long Beach property owners Bill and Dalia Wendt, who live on Lake Shore Drive in Michigan Township, have taken LaPorte County Assessor Carol McDaniel to court for what they allege is her failure to produce tens of thousands of pages of county records they need to support a claim that their annual property tax has increased at an alarming rate.

The Wendts are concerned not just about their own taxes, but about whether property assessments throughout LaPorte County are being done in the same manner in all 21 townships. Wendt said deputy assessor Judy Anderson told him, “The problem is not that your property is assessed too high. The problem is that everyone else is assessed too low.”

“If assessments aren't right, the tax rates aren't right,” Wendt said, following the Monday's hearing in Superior Court 1. “They go hand in hand.”

For the first time last year, counties were required by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) to bring assessed property values up to current market values. McDaniel told the County Commissioners in February that the May property tax bills would be late because the new assessments required a trending process done by the Nexus Group, a property tax consulting firm.

Wendt said he is working with Robert Denne, a property taxation and assessment consultant from Arlington Heights, Ill., to sort through the data, once it is obtained. Denne said a “sin” in property assessment is called “sales chasing,” a process he said is the practice of treating property in a sales ratio study differently than those not in the study.

Attorney Mark Phillips is representing the Wendts and in court Monday told Judge Kathleen Lang that the Wendts began investigating the property tax issue in January because they though a mistake had been made. Over the last six years, their primary taxes have gone from $7,000 a year to $32,000 last year.

“The real estate taxes have escalated dramatically, at an unprecedented rate,” Phillips said. “If the rates continue, they will result in taxes approximating $150,000 annually.”

Since January, Wendt testified he has made several verbal requests, followed by written requests, for data from the LaPorte County Assessor's Office that he has not received. In mid-February, Wendt was told by Darlene Hale, the county's director of information technology, that he needed to fill out an official county form to request the information. Wendt complied but still has not received the information.

Phillips charged that the assessor's office, under McDaniel's direction, has stonewalled the Wendts and caused the investigation to “grind to a halt.” He said the Indiana Access to Public Records Act allows any person to inspect and copy public records from a public agency. If the agency has a specific reason to deny the request, the person making the request must be notified within seven days.

“This is a pretty simple case,” Phillips said. “We still don't have the records.”

LaPorte County attorney Shaw Friedman, representing McDaniel, said the Wendts were never denied the information. The problem, he said, was determining what information was being requested and in what form.

Friedman told Lang that the assessor's office had made “a good faith effort” to provide the five different types of records he said the Wendts requested, but there were differences in what was requested in January and the request made in February. Tax records contain confidential information, such as Social Security numbers and telephone records, that must be removed, Friedman added.

Wendt asked for complete county records on property taxes, assessments and sales disclosure data from 1996 to 2006. Most data for 2004 through 2006 is available on electronic records, but paper records were kept before then. Nexus chief operating officer Jeff Wuensch said providing noncomputerized data would involve producing between 40,000 and 50,000 pages of documents, and he estimated the cost of providing the documents would be $75,000.

Even electronic records have to be scanned individually, Wuensch said, because confidential information is not limited to a few “cells” that can be erased from the forms. For electronic files kept for 2004-06, the cost to convert information to a database and “scrub” confidential records would be $3,000 per year.

“This is an extraordinary request,” Wuensch said. “It's the first time I've seen a request like this.”

After three hours of testimony, the trial was adjourned and will be continued at a date to be announced later.

[Max Main]

a lot of those people who live along the lake have made lots of money off that property as its valued skyrocketed. The taxes may seem like they went up too precipitously, but that is only because those property owners were underpaying taxes for years. It is time to pay a fair share.

What do you ppl on the mb think about property taxes is general? Fairly applied? Necessary? Inspired by Satan?

[Southsider2k12]

I know everyone feels that they pay too much in property taxes, and I was curious so I looked it up. To me it looks like we are pretty average for our locale. The average assessment for LP Co was 2.01/$100 for the 2005 bills, which looks to be pretty in line with both our area, and most of the suburban counties in Indiana. Porter Co gets by with 1.80/$100 (about 10% lower), but keep in mind they still have a bunch of cash cow heavy industry on the property tax rolls, which reduces the rates for everyone else. Lake and St Joe Co's are signicantly higher (about 75% and 20% respectively). Also looking at the Indy, Ft Wayne, Evansville, and Louisville collar counties seem to have 2.00/$100 as an average tax bill as well. All in all, our rates seem fair compared to what everyone else is paying. Now if you want to debate property taxes as a terrible way to fund schools, and being socioeconomic discrimination against poorer school districts, that is a different story.

http://www.incontext.indiana.edu/2006/may/2.html

[ChickenCityRoller]

a lot of those people who live along the lake have made lots of money off that property as its valued skyrocketed. The taxes may seem like they went up too precipitously, but that is only because those property owners were underpaying taxes for years. It is time to pay a fair share.

What do you ppl on the mb think about property taxes is general? Fairly applied? Necessary? Inspired by Satan?

The assesments on Lake Shore Drive are totally out of wack. Sit back, enjoy the show and you'll see once th papers are released. There is a reason that McDaniel and Friedman don't want these numbers to be released. Read the quote from the official in the article.
On LSD in Michigan Township as a rule of thumb, the value of land on the hill side is $6,000/ft and on the lake side it's $12,000 a foot. So a piece of land worth 2mil is going to be taxed @ $150,000 a year? That doesn't make sense. BTW, NOBODY is going to make money selling a property that's been assessed like that; nobody would buy it once they see what the taxes are.
There is a lot of dirty laundry in the assesors office and a big bottle of bleach is about to get poured on it.
McDaniel is already known as a thief, I can't believe she's still in office.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.

The reason these people are sueing the assesor isn't because the taxes are too high (which they are) it's because they haven't been given the documents which they've requested and they have a right to. These people just want to fully understand how the properties are taxed and they aren't able to do so unless they can get the information. Really, it's an open, close case. It's not thier fault that the gov. did a lousy job of organzing themselves and the records are burried in boxes in the basesment of the court house.

[Max Main]

THAT makes sense. But how much are those properties being taxed? Is it around $2/$100?

[ChickenCityRoller]

THAT makes sense. But how much are those properties being taxed? Is it around $2/$100?

Closer to $3/$100

[Max Main]

I don't see why they should be paying a different rate. If the valuation is correct, they should pay the same rate as the rest of the township.

What about the propriety of having property taxed at all? Yea or Nay??

[Southsider2k12]

Assements are based on school district. The MCAS has a fixed rate for everyone, the difference comes in property valuation. A house in LB is going to be worth way more than in the rest of MC, so their property tax bills are way higher than anything I would ever see.

[Max Main]

That is what I thought, but chicken roller has the Lakefront ppl paying about 3/100 instead of 2/100 like everyone else. which is it?

[Max Main]

bump

[Southsider2k12]

I tried doing some google searchs to find the MCAS assement rate, but I could not do so. I think I would actually have to make a trip to the library to find the exact numbers.

[Max Main]

try the county or township clerks.

[Southsider2k12]

UPDATE to this story

http://www.michigancityin.com/articles/200.../news/news1.txt

LB residents, assessor close to deal

By Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch

A deal is close to being reached between Bill and Dalia Wendt of Long Beach and LaPorte County Assessor Carol McDaniel to determine exactly what county tax and assessment information will be provided to the Wendts.

Superior Court 1 Judge Kathleen Lang ordered the two side to meet to figure out how it could be provided.

Wendt said Monday that his attorneys prepared a report of the meeting and sent it to county attorney Shaw Friedman, who is reviewing it before it's submitted to Lang. A final agreement has not been reached but Friedman said progress is being made.

McDaniel and members of the consulting group Nexus said in court that it would cost more than $300,000 (a figure they later revised to $100,000), payable up front by the Wendts, to produce the requested information. Wendt later discovered he could get much of the data directly from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance for less than $1,000.

The Wendts took the Assessor to court in March for refusing to provide the data needed by their assessment consultant, Bob Denne of Almy, Gloudemans, Jacobs & Denne. The Wendts hired Denne to determine whether they and other property owners in Michigan Township were being fairly assessed and taxed. They were concerned that “dramatic increases” in their property tax over the past few years could eventually drive them out of the house they bought “when we were kids,” Bill Wendt said.

Denne's preliminary review of 2006 assessed property values has shown that Michigan Township property has, in fact, been over-assessed by 33 percent compared to the rest of LaPorte County. In a summary of the lawsuit, Wendt said that both the county assessor and the state agency that oversees county assessment failed to fulfill their responsibility to the taxpayers.

“What Carol McDaniel failed to do was equalize the townships and bring all of the parcels to 100 percent of true tax value, as required by Indiana law,” Wendt said. “Further, the DLGF failed to provide the oversight that they are required to do and that they exist to do.”

Denne's analysis also showed that the lakefront property owned by NIPSCO for the power generation plant in Michigan City is assessed at less than half the value of Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets. NIPSCO also is assessed at only five times the Wendt's residential property. Wendt said he's considering hiring an expert in appraisals of electrical generating plants to determine whether the NIPSCO property is accurately valued.

“It's our belief that, if NIPSCO was honestly valued, there would be an enormous decrease in residential taxes paid in Michigan Township,” Wendt said.

Mike Conner of Coastal Properties in Michigan City, shares Wendt's concern about unfair tax burdens placed on homeowners in Michigan Township, compared to property owners in other parts of the county.

Conner and Wendt gave a presentation on property taxes in LaPorte County that drew a standing room only crowd at Long Beach Country Club on April 15. Conner is forming a nonprofit organization called Michigan Township Citizens for Fair Taxes Inc. to help people appeal their property taxes.

Conner said he's concerned that Michigan City's under-developed downtown, under-performing schools and overly-taxed beach property have rendered it unable to compete with nearby Chesterton and Valparaiso, both of which have “some of the best school systems in the state” and have well-developed downtowns.

“In competing with primary homeowners who are looking at Chesterton and Valparaiso, we have lost our competitive edge in schooling and in a thriving downtown,” Conner said.

Michigan City's low property taxes in the 1980s and 1990s enticed second home buyers from Chicago to locate here instead of pricier areas like Harbor Country in southwest Michigan and Lake Geneva, Wis. Conner said second home owners are valuable to Michigan City because they pay taxes but live here part time, so they use fewer services. He believes Michigan City should be doing more to attract new housing developments, rather than driving up property taxes on prime real estate.

“Our industry here is housing,” Conner said. “It's clear that large manufacturers won't be coming to Michigan City to set up shop because the movement worldwide is to locate overseas. The growth in this town will happen in good residential development. The big industry in Michigan Township is housing. It's a gigantic source of revenue for the city.”

Indiana attempted to encourage growth of commerce and industry by shifting some of the property tax burden to residential property owners beginning in 2001 for tax bills payable in 2002, Conner said. That was the first time the state used a market-driven property assessment system, based on land values in 2000, and it was the first time beach property owners saw a large spike in their tax bills, Conner said.

Indiana property is reassessed every four years, and homeowners waiting to find out what the tax rate for the 2006 bill, payable in 2007, will be. The latest property assessments for LaPorte County required a trending process done by the Nexus Group, a property tax consulting firm hired by the County Assessor.

Based on the available data, Conner said he is alarmed. He cites what he calls a typical example of a 40-foot by 150-foot lot at $356,000 in 2005, based on 2000 values, that jumped to $650,000 in 2006. A hillside home in Long Beach, not on the lakefront, was assessed at $631,700 in 2005 and jumped to $1.3 million in 2006.

[Max Main]

conner is an idiot. i can't believe anyone would take what comes out of his word-hole seriously.

Anyway, the property values are sky-high, and the the beneficiaries of this big increase in equity should not be complaining about paying the same rate of taxes on that bigger pile of equity. As we have discussed in other threads and above, the RATE paid is equitable. The AMOUNT paid is different because the base is different. I guess it is true that only the millionaires complain this much about taxes...

[JHeath]

I'm not sure what your issue is with Conner, but that sounds very personal.

I know that I would be complaining, too, if I paid the same amount for a home in the beach area that has an assessed valuation more than 4 times that of homes selling for the same amounts in Springfield and Coolspring townships.

Good for the Wendts for standing up for themselves in this situation!

[Max Main]

Yes, I guess I just don't like the guy.


If the assessment is done correctly, and that is a big if and the basis of most complaints, the tax payment will be fair. When property values are changing quickly, the assessment needs to be redone at shorter intervals to keep the tax payment at the proper level.

The assessed value should be current, and the amount actually paid for a home, whether it was last year or 40 years ago, does not matter. The people who bought these highly-appreciated properties decades ago are the very peopl who are enjoying the increased equity and have not been paying for it. They really have no complaint; they are just venting.

[JHeath]

Max, I was referring to properties that are listed on the market right now or that have recently sold.
For example, there is a property in Springfield Twp that was listed for over $300K, yet had an assessed valuation of only $92K; properties in the beach areas, and not just along LSD, are showing assessed valuations of either their listing prices or more.

Your statement is somewhat confusing to me--you want the people who bought their homes in the beach area years ago...who still want to live there, and not sell their homes...to pay more than others?

[Max Main]

If we are going to have a property tax, then I want two things:

1. Fair assessments at current value, and

2. Equal tax rate.

Simple enough.

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=47023.05

State Board Upholds County Assessments
Local resident wanted state to delay approval of 2007 property tax rates to conduct new ones.

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

LA PORTE - La Porte County Assessor Carol McDaniel said Tuesday that La Porte County's tax assessment has been upheld by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.

McDaniel said an effort by Long Beach homeowner Bill Wendt to have the state delay approval of 2007 property tax rates and conduct a new assessment has been rejected by the DLGF.

She pointed out that property values along Lake Shore Drive in Michigan City and Long Beach - those questioned by Wendt - saw tax shifts because of increasing property values.

"However, these are the people most able to pay their fair share of taxes," said McDaniel. "It just wouldn't be right to ask average homeowners to pay more in property taxes if these upscale homes were not being properly assessed.

"Mr. Wendt, like any taxpayer, has the right to appeal his own individual assessment," said McDaniel in a prepared statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

"Rather than proceed through the appeals process, Mr. Wendt hired legal counsel in Indianapolis to try to derail the entire system in our county. However, the DLGF has now twice confirmed that the underlying assessed values in La Porte County are accurate and uniform," McDaniel said.

Wendt denied Tuesday that he asked the DLGF to delay approval of the tax rates but, instead, asked the state oversight agency to review of the La Porte County property assessment data for inaccuracies. He said the DLGF approved the county's data for lack of an alternative to getting the tax bills out for the same reasons cited by McDaniel - getting tax funds to service providers.

"They realize there are big problems but don't know what else to do," Wendt said.

Last Wednesday, McDaniel, County Auditor Teresa Shuter, County Treasurer Ken Layton and county attorney Shaw Friedman met with members of the DLGF to explain why the county felt Wendt's petition for a new reassessment was "inappropriate and potentially harmful to La Porte County."

The county also defended the work done by Nexus Group, the consulting firm hired by La Porte County to do the reassessment.

According to the statement, Friedman told DLGF officials that information compiled about the county's assessment by Wendt was flawed. Wendt, on the other hand, hired Bob Denne, a tax analyst. Wendt said he is waiting to talk with the DLGF in-house counsel Tim Rushenberg.

"I want to find out what they're going to do about the Denne report," Wendt said. "It shows lots of problems in the assessments."

According to McDaniel, property owners like Blue Chip Casino and NIPSCO saw higher assessments to more accurately reflect the market value of their property.

Wendt said NIPSCO would not have had a higher assessment "if it weren't for my hounding Nexus and the assessor." He said the DLGF originally approved a $30 million property assessment for some 169 parcels owned by NIPSCO. When Wendt filed a challenge, he said Nexus and Michigan Township assessor Terry Beckinger increased the assessment by $64 million, to a total of $94 million.

"That's one example of the massive screw-ups," Wendt said.

McDaniel said she told the DLGF that "working with Nexus and our various township assessors, I believe our assessment process went well and that we should not see the big spike in residential tax bills that we saw in some counties."

Wendt concedes it may be too late to fight property assessments for 2006. But he is continuing to work with Denne to assess 2007 data on all property sales to mid-October. He doesn't expect the results to be any more accurate.

"All I really want to do at this point is to have all of La Porte County (assessments) be right, and to have people feel it is right," Wendt said.

Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com

[Ang]

Just out of curiosity, is Bill Wendt related to George?