[JHeath]

http://www.michigancityin.com/articles/200.../news/news3.txt

Already busy office must now mail tax rebates

By Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch
LaPORTE - Indiana's property tax system became more complex this month. The Indiana General Assembly approved a plan to offer some tax relief for homeowners, but that plan is creating a lot of grief for county officials.

LaPorte County Auditor Teresa Shuter said Indiana property taxes are projected to increase an average of 24 percent this year, based on an analysis of county assessment data by the state's Legislative Services Agency. The large increases are the result of a state-mandated trending process that is being used for the first time to assess all property based on real estate values for 2004-05.

“The thing people have to keep in mind is, this is the first year of trending,” Shuter said. “With annual trending, we will see small incremental increases every year.”

But this year's tax bill will be based on property values that have not been evaluated since 2004, when the values were based on the market in 1999. With property values now based on 2004-05 market values, Shuter said taxes will definitely be higher.

To minimize property tax shock, state lawmakers decided to increase the homestead credit given to homeowners. But, instead of including the credit in this year's tax bills - which have been delayed all over the state because of the new trending process - the credit will be issued in the form of a rebate check.

The rebate checks will arrive with a notice - required to be in 12 point type - that gives credit to the Indiana General Assembly for providing tax relief. In reality, Shuter says, the county auditor and treasurer will have to calculate the amount of rebate to be given to each person filing for a homestead deduction, eliminate those with delinquent taxes, mail a W-9 form requesting Social Security numbers and then enter information into the system so checks can be cut and mailed to homeowners at a higher postage rate.

“This will come at the worst possible time of the year for the auditor's office,” Shuter said, referring to December. “We're trying to finish all the (county) budgets, load the new budgets, enter new salaries and benefits changes, and make tax distributions to all units of government. Now we need to process 40,000 checks?”

To get the job done, Shuter said she will need to either hire part-time workers to supplement the auditing staff of 16, or hire county software vendors to make program changes to accomplish this one-time task. She says she has no way of knowing how much rebate checks will cost LaPorte County, but Porter County estimates its cost to be about $250,000.

“It's frustrating because we're trying so hard to get the county back on track,” to the May 10 date homeowners normally have to pay their first installment of property taxes, Shuter said Thursday. The bills should have gone out more than two weeks ago, she said, but her office did not receive assessed values from the county assessor's office until last week.

“The values should have been here last July,” Shuter said.

Contact reporter Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.

[Southsider2k12]

Translation... All of that appreciation of home values is going to kick some peoples butts. I am almost glad I bought my house when I did, because its assessed value is what I paid for it anyway.

[JHeath]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=41262.81

6/25/2008 11:00:00 AM
Rebate Checks Are Ready

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

LA PORTE - La Porte County property owners will be receiving their long awaited rebate checks in approximately two weeks.

County Treasurer Ken Layton and County Auditor Teresa Shuter have received the OK from the Department of Local Government Finance and the Indiana State Board of Accounts to issue the checks for the 2006 tax year.

Layton said that, on Oct. 29, 2007, the DLGF put a hold on La Porte County's rebate checks while the department evaluated the county's trending process. The new ruling allows rebate checks to go out, even though the county has been ordered by the DLGF to retrend property assessments for the 2006 tax year.

The treasurer and auditor have completed the work of checking for duplicate homesteads and for delinquent taxes. Any unpaid taxes will be deducted from rebate checks before they are issued.

Layton said the normal 2007 tax year homestead credit and the homestead rebate provided by the state legislators will be listed as credits on the final tax bill for 2007 pay 2008.

[Roger Kaputnik]

The annual increases are NOT what was promised by the HR 1001 proponents. What a sneaky way to raise taxes. Is everyone registered to vote?

[JHeath]

I called the auditor's office today; they said they're "shooting for" July 21 to begin sending the checks out, and they should go to the homeowners directly, not to a mortgage company.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Oh, mercy! Now they are killing each other?!

[Ang]

Nope. They're just shooting the homeowners

[kharris]

I called the auditor's office today; they said they're "shooting for" July 21 to begin sending the checks out, and they should go to the homeowners directly, not to a mortgage company.

The checks have already been run and are dated for July 21st. I would imagine they will go in the mail on or about the 21st.

[Southsider2k12]

We got our rebate today in the mail.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I heard somewhere that the direct costs to send the checks was about 50 grand.

[JHeath]

We got our rebate today in the mail.

We received ours as well. I'm wondering now what will happen if the amounts were wrong.

[kharris]

I heard somewhere that the direct costs to send the checks was about 50 grand.

That is a fairly accurate number ... but what is most important to note about that figure is that it cost the county that amount to send out checks that are wrong due to assessments being inaccurate.

[kharris]

We received ours as well. I'm wondering now what will happen if the amounts were wrong.

Our first billing for 07 pay 08 will be for one half of what out total taxes were for last year. After the re-assessments are done, they will calculate any change for the 2nd billing for 07 pay 08. If a rebate amount was wrong, it will be calculated for the final billing of 07 pay 08. I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly don't want anything to do with keeping those records.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Furthermore, kharris, I don't trust those charged with keeping those records.

[Southsider2k12]

I heard somewhere that the direct costs to send the checks was about 50 grand.

Sounds reasonable to me. Heck the stamps alone probably cost $10k.

[Ang]

Furthermore, kharris, I don't trust those charged with keeping those records.

AMEN!!!