[MC Born & Raised]

I've of course not been involved in the production of this story, but I know from reading the articles that McDaniel has refused comment or forwarded questions on to a third party (usually Friedman). I'm sure it would be the preference to have spoken with her, but that's a two-way street.

[ChickenCityRoller]

Over the past 10 years, as home prices appreciated substantially, the market values especially in certain areas of La Porte County like the Long Beach area, more than doubled because the prices in these areas tend to be linked to the Chicago market. Mr. Wendt, upset with the dramatic increase in tax bills caused by a significant appreciation in assessed values, filed lawsuits against the county challenging the assessments. The lawsuits have contributed significantly to the delay in sending out the tax bills.

That is an incorrect and libelous statement. The suit IS NOT challenging the assessments. The suit was filed becuase there has been a denial of access to public records. The suit has in NO WAY affected how quickly the tax bills were sent out.

[ChickenCityRoller]

The information is not free and easy as Mrs Mc Daniels suggests. The county assessor has been brought to court twice to get information requested of her office by Mr. Wendt at a cost of many of thousands of dollars. This information all of which the public has a right to obtain. The fact remains that there are disparities in the assessment. These disparities have disproportionately affected people in the beach area. If they choose to gather in a public forum to discuss and raise funds for a continued discovery of what we believe is inequitable taxation which is an inalienable right for an American citizen. I am surprised that a member of our Government is questioning this right

[Dave]

The News Dispatch says:

When a News-Dispatch reporter asked McDaniel if she could talk after Monday's County Council meeting, she declined, saying we would "have to ask Shaw."

Dr. Kora says:

Before taking the extreme step of asking her to step down in a recent editorial, The News Dispatch would have been better served if the editorial board had sat down with her and ascertained all the facts and understood the complex issues surrounding this problem instead of shooting first and asking questions later.

What's wrong with this picture?

If she's referring questions to Attorney Shaw, what's the likelihood of her "sitting down with" the News Dispatch to discuss these issues?

[Ang]

I guess Dr. Kora missed that part. Either that or he inadvertantly omitted the word attorney, as in, "...sat down with her attorney and...."

[Southsider2k12]

I guess Dr. Kora missed that part. Either that or he inadvertantly omitted the word attorney, as in, "...sat down with her attorney and...."

More likely he just ignored this part... He's defending his own party. People tend to pick and choose what they see when they have an agenda.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Because of the lawsuit and wild mouthings of Mike Conner and his pals, I don't see why the assessor would not refer them to the attorney.

It is tiring to keep repeating this, but some do not get it yet: If the assessed value is higher, taxes will be higher. Let us find out if the assessments are equitable (not equal).

[ChickenCityRoller]

Because of the lawsuit and wild mouthings of Mike Conner and his pals, I don't see why the assessor would not refer them to the attorney.

It is tiring to keep repeating this, but some do not get it yet: If the assessed value is higher, taxes will be higher. Let us find out if the assessments are equitable (not equal).

That is EXACTLY what the suit is over; to get the information or "data" so that it can be assessed to see if the property assessments are equitable.

[Dave]

I should pay closer attention to these things.

This is the same official who thought money paid by people to get certified copies in the office could be used to buy coffee and donuts instead of sending the money to the county?

I have to ask, who is she related to, for her to still have her job? Or does she have incriminating photos of someone with a sheep and a bottle of woolite, or what? With this kind of record, I wouldn't hire her to wait on customers at McBurgerland, let alone have any kind of authority over taxpayer funds.

I understand (though generally disagree with) the concept of party loyalty, but sometimes you just have to cut your losses.

[ChickenCityRoller]

Because of the lawsuit and wild mouthings of Mike Conner and his pals, I don't see why the assessor would not refer them to the attorney.

It is tiring to keep repeating this, but some do not get it yet: If the assessed value is higher, taxes will be higher. Let us find out if the assessments are equitable (not equal).

She has not ONCE defender herself, she can't. There is no way that the master puppeteer would dare allow her to speak, she'd bury herself. She doesn't even know how to read a hard card let alone develop rates for assessing properties! She is incompetent.

[Ang]

When I first read the last post, I saw Impotent. Had to read it again.

I guess it could amount to the same thing, though, huh?

[Roger Kaputnik]

Yeah, I freaked, but I also added it to my posts in the runners world site!

[Dave]

[sidetrack]

ChickenCityRoller says:

Hey everyone, I didn't mean to freak anyone out with my little graphic signature. Just information that is available to anyone, I thought it was fun. Sorry.

Geoff

Hey, sorry, that might have been me. The thing about big brother watching you creeped me out, especially as you know, he is, and ever since I found that pod under my bed, and.... who's knocking on my door? What? AHHHHHHHHHHH!



fnord



Oops. Feeling much better now.

[/sidetrack]

[ChickenCityRoller]

Yeah, I freaked, but I also added it to my posts in the runners world site!

Hey, that's not fair! lol ! I thought it was very clever and fun. I have another more innocent one that I'll try to put up later.

[Roger Kaputnik]

chick it out



http://forums.runnersworld.com/eve/forums?...6477&m=6211
003663&r=5711087293#5711087293

[JHeath]

Sounds like a fundraiser to offset the costs...what's the big deal?

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=40847.59

Assessor Slams $100 Charge For Forum On Taxes
Group holding gathering Saturday to help residents about tax appeals, discuss class action.

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

LA PORTE - La Porte County Assessor Carol McDaniel criticized an $100 admission charge for a Saturday forum on property taxes by Michigan Township Citizens for Fair Taxes.

In a press release, she said Long Beach property owner William Wendt and others in the "tax protest group" are concerned about other wealthy beachfront property owners. McDaniel criticized the $100 fee being charged for information she said is readily available.

"I want the public to know that if they have questions about the assessments listed on their tax bills, they can call me or their township assessors and they won't be charged a penny for any inquiry," she said. "We'll even tell them how to file an appeal, if necessary."

Mike Conner of Michigan Township Citizens for Fair Taxes responded.

"The fact remains that there are disparities in the assessment, and these disparities have disproportionately affected people in the beach area. If they choose to, they may gather in a public forum to discuss and raise funds for a continued discovery of what we believe is inequitable taxation."

At the Blue Chip forum on Saturday, representatives of the La Porte law firm Newby, Lewis, Kaminski & Jones are scheduled to discuss the lawsuit filed by Wendt and opportunities to file a class action suit. Wendt will discuss the Denne report while Conner will instruct attendees on filling out a property tax appeal form.

Wendt and his wife, Dalia, own property in Long Beach. They are appealing their 2006 property assessments and have filed a petition with the Indiana Department of Local Government and Finance. They want to force a new countywide reassessment, basing their arguments on a study by hired tax consultant Bob Denne.

The DLGF gave McDaniel until Dec. 8 to respond to the study. County attorney Shaw Friedman said a 15-page response was submitted Nov. 28.

The DLGF has asked for information from Wendt to explain how Denne came up with his analysis, according to Mary Jane Michalak, DLGF director of communications.

So far, the DLGF has not ordered a reassessment. If that happens, McDaniel said it would void tax bills mailed Monday.

"It would create havoc for libraries, schools, cities and towns in our county which are just barely making ends meet while they wait for their tax receipts in January," McDaniel said.

The DLGF, in a separate action, ordered La Porte and 13 other Indiana counties to provide delinquent 2008 assessment data by Dec. 10 or assessors would face the loss of their licenses. La Porte's report of 2008 personal property data met the deadline, but Michalak said the DLGF is still waiting for real property data and an explanation of the data.

"We have striven to be fully compliant with the data requested and continue to follow up," Friedman said.

Conner has filed a separate lawsuit seeking to void the county's contract with assessment consultants the Nexus Group. He counters McDaniel's claim county property assessment information is easy to get.

"The county assessor has been brought to court twice to get information requested of her office by Mr. Wendt, at a cost of many of thousands of dollars," Conner said.

According to McDaniel, most homeowners won't see massive spikes in their bills.

"We worked hard to fairly assess not only average homes, but upscale homes like the one that Mr. Wendt owns on Lakeshore Drive, as well as commercial and industrial properties," McDaniel said.

[Southsider2k12]

Is the Wendt/Conner group a registered PAC? I have to be honest, from the article, I don't quite understand what the $100 was for?

[JHeath]

Michigan Township Citizens for Fair Taxes is a registered not-for-profit. But that's all that I know. If they're raising money, there's nothing wrong with that for a NFP, is there? As far as I could tell in the article, there was no mention of PAC or anything to do with even a potential candidate for any office.

[Southsider2k12]

There is nothing wrong with raising money for a cause, I just couldn't disern what the cause is exactly. Of course the newspaper version is going to make it sound as sinister as possible to sell papers, but it wasn't very clear to me what the point of the money was. That's all I wanted to know.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Instead of giving Mike Conner a hundred bucks to tell them info they could get free, those people should just send the money to his kids for the child support he doesn't pay.

Free advice: Keep a close eye on the kitty!