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Property tax bills will be late, assessor says
By Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch
LaPORTE - Property tax bills that were due to be mailed to taxpayers in May will be delayed for an undetermined amount of time, County Assessor Carol McDaniel told the LaPorte County Commissioners at their Tuesday meeting.
McDaniel gave several reasons for the delay, but she said the primary reason was new directives issued last October by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF). For the first time, counties were required to use a trending process to bring assessed property values up to current market values, she said.
That process took four months and required coordination with area Realtors, the auditor's office and the Nexus Group, a property tax consulting firm.
In addition, McDaniel said problems occurred with the county's software system that required individual processing of 20,000 assessment records. Deputy assessor Judy Anderson said after the meeting, “Every other county is late as well. There were many things we didn't know we had to do.”
Among the work not previously required is a ratio study that compares all property that has sold to the last assessed value for the property. LaPorte County's ratio study has been submitted to the state for final approval.
In her report to the commissioners, McDaniel said 80 percent of the property values in Center Township were changed after reviews were conducted of 2002 data. In Michigan Township, 75 percent of the land values along Lakeshore Drive have increased.
The law firm of Meighen & Associates was hired to work with the county on property tax appeals, 61 of which remain to be resolved. McDaniel credited the law firm with saving the county $125,000 in property taxes that might have been lost.
By Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch
LaPORTE - Property tax bills that were due to be mailed to taxpayers in May will be delayed for an undetermined amount of time, County Assessor Carol McDaniel told the LaPorte County Commissioners at their Tuesday meeting.
McDaniel gave several reasons for the delay, but she said the primary reason was new directives issued last October by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF). For the first time, counties were required to use a trending process to bring assessed property values up to current market values, she said.
That process took four months and required coordination with area Realtors, the auditor's office and the Nexus Group, a property tax consulting firm.
In addition, McDaniel said problems occurred with the county's software system that required individual processing of 20,000 assessment records. Deputy assessor Judy Anderson said after the meeting, “Every other county is late as well. There were many things we didn't know we had to do.”
Among the work not previously required is a ratio study that compares all property that has sold to the last assessed value for the property. LaPorte County's ratio study has been submitted to the state for final approval.
In her report to the commissioners, McDaniel said 80 percent of the property values in Center Township were changed after reviews were conducted of 2002 data. In Michigan Township, 75 percent of the land values along Lakeshore Drive have increased.
The law firm of Meighen & Associates was hired to work with the county on property tax appeals, 61 of which remain to be resolved. McDaniel credited the law firm with saving the county $125,000 in property taxes that might have been lost.