(update: The budget bill has passed, at the last moment, as of June 30, 2009. The reassessment has been delayed a year, though this office will be doing Trending again this year. If you are curious what else the Legislature has been up to during this special session go here.)
The State Legislature has left most local governmental units at a standstill. When the Legislature meets in June to finish the budget, all bills are up for grabs, not just the budget, though some Senate leaders do not agree.
The Assessors are, as of this writing, preparing to start the reassessment on July 1, 2009. The reassessment will end in 2010 with taxes payable in 2011. The Legislature can replace that bill and delay the reassessment back to July of 2010. Please cooperate with the deputy assessors who will be checking your property to correct any errors that may exist. All deputy assessors in the field will have a photo ID.
Currently there are 10 bills approved and signed by the Governor that affect assessment in some way. In house Bill 1094, rules are changed so that to file an appeal of your assessment requires evidence relevant to the true tax value of the taxpayer property as of the assessment date. This is a new rule, designed to reduce appeal time. Under the old rule Taxpayers could write the basis of their appeal in any form they chose and bring it into their Assessor’s office without supporting documentation. An appeal is not necessary if an objective error exists. We encourage taxpayers to come into our office to review their Property Record Cards for possible errors.
What about tax bills? The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) has approved the Ratio Study of property values (assessed values matched to sales records). The auditor must now do a lot of work to come up with a certified value for the DLGF. When this is approved the DLGF will set a tax rate for each taxing unit. The Auditor and Treasurer then work to apply these rates so that a tax bill may be sent to property owners.
The job of the Assessors is to set values on property using state guidelines. I hope that this short description of the work that has to be done helps to clarify the procedure. In my opinion, if the State Legislators would refrain from writing new laws that affect the jobs of the Assessors, Auditors and Treasurers for a few years, your tax bills would likely arrive at the proper time.
Again, it is an honor and pleasure to work with the property owners of Schererville, Dyer, St. John and Unincorporated St. John Township as their elected representative in assessment matters.
You can reach me at the office (219-365-2777), email: hank_adams2000@yahoo.com or you can get more information through my website http://hankadams.com. We welcome your comments.