INDIANAPOLIS | A Crown Point state lawmaker says she's going to make sure property tax bills start to come on time.
State Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh, a Democrat, plans to introduce legislation requiring county treasurers to send property owners a provisional tax bill every spring.
"I constantly hear from constituents in Lake and Porter counties who cannot plan their household budget due to late and unpredictable property tax bills," VanDenburgh said. "This proposal would make sure there is consistency and continuity in the system and eliminate much of the guesswork that homeowners face when managing their expenses."
Currently, county treasurers decide whether to send provisional bills. VanDenbergh's proposal mandates a spring provisional bill that would be half the tax bill from the previous year.
"Then, each fall, homeowners will receive bills that will reconcile the remaining taxes that are owed for the entire year," she said.
In addition to helping homeowners know what to expect, VanDenburgh said her proposal also would help local governments.
"A delay in sending out tax bills also means that cities, towns and schools fail to get the revenue needed to fund the normal services and programs that are offered," VanDenburgh said. "In order to provide those services, these units are forced to borrow money, then repay it with interest."
For example, in 2008 Gary paid more than $1.9 million in interest waiting for tax payments to come in through Lake County. State-mandated property reassessments were partially responsible for the delay.
This year's Lake County property tax bills, which are supposed to be paid in installments in May and November, are tentatively scheduled to be due Oct. 28 and Nov. 24.
That's still better than Porter County, which finally got around to sending last year's tax bills this year and then didn't bother to cash its tax payment checks for months while a new computer system was installed.
Porter County's property tax chaos leaves school corporations, such as East Porter, to basically budget in the dark.
Next Monday, there will be a public hearing in Kouts on the district's $29 million 2010 budget. But the school corporation still hasn't received all of its 2008 payments, doesn't have a total value of the property in its district and its 2010 budget is based on an uncertified 2009 budget, said Lisa Rosinko, business manager for the school corporation.
East Porter County School Corp. also has had to pay $77,500 in interest on $5.5 million in borrowing to pay bills until tax payments come through, Rosinko said.
Commissioner Tim Rushenberg of the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, which ensures property tax assessment and local budgeting follow state law, told a panel of legislators Monday that restoring the "normal" property tax cycle is his top priority.
While he claims to have made progress in 70 of Indiana's 92 counties, Rushenberg said Porter County "frankly, has historically been behind."
Property tax bills are supposed to go out in installments due in May and November. But many counties, including Lake and Porter, still are catching up with changes to the assessment system that took effect in 2006. State Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh, D-Crown Point, wants to force counties to send out estimated spring bills.
