VALPARAISO | If the county meets its goal of sending out tax bills early next month, the mailing will not include bills for Pine Township, Town of Pines or Beverly Shores.

Tax bills for those three northeastern sections of the county will arrive months behind the others because they include payments to Michigan City schools in neighboring LaPorte County, which is in the process of redoing its reassessment, consultant Beth Henkel announced Friday during the county's weekly tax update meeting.

"They're very far behind," Henkel said of tax officials in LaPorte County.

Residents of the three areas in question are billed by Michigan City schools because that is where their children attend classes, said Porter County Commissioner Bob Harper.

Each area of the county needs information from every applicable taxing unit before a collective tax rate can be set, he said.

There are more than 60 counties around the state faced with this cross-county situation, Henkel said.

There was also some uncertainty voiced Friday as to the mailing date on the balance of the county's tax bills.

While officials were fairly confident two weeks ago the bills would go out the first week of December, if not a week or so earlier, the projected date was reiterated Friday with more caution.

Porter County Treasurer James Murphy said there have been a few glitches with the software.

Fearing further delays, officials agreed to begin checking in by telephone each Wednesday in addition to meeting on Fridays.

This year's tax bill for homeowners who qualify for the homestead credit is expected to be about 40 percent lower than the year before, Murphy has said. The second payment this year should be less than the provisional bills that went out in June.

Porter County Auditor James Kopp has said the tax bills are expected to be nearly back on schedule next year, with the first bills mailed out around the first week of June.