VALPARAISO | Union Township resident Mike Hattabaugh said he stood in line with others at the Porter County Administration Center in November to make an early payment on what he believed to be the balance of his property taxes.
As a result, he was more than a little surprised when he opened his 2008 tax bill and discovered the assessed value of his five pieces of property rose by as much as 18 percent and that he still owed the county more money.
"I was expecting a little money back," Hattabaugh said.
Hattabaugh has joined the growing list of county residents who intend to appeal their assessments, arguing the figures are inflated.
As many as 400 taxpayers had picked up residential applications to appeal as of Monday, and the assessor's office is preparing for the heavy load by assigning an officer to look for solutions before the requests are forwarded to the review board, Chief Deputy Assessor Shirley LaFever said.
LaFever believes the officer will be able to settle about 80 percent of the appeals.
Many taxpayers don't understand the assessed values on the current 2008 bills are supposed to reflect the value of the home or property in 2005-06, she said. The assessors are given a formula to determine the value.
"We don't pull the numbers out of the air," LaFever said.
The current property values will not catch up for another couple years, she said, explaining that the assessments now are supposed to reflect actual values.
The assessor's office is handing out copies of a four-page document from the state that explains the annual adjustment of assessed values. The same information is available online at http://www.in.gov/dlgf/files/AnnualAdjustmentsFactSheet.pdf.
The applications for appeal must be returned to the assessor's office by April 13, LaFever said.
Applicants should be prepared to make more of an argument than simply being unhappy about an increase, she said. She suggested taking a look at the assessments of comparable properties in the same area and including any professional appraisals done anytime around the 2005-06 time period in question.
Westchester Township resident Dave Springsteen also plans to appeal after discovering his assessed value rose by nearly $84,000 to $267,200.
"I don't see how they came up with that price," he said.
