Northwest Indiana Discussion

ALSO HEAR THAT THE TAX BILL WILL NOT COME OUT BEFORE THE END OF JULY


http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2007/0 ... 0148ae.txt

Assessor: Average tax values up 30 percent

Thursday, April 26, 2007 12:12 AM CDT



BY BILL DOLAN
bdolan@nwitimes.com

219.662.5328

CROWN POINT | The Lake County Assessor predicts property tax bills won't rise as much as predicted for Lake County property owners -- unless they own any of the county's four casino boats.

Assessor Paul Karras said Wednesday the latest reassessment will raise average commercial and residential property values -- for taxing purposes -- by a little more than 30 percent.

That's lower than a forecast released Wednesday by the state's Legislative Services Agency. The Indiana Legislature's think-tank estimated assessed values for apartments and single-family homes would rise 37 percent and that commercial property would increase by 61 percent.

Meanwhile, the Lake County Auditor's office reported its personnel were examining the assessed values for about 90,000 parcels in the county for possible errors. One such parcel -- a vacant lot in East Chicago -- had been given a $1.2 billion value because of a clerical error, with a North Township assessor's employee mistaking square feet for acres, the township assessor reported.

Karras said his latest numbers should calm fears of the new round of tax bills skyrocketing -- as the bills did three years ago following the last reassessment.

"The average homeowner or business would expect to see...a corresponding decrease in the tax rate...and no significant change in the total real property tax," Karras said.

He makes no such guarantee for the Horseshoe, Resorts or Majestic Star I & 2 casinos. In fact, he hopes to more than double their assessed value to more than $805 million -- "thus lowering the tax rate for Lake County homeowners," Karras said.

Horseshoe General Manager Rick Mazer is demanding the Legislature stop this a run on its bank.

"The county is asking the casinos to leave town," Mazer said.

State lawmakers have responded with legislation that would block Karras' attempt to link casino values to the corporate sale of casinos in and out of state and force the county to retain the system established by a decade-old law.

State Sen. Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange, says he offered the measure to protect the casinos, which he calls "good corporate citizens" that have poured more than $5 billion in admissions and wagering taxes into state and local coffers since their inception.

The debate over assessed value fills a vacuum of knowledge about the dollar-and-cents size of tax bills. The bills aren't set to be mailed for another three months.

The county's reassessment process, now called trending, plods along with the county's 11 township assessors tracking thousands of real estate sales to determine if neighborhoods' property values rose or fell and then applying the new values to hundreds of thousands of land parcels.

Auditor Peggy Katona said her office is re-examining at least 90,000 parcels where errors appear to have crept in.

A clumsy method of telling us we’ll pay more but not as much as first reported. Doesn’t that make you feel better?

Do you have the figures fopr how much the casino boats in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago contributed to each of those communities?

Dyer is a little over $20,000.

ChuckaHO is wrong it's really around, $25,000.

Yeah, and Exprasso is always right...where's your proof, bablin-goof ball?

Yeah, and Exprasso is always right...where's your proof, bablin-goof ball?

I'm ALWAYS right! So eat this~~~~~~~~~~.