Monday, May 10, 2010

“Council votes in favor of property tax settlement” plus 3 more

“Council votes in favor of property tax settlement” plus 3 more

Council votes in favor of property tax settlement

Posted: 10 May 2010 12:28 PM PDT

LA PORTE — Although La Porte County Council members unanimously voted Monday to accept a settlement in two Indiana Tax Court lawsuits over the county's property tax mess, the rest of the parties have yet to follow suit. What that settlement entails won't be released until all parties agree.

A preliminary form of the agreement was provided confidentially to The News-Dispatch, saying the parties agreed to use corrected 2006 retrended assessed property values for the 2006-pay-07 tax year, subject to further corrections on 5,640 properties. These properties were identified by Crowe Horwath, an independent accounting firm that reviewed the retrended property values presented by Nexus Group.

But remarks at Monday's council meeting made it clear other parts of that agreement have been modified.

County Council attorney Don Baugher said the settlement was a "mutually satisfactory resolution" for all parties — except for Long Beach resident Bill Wendt, who was allowed to intervene in the case Michigan City Area Schools and the cities of Michigan City and Long Beach brought against Auditor Craig Hinchman and the Indiana Department of Government Finance.

"The La Porte County Council acknowledges that although there are parts of the mediated agreed order we find less than perfect, we realize that reaching a conclusion to this situation is in the best interest of the taxpayers," Baugher said. "We also fully realize that failure to resolve this issue now could result in litigation continuing for several more months, if not years, at a cost that would escalate exponentially."

Baugher would not elaborate on his statement about Wendt, but an e-mail from County Attorney Chris Willoughby to several county officials said Wendt could be removed from the document "if he decides once and for all that he cannot agree to the terms." Wendt was not available for comment Monday.

Councilman Scott Ford read a statement after the vote, saying he struggled with his decision to vote for the settlement.

"Our county attorneys and case law point us to the fact that we owe nothing to Mrs. McDaniel's attorneys," he said. "My strongest inclination is to reject this settlement. However, if we take a firm position against paying the attorney fees, this mediation, settlement and negotiations could collapse."

Ford's comment seemed to infer the county would pay for McDaniel's attorney fees as part of the settlement, but neither Ford nor any other official would confirm that. Mark GiaQuinta, McDaniel's attorney, said he also couldn't comment on whether McDaniel planned to approve the settlement.

"I don't think the council would go to the trouble of voting on something if we hadn't agreed to it," GiaQuinta said.

MCAS Interim Superintendent Carla Iacona, who came to the council meeting, said she was pleased with the vote, as it was the first step toward making sure the school district receives the full $8.2 million it could have lost if the 2005-pay-06 property values certified by Hinchman for the 2006-pay-07 tax year were used instead.

The mediator assigned to help reach a settlement said he is hopeful all parties will approve it.

"I have never seen a group of lawyers work harder to reach an agreement," said Senior Judge Bruce Embrey of Peru, Ind., who retired from Miami County Circuit Court in 2002. "When you get into something with this many parties involved, there are lots of opportunities for misunderstanding, lots of differences in opinion on how things should be worded."

A few of the other issues addressed in the preliminary agreement provided to The News-Dispatch were:

• The Auditor shall certify to the DLGF the net assessed values for 2006-pay-07 on a form which recognizes that the certification does not mean he is attesting to the accuracy of the values rolled to him, but instead indicates that he has received the gross assessed values, has performed the calculations for deductions, exemptions and abatements, and any other calculations required by statute, and has arrived at net assessed values.

• La Porte County shall prepare new bid specifications for the 2012 tax year reassessment. The successful bidder shall, in addition to the reassessment, be required to perform a review for the 2006-pay-07 tax year of those 5,640 properties identified in the Crowe Horwath reports in which grade, age, and/or condition had been changed. The Crowe Horwath reports included the following recommendation:

"We recommend that La Porte County require its consultant to fully document the reason that changes are made to parcel records and provide the County with copies of such documentation. Example (sic) of documentation that would be appropriate for a remodel would be a building permit or a photograph of the improved home."

• The parties to this Agreed Order acknowledge that their agreement does not represent, and shall not be construed to be, an admission by any party of wrongdoing or fault, nor does it represent an agreement as to the accuracy of the assessed values.


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Allen County Property Tax Bills Are Due

Posted: 10 May 2010 08:02 AM PDT

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (Indiana's NewsCenter) - Your Allen County Property Tax Bills are due Monday.

You can pay the bill in person at the Allen County Treasurer's Office in the City-County Building, at your local bank or at the drop box on Main Street in front of the courthouse.

The Treasurer's Office is open Monday until five.

Taxpayer Julie Miller says, "I appreciate them cutting the taxes, but when I learned what the tax cut was from, the library, stuff like that, it is really taking a beating, it is helping me, but yet there are things, we really count on, we're not going to be able to keep."

You must bring your entire statement to be able to pay your property taxes in person or at the bank.


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Hearing scheduled on proposed Grandville budget, property tax increase

Posted: 10 May 2010 05:17 AM PDT

By Matt Vande Bunte, The Grand Rapids Press

May 10, 2010, 8:04AM

GRANDVILLE -- A proposed 0.7-mill property tax increase and about $119,000 in spending cuts are up for public comment at a hearing at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 3195 Wilson Ave. SW.

The City Council reached consensus last month on a 2010-2011 budget plan that would narrow a deficit in large part by boosting revenue with a millage increase, which does not require a public vote.

The tax would cost the owner of a $150,000 home about $52.50 per year and is expected to raise about $455,000.

Among the budget cuts: nonunion employees will start paying 10 percent of health insurance premiums; public grass will get less sprinkling and fertilizer; the purchase of shelves and chairs in the children's corner of the library will go on hold; the city newsletter will be distributed less frequently, and summer recreation funding will be reduced. Budget approval is expected May 24.

E-mail the author of this story: localnews@grpress.com

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Planet Election Guide: Property tax hike

Posted: 10 May 2010 06:33 AM PDT

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