4um: Property sticker shocker

Most Allen County homeowners have received their notice of assessment, and some are still experiencing the sticker shock of seeing their home’s value rise 25 percent or even more since the last assessment. Here are answers to basic questions about the new assessments and how they will affect property-tax bills:

Q. According to the new assessment notice, my home’s value went up 30 percent. How could my home’s value have gone up so much in a year?

A. The increase covers a period of several years. The last assessment was based on home sales in 1999; the most recent assessments are based on sales in 2004-05. Because of the state’s new trending requirement for property assessment, you’ll start receiving annual notices that should not change as significantly as the one you just received.

The jury is still out, but it should lead to fairer assessments and reduce the type of significant changes that occurred with once-a-decade assessments. This first year of trending, though, came with a steep learning curve, and some counties missed key deadlines. (See final question.)

A. County Assessor Stacey O’Day is ready to put the numbers online – but has to wait for city and county governments to complete a computer network upgrade. She’s hoping they will be on the county’s Web site – www.co.allen.in.us – before month’s end.

A. You have until April 26 to file an appeal. If you have questions, talk to your township assessor’s office if you’re from one of the seven largest townships – Aboite, Adams, Cedar Creek, Perry, St. Joseph, Washington and Wayne. If you’re from one of the 13 smaller townships, call the county assessor’s office at 449-7123.

Q. Does my 30 percent increase in assessment mean my property taxes will go up 30 percent?

A. No. Most local governments that levy property taxes – cities, schools, the county and others – are raising the amounts they collect from property taxes by less than 10 percent. Fort Wayne Community Schools expects the money it will raise from property taxes to be flat in 2007, and Fort Wayne city officials have said many individual homeowners may pay a smaller amount for the city’s portion of the tax bill.

A. Not necessarily. Several other, more complex factors are at work. For one, the General Assembly in 2005 capped the Property Tax Replacement Credit. That’s money the state used from income and sales tax revenues to offset property taxes. In other words, the legislature transferred some of your tax burden from income and sales taxes back onto property taxes.

Two other changes could affect the bill for your primary home. Another tax credit from the state – the homestead credit – is scheduled to be lower this year, resulting in higher property taxes. The other change is good – the 50 percent homestead exemption, similar to a personal exemption on your income taxes, will increase from $35,000 to $45,000 this year, lowering the bill for houses worth more than $70,000. But beware: In 2008, it goes back to $35,000.

The General Assembly could, however, decide to help homeowners by keeping the homestead credit at the same level this year. For that matter, lawmakers could make other changes that affect property-tax bills.

Q. I’ll know for sure how much I owe in a few weeks when I receive my property tax bill, right?

A. Sorry, but property tax bills are going to be late this year – possibly as late as the end of June. Allen County – and a number of other Indiana counties – was late determining assessed valuation, which put the entire process behind.

And remember – although all Allen County property owners received the notice of assessment, the tax bills will be sent only to the people who pay the bills. For people with home mortgages, that often means the bill goes not to your home but to the lender or a third party that administers your escrow account.

•Highlight “Services and Elected Officials”; then highlight “Tax & Property”; then click on: “Assessor’s Office.”

That page has much information. Also, within that page, click on “Other Helpful Appeal Information.”

Sidenote: The Fort Wayne Community Day-Jails [Schools] is clamoring for a $500,000,000.00 school rebuilding, in a community of 250,000. [$2,000.00 per citizen]

The last reassessment 2 or 3 years ago caused taxes to rise between 0% to 1,000%. The poor neighorhoods rising the most, the McMansions not at all.

Oh, bullshit! Anybody who believes this pantload couldn't get any dumber if you cut their head off. Taxes will rise at least as much as the assessment, if not more.

More bullshit. The government is stalling for time to figure out how to deal with a revolt.

Don't know about your process, but I appeal my assessment every year and win every year. I bring in about five comparables and three or four mainstream articles about the housing bubble bursting and I insist on reading each one. Finally the peon who handles the appeals tosses me the bone of letting last year's assessment stand (I always argue for a 10-15% reduction) just so I'll get out of his office.

I express disappointment that I can't do better right until I get to my car. Then, grinning to myself, I drive home.

It's a dangerous game here. I know several people who have tried to appeal (against my advice), and in every case, their taxes have gone up, or in a couple of cases their houses have been condemed for some minor code infraction. (Loose downspout etc.) Don't grab the tiger by the tail here unless you want a hell of a fight.

FWIW, my propery (27 y/o) is assessed at least twice what it would sell for. My Mother's 20% high. (10 y/o) It's just too dangerous to appeal though. I'm gonna wait for the shooting to start then get in the fight.

I hope everyone learns from the Iraqis and aims for the crotch. Let 'em bleed out slow.

All the states with property taxes at the LEAST need to do a Proposition 13 (California) type measure. Oh how the politicians howl and moan over it every year. That alone is worth the passage, but by having it, I still only pay ~$2300/year as apposed to it being around $10,000 this year had it been like other states...

yeah, but do you ever think the folks behind the desk realize that what they are doing is facilitating unjust taxation and are part of the problem?

“All of us should treasure his (John Dillinger) Oriental wisdom and his preaching of a Zen-like detachment, as exemplified by his constant reminder to clerks, tellers, or others who grew excited by his presence in their banks: "Just lie down on the floor and keep calm."” --- Robert Anton Wilson

“Intelligence is the capacity to receive, decode and transmit information efficiently. Stupidity is blockage of this process at any point. Bigotry, ideologies etc. block the ability to receive; robotic reality-tunnels block the ability to decode or integrate new signals; censorship blocks transmission.” --- Robert Anton Wilson

What they "realize" is that they are making better pay than they would managing a Wendy's, and they don't have to work as hard.

IIRC, Prop 287? was passed in CA and promptly ignored. The system needs to be destroyed.

Sounds like me, though, around here, the County uses a panel and has a "real estate professional" on it.

Them: "People will pay handsomely for the kind of privacy you have, even if most of the land is wetland and you can't do anything with it."
Me: "People will also pay handsomely to live underneath an elevated train. Other people prefer living under bridges. Would you try using that same argument with them?"

"First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Then they fight you. Then you win." --Mahatma K. Gandhi

187 was to eliminate social services, health care, and public education for illegals. After Gray Davis was elected he dropped the appeal of it (he was opposed to it) and it died.

Proposition 13 was the historic property tax revolt and it has withstood all tests.

Start with the low level flunkies (root out their idiocy and records, word of mouth, etc...) and work your way up. Kill the roots and the tree will whither.

I used to live in California. I pushed for prop. 187, and voted for it, and got my friends to vote for it as well. Then I watched it die a dog's death in the court system. Sooo... angry...

This seems to indicate the drop in the value of the dollar as opposed to the rise of property values.

Sun Reporter, The

12-05-1996

African American Judge Delivers Stinging Blow Against Proposition 209.

Affirmative action boosters, who fought unsuccessfully to defeat Proposition 209 at the ballot box, had reason to cheer the day before thanksgiving, when U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson issued a temporary restraining order to halt enactment of Proposition 209 throughout California.

Ruling that there is "a strong probability" the measure is unconstitutional, he scheduled his next hearing for Monday December 16.

Henderson, who is African American, made the announcement from his San Francisco federal courtroom. The restraining order specifically forbids Governor Pete Wilson and California Attorney General Dan Lungren from taking any steps to enforce Prop. 209, the "California Civil Rights Initiative," which passed on November 5 by 54% to 46%. Irreparable harm

Judge Henderson went on to say that the coalition against Prop. 209, which filed a class action lawsuit the day after the election, "have demonstrated a strong probability of success" in winning their case. He said women and minorities face "an immediate possibility of irreparable harm" if the measure were to be thenacted without further debate.

Prop. 209's language does not mention affirmative action, but simply calls for ending preference for women and racial minorities. However, Henderson concluded, "Courts must look beyond the plain language of an enactment. The relevant question is whether, in reality, the burden imposed by a law necessarily falls on minorities and women."

He agreed with arguments that there might be constitutional problems with barring preferences for women and minorities, while continuing to allow them for age, disability, or veteran status, as is now the case.

Gov. Wilson, who strongly backed Prop. 209, called Henderson's ruling "absurd" and "an affront to common sense."

In the Dec. 16 hearing, both the coalition and the pro-209 forces will be able to present new arguments. Henderson will then decide to either lift the restraining order, or issue a preliminary injunction, which would halt Prop. 209 until the issue goes to trail. A preliminary injunction, unlike a restraining order, can be appealed to a higher court.

Whatever the ruling, it is unlikely to affect admissions policies at the University of California, which has eliminated affirmative action, effective with the fall 1997 semester. Supreme Court

If, as expected, Henderson does issue an injunction, Prop. 209 might be frozen for years, until it eventually reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has frequently visited California in recent years in support of affirmative action, hailed Henderson's decision as a victory. "Often in America, the court has been the last barrier against unfair laws," he said. "If abolition and women's suffrage had been put to a ballot test, they may not have passed."

Jackson added, "Proposition 209 is a state's rights initiative that undercuts restrictions on race and gender discrimination as afforded by Title 6 and Title 9. The Justice Department should have been more aggressive in informing people of its ramifications. For example, enforcing the law with Proposition 209 in place could bankrupt the University of California system because it is the 14th largest federal contractor in the country.

Affirmative action is still needed," he said. "Abounding discrimination evident at Texaco, Avis Mitsubishi and assaults against women in the U.S. Army prove this."

The final fate of Prop. 209 could have a powerful ripple effect across the nation. About half the states, and many local governments, are considering similar measures to end their affirmative action programs.

E

The only thing indicated here is the government's insatiable, ever-increasing need for stealing more money from the taxpayers. The situation on the ground is that in the timeframe indicated in the article, is that existing property values have declined about 25% on average due to a housing glut.

It's greed, my man! Pure and simple. The local pols want their cut before Scumbya laps up all the gravy.

209 ended up sticking it out IIRC. The affirmative action is out here, but they try to "end run" it via calling stuff "disadvantaged businesses".

What's really funny is that MOWDs (Mean Old White Dudes, I'm classified as one :-)) always put their business' 51% in the wifes name anyway, so nearly all of the businesses I ever used in the environmental industry to meet quotas for state subcontracting were woman owned business' for this reason. In CA, it doesn't really matter who in the family controls the business, because in a divorce it's gonna get split 50-50 anyway!

Or, as one of our local homeless panhandler's sign says, "Why live in a $250,000 house, when you can live under a $20,000,000 bridge?"

Funny....we think alike...I love sticking their rules in their eye. When I was on the PD, I contributed $10 a year to the NAACP. Being a card carrying member helped me out more than once when I was on the stand. Besides, the mailings each year to members far exceeded my annual "contribution" so I was a net drain on their organization. Just think what we could do to the ACLU, AARP, etc. using this strategy.

Last year I begged my daughter to sell her home and get out of NJ while the housing market was still hot. She waited, and now it’s up for sale. As best as I can figure, the loss of equity she suffered is equal to what she earned working all of last year. She makes close to $70k per year. This isn't to mention her property taxes are assessed yearly and are now nearing $10k per year mark. This armpit of a state is going one of two ways; either people will become highly pissed off (that's beginning) and take action, or those that can escape will, leaving it for the very wealthy and the welfare leeches.