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Thursday, May 13, 2004

Indiana Law - It is not just Lake County

Re the continuing property tax crisis in Lake County (see earlier entry here), the Gary Post-Tribune reports today that:

Attorney General Steve Carter on Wednesday asked Judge Robert Pete to allow mailing of Lake County tax bills based on the reassessment, while the state asked the Supreme Court to intervene. Carter called it a “crisis in the making” for local government, if the tax bills, scheduled for mailing Tuesday of this week, were stalled indefinitely by the on-going court battle. * * *

As part of its case, the Attorney General’s Office filed an affidavit from the Indiana Bond Bank that showed communities in Lake County have taken out $112 million in bonds against future tax revenue to pay 2003 operating expenses because tax bills were delayed by the reassessment. Those bonds come due in June 30, if there is no extension. Another $193 million in bonds were taken out in January by Lake County communities for operating expenses this year. Since then, the Bond Bank has received another $175 million in requests for additional loans from 22 communities and schools in Lake County. “Communities need some form of tax money coming in,” Carter said. * * *

In a separate motion, the attorney general is asking the state Supreme Court to decide whether the case should go through the normal appeals process through the state Board of Tax Review and on to the Tax Court. The state also filed a motion notifying Judge Pete of its Supreme Court filing. “The Indiana General Assembly founded the Tax Court in 1986 to hear these tax cases. That is a principle we have to adhere to,” Carter said. * * *

Attorneys for the Miller citizens’ case contend the law requiring the Lake County reassessment be conducted by an assessing firm rather than township assessors is faulty because it was essentially special legislation. The Supreme Court in 2003 ruled a South Bend annexation law violated the constitutional ban on special legislation.

“The issue of what is special legislation is still evolving. It will have to be solved by a future Supreme Court decision,” Carter said. The attorney general has never been asked to render an opinion as to whether the 2001 state statute requiring most of Lake County to be assessed by an outside contractor — and have the state assess major industries — was special legislation. “There was a broad consensus that because Lake County was in such a state, that there was a need to do that. We start out with the premise that was properly enacted,” Carter said.

Meanwhile, the Marion Chronicle-Tribune is reporting today:
The Grant County treasurer's office is in such disarray that there's money lying on the office floor, Treasurer Mary Stevens told the county council Wednesday.

Stevens is short one worker, and there is no overtime pay available.

The office has been closed since Tuesday and will be shut down until June 1 as workers process property tax payments. Taxes for 2002 were due Monday, and Stevens hopes to have much-needed tax money out to cities, towns, libraries, schools and other taxing units by June 30.

"We cannot possibly keep up," Stevens said. "I have explained this at the council's budget hearings last year. I tried to make my point. ... We've got lots of money laying up there on the floor of my office that cannot be put in the bank, that could be earning interest. We could get this money out to the schools much quicker."

Stevens lost one worker because the council trimmed her 2004 budget as it tried to cut costs and balance the county budget.

"I think we need to get our priorities in order," Stevens told the council before it approved spending $25,000 for a consultant to help with the county's financial problems.

Wednesday night, Councilman Robert Monroe, R-At-Large, pushed for the council to give Stevens $3,000 for help. County Auditor Mike Burton offered to loan Stevens one of his workers in lieu of transferring county funds to hire part-time help or pay overtime.

[Update 5/14/04] Things are looking up in Grant County. This story today in the Chronicle-Tribune reports that:
After County Council hedged on giving Stevens the $3,000 she requested at Wednesday night's meeting, Recorder Judy Solms stood up and said she would like to help. "I've got more part-time money than I can use," Solms said Thursday. She has $5,000 in her part-time fund but isn't facing any urgent deadlines. Stevens and staff, on the other hand, are under the gun. * * * Wednesday night, Solms offered to let Stevens use $3,000. Although Council didn't vote on the matter, that is what Stevens intends to do. "I will have someone in here by Monday," she said Thursday afternoon, adding that she plans to get in touch with two people who have worked in the office in the past. "They'll help just to get us through this mail situation."

Meanwhile, Stevens has already received some relief. Her office, which essentially is closed to the public through June 1 to give staff time to process bills, had two extra bodies behind the counter Thursday. One of them was a volunteer. The woman, who wouldn't give her name, said she's volunteering "because I want to see the county get back in the black." "I'm not doing it for publicity," she said.

The story also clarifies its report from the day before:
Although cash money isn't literally lying around, large trays of mail are stacked on the floor in the treasurer's office -- envelopes filled with tax statements and checks. The longer Stevens and employees take to open mail, count money and process bills, the longer government units such as schools, libraries and towns have to wait for their funds, already a year late because of reassessment and other problems.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 13, 2004 03:01 PM
Posted to Indiana Decisions