Updating our ILB entry from May 19th, which reported that the Lake County reassessment case was "in the hands of" the Indiana Supreme Court are reports in several papers this morning that the Court acted yesterday. From the Gary Post Tribune:
From the Munster Times:
Lake County property tax bills can go out based on the controversial countywide reassessment, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.But the court also scheduled oral arguments on the merits of the reassessment by the private firm Cole Layer Trumble, leaving open the possibility it could still find the work unconstitutional.
In a two-page ruling, the court stayed Lake Superior Court Judge Robert Pete’s May 7 order in favor of the Miller Citizens Corp. Pete’s ruling said remaining partial Lake County 2002 property tax bills had to go out using 2001 assessments and tax rates. * * *
The court’s unanimous ruling orders representatives of the MCC and the governor’s office to appear in Indianapolis June 23 for oral arguments. The court plans to consider whether Pete had jurisdiction to hear the MCC lawsuit. But the ruling also orders both sides to be prepared to argue whether it was constitutional for the state legislature to force only Lake County to hire a private firm to conduct its reassessment.
The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday took the shackles off the Lake County treasurer's office with a ruling it can mail out the remaining 2002 property tax bills based on the new reassessment. * * *From the Indianapolis Star:The order, though, was packed with a one-two punch.
Indiana's high court did not rule on a May 7 decision by Lake Superior Court Judge Robert Pete that challenges the constitutionality of Lake County's reassessment by an outside firm. Pete's decision was in response to an April lawsuit filed by the Miller Citizens Corp., composed of Gary residents upset with the reassessment and how it skyrocketed their tax bills. Pete agreed the procedure was improper, and stopped the county from mailing tax bills calculated from the reassessment.
By not ruling on this issue, it enables the high court to hear arguments on the constitutionality factor, as well as the Indiana attorney general's contention over what court in the state has proper jurisdiction to decide a tax case. Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter believes the state's Tax Court is the proper venue to decide this issue; the Miller group argues Pete had proper jurisdiction.
Chief Justice Randall Shepard's two-page order also puts the case on a fast track with oral arguments on the remaining issues set for June 23.
Lake County can now send out property tax bills that have been delayed by a lawsuit challenging sharp increases for some homeowners, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday. But both sides in the tax fight must appear before the court in Indianapolis next month to argue the case further, the court ruled.The Supreme Court's order in this case has not yet been posted online. When it is, probably later today, I will provide a link here. Meanwhile, if you wish to review the docket, the case is: STATE OF INDIANA EX REL. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL -V- LAKE SUP. , Case Number: 45 S 00 - 0405 - OR - 00204. Posted by Marcia Oddi at May 28, 2004 08:19 AMThe Lake County dispute centers on a more potent version of the reassessment pain suffered last year by some Indianapolis residents, who saw their property taxes more than triple. The difference was that in Lake County, a special reassessment also shifted the responsibility for millions in property taxes from U.S. Steel Corp. to residential payers.
A Lake County judge this month halted the mailing of bills after declaring that the special reassessment was unconstitutional. The state appealed the decision. The state Supreme Court did not rule Thursday on the constitutionality question, instead ordering oral arguments for June 23. * * *
The shift of millions of dollars in property taxes from U.S. Steel to residential payers was made after the company, which employs 7,500 in Gary, argued that declines in its business had made its property worth significantly less.