The Star has a helpful tax chart showing how much tax bills increased by township. Washington Township taxpayers fared the worst with an average 85% increase in tax bills followed by Center Township with a 67.2% increase. Taxes rose on average the least in Decatur Township, which saw average increases of 19%. The average bill increased $3,363 in Washington Township compared to $345 in Decatur Township. It will be interesting to see how these statistics change following the reassessment. People have to remember they are not necessarily off the hook. The Governor's action yesterday in ordering a reassessment in Marion Co. acts as a temporary reprieve. You will have to pay up your 2007 tax bill in about 10 months based on the new reassessment, plus begin paying at that level in 2008. I have to hand it to the Star. I think their coverage of the property tax mess over the past month has been excellent. Putting the data in the hands of readers has been very helpful. I would be interested in seeing some statistics from the Star on how many hits its database of assessments has been getting since it was uploaded to the Star's website.
UPDATE: Matt Tully informs me the Star's database of property tax assessments has gotten 1.1 million page views since it was uploaded to Indystar.com. The databases are sure worth the time and investment for news publications like the Star looking to drive more traffic to their website. That's a lot of additional traffic the newspaper's website otherwise wouldn't have seen.
26 comments:
I was spot on for the pike average increase of $700+ dollars. It was more like 30% increase instead of hte average 40% increase.
Should I feel lucky ?
Pike Voter
I'm in 46201 Center Township eastside and my rate went up 67%.
The problem I can see right now is that those with with mortgages will STILL have to pay what they were assessed. Bills have already been sent to mortgage companies and the homeowner is still on the hook for the increase. The Governor's plan will benefit those that own their property outright but everyone else with mortgages are stilled going to have to pony up the cash. This short term but some folks will still stand the chance of losing their homes.
Any possible solution to lower taxes is months down the road and in the meantime people with mortgages are stuck unless a new bill to the mortgage companies showing the 2006 rate being due.
I have a mortgage on a condo in Broad Ripple and had no problem convincing my mortgage company to forgo the escrow so I can pay my taxes direct. Therefor, I got the bill from the county treasurer not my mortgage company.
A $3400 average increase in Washington Township is my actual taxes in Carmel on a 300k assessed value house. Something isn't right down there.
I'm sure that Center Twp tax bills rose so much so they can provide that TAVERN in the Center Twp Government building, or add to the 100+ patronage Township payroll, or was is the Center Twp Trustee trying to raise money to buy another giant office building to maybe put Township Exotic Dancers so his constituents can enjoy themselves like they do in his Township Tavern????
Have property values in Washington Township incresed THAT MUCH?
When owners of over 30% of the prime downtown commercial real estate are NOT paying property taxes due to abatements and tifs then the rest of us have to make up the difference in Center Township.
Have you ever wondered just how much Eli Lilly pays in property taxes?
Listen folks with escrows, don't get all in a tizzy. I spoke with my mortgage company this morning, they have already received an e-mail from the Marion County Treasurer explaining this whole mess and that the 2006 rate will apply this spring, They are simply waiting for a refund from the treasurer and will put that amount back into my escrow account, hence no change in my mortgage payment. Net result, nada, nothing, zip. At least until the fall when Im sure my bill will go up, hopefully less than it was scheduled to.
At Friday's City County Building Rally, be sure to bring signs of protest to bring light to Aaron Haith's unconstitutional action to remove a gentleman from the council meeting.
12:13, as an industry professional, let me tell you, there IS reason to worry.
My company deals with scores of mortgagors on a daily basis. And not one of them this week, has said anything OTHER than "pay the higher rate." Period.
I think there are some mechanisms to roll back the increase, decrease escrows, etc. But it's not automatic, and if you read the fine print on your mortgage they have the right to insist on the higher balances. Most mortgage companies lock in their payment schedules months in advance.
This was all SO avoidable.
Don't hold your breath waiting on an apology for thier actions.
You simply don't get it - they are the chosen ones, the experts the ones above reproach who can do no wrong. In their eyes, citizens are the unwashed, the unsophisticated, and the uneducated who have no busines opining on government business.
for the anonymous nobody at 9:54am - Don't get your hopes up! They won't be hiring any over-the-hill strippers from Shannons Roaring Twenties. Sorry!
Ill bet if someone pitched aaron haith out of a meeting. he would be squeeling like a pig saying his civil rights were violated because he is black. it would be a whole different story.
Speaking of Center Township, does anyone know who the township assessor is? Does anyone know how a certain Congresswoman got him the job and why? Does anyone know what his qualifications were when she hoisted him on us?
The voters of Center Township "hoisted" Gene Akers as the Center Township Assessor by better than 3-to-1. The voters were obviously quite satisfied with his qualifications. Does anybody even remember the nonentity who ran against him and what its qualifications were?
In the words of the tax-and-spender Ronald Reagan:
"Wilson, there you go again."
I don't remember the November Akers opponent. But I do remember the May opponent. A nice young lady named Sweeney. Qualified and state-approved appraiser. The only candidate who could make that statement.
But she ran afoul of the Center mafia, and as such, did not get their endorsement. Nonetheless, she got over 45% of the vote, as I recall.
Mr. Akers was, and is, way over his head.
And we all pay for that.
"for the anonymous nobody at 9:54am - Don't get your hopes up! They won't be hiring any over-the-hill strippers from Shannons Roaring Twenties. Sorry!"
Isn't that Julia's old haunt?
Some old timers have stated the she was quite the hoochie-hoochie girl in her day.
Such slime and slanders are pushed by folk who are ashamed to use their own name in public. It's notable that such cowardly cracks are only made by folk with false faces and fake names!
What next? Accusing Dan Burton of turning tricks when caddying?
The Star also published a more detailed map of the various taxing districts and their statistics. A careful examination shows the several enclaves in Washington Township with few but really expensive homes suffered the greatest increases. Contrast that to Decatur Township (not known for its gated communities or two-story buildings) which had minimal increases. It seems to me that the residential properties with the greatest jumps were older, expensive homes: Meridian-Kessler is the obvious site. Golden Hill also got hit very hard. Lockerbie too... I'm surprised we havent heard from Woodruff Place yet!
"Such slime and slanders are pushed by folk"
For it to be slander it has to an un-truth. Wilson are you sure Carson wants you refuting this allegation? Evidence has a way of revealing itself. Photos tell stories.
Wilson -
Gene Akers, our new Center Township Assessor, was the manager of custodians for IPS before Julia personally chose him to be the Democratic nominee.
She and the mayor shoved out some other very well qualified (people who actually had assessor qualifications and who were good Democrats)for "Julia's boyfriend who needed a job."
So ... it was Julia's hand-picked "boyfriend" with NO experience who gave us the mess in
Center Township.
Do you disagree?
Of course I disagree because it's based on gossip and untruths. Akers has absolutely NOTHING to do with Meridian-Kessler yet that's where the most egregious increases happened. There are nine local assessors in Marion County - all townships are having problems. Yet some find it worthwhile to single out the first and only African-American assessor this county has ever had. Peculiar indeed!
A local assessor is NOT the technical expert in the field - the assessor in a large area is an executive who HIRES and MANAGES assessors. Akers has had years of executive experience managing a large staff. There was a spirited and informed primary - Democrats preferred Akers. The voters in the fall chose him by better than 3-to-1. Does anybody remember his Republican opponent or know anything about that guy's professional assessing qualifications?
Some folk seem to want self-appointed experts to run everything and to keep the people (voters) out of their way. Mussolini at least got the trains running on time ... in America we prefer democracy!
As to the alleged photos of our Congresswoman, I'm sure nutterball Jocelyn Tandy would have published them years ago in her paranoid jihad against Julia Carson. Like all of J.T.'s slanders, it's all made up and long refuted...
It hit me after I heard Greg Bowes say this assessment 'wasn't his fault because this is his first time' that it hit me.
The Beth "Incompetent" White's, Greg "Blows" Bowes and all, made promises they had no idea how to keep. These two idiots are the first to publicly fall, but there will be others.
I saw all these idiots many times during the last election cycle and they made all kinds of promises, said whatever they thought the people wanted to hear and since they were Democrats the sheep followed them in to this disaster. Unfortunately, even though I didn't vote for them I am stuck with these yahoos until the next election. (Although I cheered when I heard someone ask for Bowes to step down.)
If anything, these bumbling idiots have encouraged me to get MORE involved in the elections to make sure people are registered and know the TRUTH behind the dumbasses who have put us where we are.
I told Greg Bowes last fall that it would be hard for me to vote for a democrat when he asked for my vote. Boy am I glad that I stuck to my guns.
Thanks to all who voted these idiots in. If Bowes can't make it as a lawyer what made you democrats think he could do the job of Assessor? Then again if a janitor can do the job one would think an attorney could too. At least Akers knows how to clean up a mess when he makes one.
It seems to me that the residential properties with the greatest jumps were older, expensive homes:
It wasn't just "expensive homes" it was done where folks figured "those folks are rich, make them pay for our bloated government." What these fools couldn't fathom is that some of these folks might have purchased their home for what was an average price 50 years ago. These folks were not doctors or lawyers. These people shouldn't have to sell their life long home just because other folks come in and drop hundreds of thousands on like homes. My guess is the government figured these folks in a bind would start operating like government. They would just start borrowing money to pay bills that they couldn't afford to pay. No one on a limited income should be forced to do that. These people will not get a 1% increase in services compared to past years. They don't get fire departments built right next to their homes. They don't get police stations built right next to their homes. Liberals just want to steal more money from the rich because they need money, and lots of it, to run their Progressive Indy. Now that those with money are up in arms about this, they are backing down because if the majority of folks in these areas start heading for the hills, Indy will see some big money move out. Indy would be one step closer in turning into Detroit.
Mussolini at least got the trains running on time ... in America we prefer democracy!
And since the sky high tax bills came under a democracy, you agree people need to shut up and pay them...right?
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