We must eliminate township governments in Indiana! This unnecessary layer of government exists as a waste of tax money.

Sounds like the township assessors have already started there new job of appealing corporate property tax bills in retaliation for being fired by the public.

Marion county hasn’t even received our new tax bills and the fighting has already begun.

I’m sure the commercial property owners will try to appeal a higher assessment.

That’s why the township assessors didn’t bother to take a serious look at this class of property hoping to avoid a fight with well financed professionals and there hired guns.

Angry Mob – you are so wrong!!!!

No, he’s not. Like anyone else, the assessors are fighting hard for their phoney baloney jobs.

Truth will out. A 4 Billion dollar error is quite large, even for assumed incompetents. The actual incompetence is in the legislature and the assessment manual they ratified after fighting the court’s ruling in favor of tax payers for a decade or more. It does not help either, that they continue to increase spending far beyond what the public wants.

Becky Williams has said on Abdul’s show to say (apart from her association responsibilities), that she & many other assessors, personally, advocate the consolidation of assessors up to the state level (to avoid redundancy, use technology & reduce costs). The idea being, that when we ELIMINATE the onerous & feudal PT system, we flip the last switch at the state level, eliminate the assessment function & end it. She has effectively proposed to eliminate her job, probably realizing that she’s sharp enough to know she has prospects in the greater economy and is willing to DO RIGHT by her fellow citizens!!!

While I don’t know her, I met her at the state house and very much appreciate her commitment to the people she serves.

This idea that the team (township assessors) is the “problem” is an absolute diversion by the coaching staff (DLGF, state) who has ultimate responsibility for training (what’s supposed to be, but can only pretend to be a “market value” system which is by definition, a TRANSACTION) and performance (certification process, etc.). If the team is running the wrong plays and players have different ideas of what a given play call is supposed to mean, whose fault is that?

Never mind that township government is ~$332M statewide or 2% of all county budgets combined; as compared with the state’s total bond debt which is estimated to be $22B dollars, a number 65 times greater (that’s 6500% folks). So let’s see, the very state and agency in charge, the DLGF, having the broad resources of the state and oh yeah, the oversight responsibility, which they’re working all to hard to disavow (even hiring a PR person for a state agency, DLGF), isn’t somehow part of the problem, really?

We need leadership not finger pointing! We sould be well on our way to a real solution, and an open process that would include repeal. Instead, we have assessors being scape-goated and responding to what is likely a campaign of mischaracterization; rather than apportioned or even mutual acceptance, of responsibility for the problem, in order that it be SOLVED ON BEHALF OF CITIZENS.

As if a $4 billion dollar error wasn’t enough, what’s up with a manipulated reassessment (at additional cost to taxpayers)? Either case is an absolute indictment of the “assessment” system, subjective by design, to manipulate citizens as if they were subjects. Is this any way to run our state?

The Gov & Co. are playing three card monte with us. You may win a few hands but, the house always cleans you out.

I seem to remember a letter from the DLGF, telling the assessors to slop their way through.

Sen M. Young has already said that the RE-RE-RE-assessment will have little, if any effect, on residential tax bills. Make-up or, others…

Bottom line is that if we eliminate property taxes we eliminate the problems. Is that to simple? Does that make sense? I think so! Repeal can and will work if people (politicians) would just do the right thing. People, like assessors are in PUBLIC SERVICE. If that means giving up your job for the good of the people, then so be it.
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REMEMBER NOVEMBER

Becky Williams seems pretty straight ahead to me. However, the lack of tranparency, objectivity, accountability, and professional standards seems very apparent in the assessors/DLGF mess. I honestly don’t know if it’s best to eliminate property taxes, have ALL property owners pay, or have ALL property owners pay a standard amount. I do know this attempt to tax based on “market value” seems a as fraught with politics and influence as bigger picture “division of wealth” wrangling. Whatever the solution, simplicity would be a virtue in selling it.

The fact is that we are not secure in our property as long as there are taxes on property. So the only appropriate reform is to abolish such taxes altogether and find other sources of revenue (or, gee whiz! JUST STOP SPENDING SO DAMN MUCH OF MY MONEY!).

Right on brother Fuzzy!!

Pardon – right on brother Fuzzy, indeed. Just stop spending so much money.

Jim Merritt and the GOP = Protecting assessors
Bart Peterson = Getting rid of assessors

By the way- every time I write about Bart trying to get rid of assessors 4 years ago, I am met with stony silence. I’m aghast that not one of you, particularly Abdul & the Dominatrix refuse to give credit where credit is due.

Listen, in politics the definition of a zealot is someone who can’t even begrudgingly give someone you oppose credit for anything.

Bart tried this, and regardless of how you feel about any other issue, you have to agree that those are the facts.

(crickets.)

They aren’t going to take it? Well neither are we. The entire bunch including Musgrave needs to go. To think the legislature is intent in keeping this alive in Marion county thereby spelling the city’s demise.
All I know, that reconciliation fraud had better be gone, the homeowners that receive one, should refuse to pay and storm the state house. See you all there.

PIR,
I don’t recall what you are talking about with Bart and the assessors because, until last July when the PT bills came out I didn’t pay much attention. I also thought Bart did a pretty good job with a lot of things. It wasn’t till the end of his 2nd term that I think things got away from him, probably due to arrogance and maybe just being to comfortable in his ruling capacity. And of course he did say that “the people must divorce themselves from the property tax situation” so we can embrace his COIT raise. That’s what ultimately did it for me.
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PIR,

I hate to keep you honest, even though you use a fake e-mail address, but there was no bigger supporter of Indy Works than yours truly. Hell we even did the first real public forum on the topic where there was vetting of the issue on both sides.

And for the record, Jim did want to eliminate the assessors, but do it on a statewide level. And I don’t see you posting about Crawford keeping the township trustees.

Just keeping you honest. BTW, you can use your real e-mail address so we can have a real debate.

Being off by $4 Billion is not a mistake, it is a crime.

Who’s going to own up for that 4 billion bucks and what is going to happen to make up for it. You’re right Angry Mob it is not a mistake now lets see if it gets swept under the rug>

Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t local property taxes stay local.

If the local revenues come more from sales and income tax at the state level, how will it be distributed to the local level?

I hope the plan isn’t to move money from one location to another (i.e. redistribution)