July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Hearing on taxes set for Friday (09/10/07)
Jay County Commissioners
By By TRAVIS MINNEAR-
A meeting last week between county officials and the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance has not shored up uncertainty about Friday's public hearings for a potential property tax reassessment in Jay County.
Discussions from the trip to Indianapolis showed that Jay County may have to conduct reassessments for commercial and industrial properties, Auditor Freda Corwin said. The high percentage of unchanged values for these two categories have brought scrutiny from the state.
"Eighty-five percent of commercial (properties) had no change (in value since 1999) and 73 percent of industrial had no changes", Corwin said.
Corwin said she was unsure how much a reassessment would cost the county. She added the company in charge of this year's assessments, Ad Valorem Solutions, was working on "trending and ratio studies" to find a reason for the low rates of change.
If commercial and industrial properties are found to be worth more than was found in the most recent assessment, homeowners could see a break in tax bills, Corwin said. If they are found to be lower, homeowners could pay more.
A practice called trending was instated this year to update property values for the first time since 1999. The DLGF has stated that values for commercial and industrial properties in Jay County did not show adequate change. A public meeting will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at the Jay County Courthouse auditorium to discuss details of a possible reassessment.
Separately, Corwin an-nounced Gov. Mitch Daniels has extended the deadline for all property tax deduction filings for tax bills payable in 2008 from Sept. 5 to Oct. 15. According to a release from DLGF, Daniels' actions have to be ratified by the Indiana General Assembly, but lawmakers have concurred with the governor.
In other business, an employee of the sheriff's department who suffered medical complications on the job brought his case before commissioners in an attempt to receive credit for vacation days used during his absence.
Bob Brown told commissioners he wants credit for 19 vacation days used earlier this year while he was away from work. He said he should not have been charged for the days.
Brown said his claim was not covered by workers' compensation, because he was deemed to have had a pre-existing history of medical problems related to his illness on the job.
"I lost it all because I was injured at work," Brown said of his vacation time. "I don't think that's right. All I want is my vacation days back."
Commissioner Milo Miller Jr. said he believes workers' compensation is the entity that should be held responsible for insurance coverage.
"They're responsible because that's who we hired to make sure you're covered," he said.
Commissioner Faron Parr telephoned the insurance company that handles claims for commissioners, Barnum-Brown Insurance, Dunkirk. He said an agent was looking into the issue.
Sheriff Ray Newton said he would abide by the decision commissioners make as to reinstate Brown's vacation time.[[In-content Ad]]
Discussions from the trip to Indianapolis showed that Jay County may have to conduct reassessments for commercial and industrial properties, Auditor Freda Corwin said. The high percentage of unchanged values for these two categories have brought scrutiny from the state.
"Eighty-five percent of commercial (properties) had no change (in value since 1999) and 73 percent of industrial had no changes", Corwin said.
Corwin said she was unsure how much a reassessment would cost the county. She added the company in charge of this year's assessments, Ad Valorem Solutions, was working on "trending and ratio studies" to find a reason for the low rates of change.
If commercial and industrial properties are found to be worth more than was found in the most recent assessment, homeowners could see a break in tax bills, Corwin said. If they are found to be lower, homeowners could pay more.
A practice called trending was instated this year to update property values for the first time since 1999. The DLGF has stated that values for commercial and industrial properties in Jay County did not show adequate change. A public meeting will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at the Jay County Courthouse auditorium to discuss details of a possible reassessment.
Separately, Corwin an-nounced Gov. Mitch Daniels has extended the deadline for all property tax deduction filings for tax bills payable in 2008 from Sept. 5 to Oct. 15. According to a release from DLGF, Daniels' actions have to be ratified by the Indiana General Assembly, but lawmakers have concurred with the governor.
In other business, an employee of the sheriff's department who suffered medical complications on the job brought his case before commissioners in an attempt to receive credit for vacation days used during his absence.
Bob Brown told commissioners he wants credit for 19 vacation days used earlier this year while he was away from work. He said he should not have been charged for the days.
Brown said his claim was not covered by workers' compensation, because he was deemed to have had a pre-existing history of medical problems related to his illness on the job.
"I lost it all because I was injured at work," Brown said of his vacation time. "I don't think that's right. All I want is my vacation days back."
Commissioner Milo Miller Jr. said he believes workers' compensation is the entity that should be held responsible for insurance coverage.
"They're responsible because that's who we hired to make sure you're covered," he said.
Commissioner Faron Parr telephoned the insurance company that handles claims for commissioners, Barnum-Brown Insurance, Dunkirk. He said an agent was looking into the issue.
Sheriff Ray Newton said he would abide by the decision commissioners make as to reinstate Brown's vacation time.[[In-content Ad]]
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