10/21/2005
Media Contact:
Steve Campbell, [317] 327-3622 |
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Non-partisan study supports consolidation of assessing functions, as suggested by Indy Works
INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, a private, non-profit governmental research organization, this week released a study of the property tax assessment system in Indiana, which supports consolidating assessment functions from the township level to the county level.
"The delegation of responsibility for property assessment to township officials essentially is an artifact of the mid-19th century," the summary of the Property Tax Equalization Study states. "The state should transfer responsibility for assessment from townships to counties."
This matches Mayor Bart Peterson’s Indianapolis Works ’06 proposal, which would eliminate the nine elected township tax assessors in Marion County and move those functions and resources under the existing County Assessor.
Indianapolis Works ’06 is the plan to reform local government and save local taxpayers $35 million every year.
"We have pointed out that there is no one official in Marion County that is accountable and responsible for countywide uniform assessments," Mayor Peterson said. "This non-partisan study demonstrates what we have all believed on the local level for some time - there are better ways to conduct assessments in Marion County."
"This is important information for taxpayers, and the state legislature must consider this as we move to more government reform and efficiency."
The study found:
• Wide disparities exist from county to county, and even within counties and townships, between the assessed valuation of a property and what it sold for.
• There is a lack of uniformity in how assessments are made and inconsistency in how rules are applied.
• Often-incomplete records vary from county to county, and state rules are ignored, making a market-value tax system difficult to achieve.
The Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, formed in 1987, is Indiana's only independent statewide source of continuing research into the impact of state taxing and spending policies in Indiana.
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