By Tim Vandenack, Truth Staff
ELKHART -- When he ripped open the envelope from the Elkhart County Treasurer's office earlier this month, Rex Evans could hardly believe his eyes.
"Punished, I'm being punished," said the Elkhart welder and landlord, recalling his initial reaction on seeing the $4,400, 2007 property tax bill, up about 26 percent from $3,500 last year. "Why am I being penalized just because I own property?"
It had James Dubbert, who lives on Simonton Lake and saw a jump of about 150 percent in his tax bill, from about $1,200 to $3,000, likening county authorities to a certain 19th-century outlaw.
"It's Jesse James with a ballpoint pen instead of a six-shooter, and you can quote me on that," he said.
The first portion of property taxes came due last Friday and officials in the treasurer's office said the payments came streaming in. The second and final installment is due Nov. 13.
"I already paid it," said Dubbert, worried about the consequences of doing otherwise. If he didn't, "they would fine us, tack on interest, then the threats would start."
He and many others are hardly smiles, though. With the average Elkhart County homeowner's property tax bill rising at least 29.5 percent compared to 2006 -- some much more than that -- many are screaming bloody murder. That, even though state lawmakers earmarked $550 million for rebates for Indiana homeowners for 2007 and 2008 to temper the spike.
Evans is skeptical the rebate, after each eligible Indiana homeowner gets his or her share, will amount to much while Dubbert, skeptical of government, questions whether it will even materialize as outlined.
"They're mad as hell, everybody is. We're up in arms, we're going to have meetings, go to the courthouse," said Dubbert, noting that many of his Simonton Lake neighbors also experienced steep jumps in their property tax bills. "We're ready for a Boston tea party."
Trembling with rage
Controversy over property taxes is nothing new in Indiana. However, with a change in how homes are valued for taxation purposes -- meant to yield their fair-market value -- and the removal of commercial inventory from the tax rolls, the topic has reared its head with a vengeance.
In Elkhart County alone, some $864 million in inventory vanished from the tax rolls, reducing the pool of property from which to draw property taxes. Meanwhile, the change in the valuation process caused a 20-percent spike in the overall value of houses here, increasing that sector's tax burden, particularly when you consider that the rebate funds will be exhausted after 2008.
To be sure, county numbers show that the valuation of commercial and industrial property also jumped, by 20 percent and 16 percent, respectively. But the elimination of the tax on inventory tempers the hikes, at least for some of those businesses, and homeowners, those hit hard anyway, are the ones left raising their voices.
"Me and you are paying for that," said John Milliken, alluding to the elimination of the inventory tax. He's a Middlebury homeowner who saw his property tax bill jump 44 percent, from $1,135 to $1,638.
No matter that Larry DeBoer, a Purdue University public policy expert, expects the rebate money to trim the 2007 property tax bill increase for the average Indiana homeowner from 23.6 percent to 8.3 percent. Those bills sent to Elkhart County homeowners earlier this month are causing many to tremble with rage, sure they're getting the shaft.
"I'd say it's a significant portion," said Elkhart County Treasurer Larry Ernest, estimating the share of angry taxpayers by the number of complaints his office has fielded. "You can't blame them, some of these people are on fixed income. It hurts them."
Even so, tempers can get out of hand, and Ernest noted one uncomfortable moment, when an angry taxpayer lashed out at the treasurer's office. "Unfortunately, it's one of the reasons we have a security guard out here," he said.
'I'm mad'
According to the Elkhart County Assessor's Office, homeowners here have until Aug. 17 to file an appeal on the valuation of their residences. That could result in some tax relief, if a home is deemed to be over-valued, and Martha Nickell, another Simonton Lake homeowner, plans to give it a shot.
"I'm mad," said the 80-year-old retiree, noting the 117 percent jump in the valuation of her home, from $94,700 last year to $205,800, and the spike in her tax bill, from $700 to $2,500. "I have not done any improvement, no additions or any new rooms or anything like that."
Dan Albaugh, who lives just outside Elkhart, also plans to appeal. The valuation of his home jumped 20 percent, from $93,600 to $112,500, though he doubts he could fetch that price on the open market.
Whatever the case, such homeowners seem to be in the minority. County Assessor Cathy Searcy says her office has registered just 2,400 valuation appeals on the 80,000 to 90,000 land parcels in Elkhart County.
"I thought we did quite well," she said.
And the griping that has emerged notwithstanding, Albaugh wonders if every homeowner here is truly aware of what's happening. When he's brought the issue up with some of his neighbors, they've responded quizzically, apparently because their homes are mortgaged and the property tax bills went directly to their lenders.
"My neighbors are saying, 'Gosh, I didn't know, nobody told me,'" Albaugh said. "Maybe you'd hear more if people knew."