INDIANAPOLIS - Under criticism on three fronts, a group of township assessors defended their offices Wednesday, arguing that eliminating their positions would not result in a huge savings of tax dollars and asserting that they do a good job for taxpayers.
Gov. Mitch Daniels' property tax reform plan would abolish township-level assessors and fold their duties into an appointed county assessor. The Senate Republicans' plan would do the same thing, but it would keep the county assessor an elected position.
Meanwhile, the sweeping Kernan-Shepard commission report Tuesday recommended eliminating township-level government altogether and making the county assessor an appointee of a new county executive.
Cheryl Musgrave, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, told a Senate committee Wednesday that of Indiana's 1,008 elected township assessors, at least 705 incumbents ran unopposed in their last elections. "As you can see, no one is even running for these offices, so voters are not given a choice of who to elect at a township-level office," Musgrave told the Senate Committee on Local Government and Elections.
That committee heard a bill to abolish township assessors and reassign their duties to the 92 county assessors, which Musgrave contended would improve accuracy and consistency in property valuation.
But Dixie Packard, the Clay Township assessor in Hamilton County, disputed previous assertions that abolishing township assessors would result in a huge savings of tax dollars. Packard noted that in 827 mostly rural townships, the assessor and trustee positions are held by the same person. And since the combined trustee-assessor focuses primarily on providing fire protection, relief for the poor and cemetery maintenance, the county assessor typically handles the assessing duties, she said. In only 181 Indiana townships are there elected assessors who do not also serve as township trustees, she said.
Eliminating the township assessors would not eliminate the cost of hiring outside professionals to assess property, Packard told the committee.
"I just want to know who they're going to replace us with," said Glen Tornatta-Koob, Perry Township assessor in Vanderburgh County. Tornatta-Koob said her constituents prefer the traditional township structure because it's more personal than having one assessor for the entire county.
"I think one of the advantages is that we stay in touch locally with our people, our taxpayers," she said.
Six of Vanderburgh County's eight townships have elected assessors such as Tornatta-Koob, while two have combined trustee-assessors. Having considered what might happen if township duties were reassigned to his office, Vanderburgh County Assessor Jonathan Weaver said the added workload would mean tripling or quadrupling his staff of nine. He would try to hire the incumbent township assessors to utilize their knowledge and experience, he said.
"I want to bring them on board, bring them under one roof and work as a team," he said.
By eliminating redundancy, Weaver said, he predicted Vanderburgh County taxpayers would save $280,000. That doesn't include the cost of knocking down a couple of walls at the Civic Center to create an open-concept office where additional employees could fit, he said.
Packard and other township assessors at the Statehouse on Wednesday questioned how counties that don't already perform township duties would be able to absorb them. They said they might not have the room or the budgets to hire qualified employees.
Daniels already answered such concerns at a Friday news conference. "Compared to the problem of mishandled, unfair assessments, that is a nit. When you go from 1,100 unqualified people running around assessing property to 92 qualified ones, you're going to save money, undoubtedly, in the efficiency of consolidation," the governor said. "I think somehow, somebody will find the office space."
The Senate committee did not vote on the bill Wednesday but could do so in January.
Staff writer Jimmy Nesbitt contributed to this report.