Township tax rates on the rise across Indiana

Townships across Indiana reacted consistently in the two years after the recession first shook the Hoosier state: Most of them raised property taxes.

Nearly 86 percent of the state’s townships raised tax rates between 2008 and 2010, the most recent year for which statewide data is available, and more than 73 percent of them raised tax collections, according to a Herald-Times analysis of state records.

While some townships lowered taxes, they were in the clear minority.

All told, Hoosiers paid $12.4 million more in property taxes to townships in 2010 than they had two years before — a jump of about 6 percent. The data does not include Perry Township in Marion County, which shed its fire department, and dropped taxes by about $10.5 million a year during the period.

Much of the new money was spent helping people suffering through financial crises, officials said.

It is hard to verify that claim with data, as only one year of statewide data is available electronically. A new state law required electronic reports for the first time in 2009, and data for 2010 haven’t been released yet.