Bill 15-13 Voicing concerns over the assessments of land and seeking amicable solutions

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{4o„MISSIOpf9s oar s-` U O b S c eyf s *ya Office of the St. Joseph County Assessor Office of the County Assessor Patti St. Clair, Chief Deputy Compliance Division Arcelia Dorado, Deputy Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals Sue Tranberg, Deputy Rosemary Mandrici 227 W. Jefferson Blvd. Room 307 County -City Bldg. South Bend, IN 46601 ph: 574- 235 -9523 fax: 574- 235 -5554 International Association of Assessing Officials Indiana County Assessors Association Indiana Township Assessors Association Association of Indiana Counties June 23, 2014 Mr. Barry Wood, Assessment Director Indiana Department of Local Government Finance 100 North Senate Avenue, N 1058(B) Indianapolis, IN 46204 RE: St. Joseph County Ratio Study 2014 pay 2015 Dear Mr. Wood: The enclosed data for St. Joseph County reflects the proposed Assessed Value Changes for the March 1, 2014, assessment year. We have conducted a ratio study based on sales in the Residential, Industrial, and Commercial classes for the purpose of the Annual Adjustment to market value as required by 50 IAC27, using guidelines provided by the Department of Local Government Finance. The study includes all available sales from the period of January 1, 2013 to March 1, 2014. Properties were reviewed for characteristics at the time of sale, using MLS, permits and field inspections. The records were updated to reflect all changes. All sold and unsold propertied were treated equally and equitable. The new agricultural land base rate was applied. Commercial and Industrial sales were additionally reviewed against MLS data, LoopNet Commercial, and verified by an independent consultant. Initially, the study included 2,934 valid sales from January 1, 2013 through March 1, 2014. St. Joseph County is committed to utilizing as many valid sales as possible during the trending process. We have taken every step to ensure that the sale used provides the most accurate information relating to the housing and commercial/industrial market within the county. We have also used as many multi parcel sales as possible and have the tab called "Multi Parcel Sales" for identification. Of these 2,934 sales, 2,566 were used in the study, there are 38 sales that were not used because they transferred after 3/1/2014 and will be reviewed for the 15/16 ratio study. The remaining 330 sales which did not meet the market value test for foreclosures defined under the January 11, 2011, Annual Adjustment Guidance were removed from the study, and identified as "outlier" on the attached "Sales not Used" worksheet. Additionally, sales were excluded which had a change in use or property class (i.e. rental properties using income valuation, land removed from Developer's discount, new construction, etc.) or did not meet other tests of acceptability when verified by our Sales Disclosure Department. All acceptable sales were stratified by property class type, township, and neighborhood for this analysis resulting in some properties being reported in a different neighborhood this year. We researched and trimmed outliers, applied suggested factors, and calculated the 2014 pay 2015 assessments contained in the attached workbook.