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Home My WebLink AboutBill 15-13 Voicing concerns over the assessments of land and seeking amicable solutionsRESOLUTION NO. Substitute Bill No. 15 -13 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, VOICING CONCERNS OVER MANY OF THE ASSESSMENTS OF LAND IN THE CITY AND SEEKING AMICABLE SOLUTIONS OF THESE CONCERNS WHICH ARE IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE TAXPAYERS Wye, on October 1, 2014 the" St. Joseph County Assessor's Office mailed out Form 11- Notice of Assessment of Land and Structures for the 2014 pay 2015 Assessment Year for property owners whose values have changed... "; and G,ffepm� even though the St. Joseph County Assessor's Office sent out a News Release on October 2, 2014 notifying the public of this reassessment, many questions have been raised about what many have called "lopsided" relationship between the assessed value, new assessed value and market rate of an increasing number of the properties; and CAC.4, currently taxpayers may appeal no later than May lot'' or 45 days after the date of the tax bill, whichever is later; and the Common Council recognizes that the County Assessor serves as the Secretary to the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals which reviews property tax assessments and reviews all tax assessment appeals; and G, *, the Common Council further recognizes that the City of South Bend has a website dedicated to "Property Taxes" at www.ci.south - bend.in.us which provides links to the St. Joseph County Treasurer's Office so that assessments, exemptions and payments may be viewed; as well as links to the Department of Local Government Finance, St. Joseph County Assessor, St. Joseph County Auditor; and 6, the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) has an oversight role in the property assessment process after the Assessor has placed values on properties in the county; and Cam, DLGF reviews "an assessment to sales ratio study" which is "basically a comparison between sales and assessed values in the county to ensure that market values are being used to determine assessed values" in order to measure "the accuracy and equity of assessments" as further addressed on the DLGF website available at www.in.gov ; and 6A9;w* attached to this Resolution are the most recent documents listed on the DLGF's website for St. Joseph County which include the July 9, 2014 DLGF approval letter, the June 23, 2014 letter from the St. Joseph County Auditor, and a 1 -page summary page from the 92 -page 2014 Ratio Study; and 6 *9 rw, the "statewide cyclical reassessment began on July 1, 2014 for the 2015- pay -2016 property taxes, and the next four years [whereby] during the statewide reassessments, county and township assessors physically inspect each property to ensure that records are correct "; and GWAg;e, during the statewide cyclical reassessment process, assessing officials are to re- assess "approximately 25% of the parcels in their jurisdiction each year over a four year timeframe" with the DLGF website further stating that "it is expected [that] the data collection will be more accurate and the cost spread out. Assessment of Lands Resolution Page 2 Section I. The St. Joseph County Assessor noted in her June 23, 2014 letter to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance under the heading "Improved Residential" the following: "Each of our townships had sufficient number of sales to support their own ratio study. Liberty, Lincoln, Madison and Union, no trending was indicated. Portage Township had high investment (rental) sales, flips and rehab sales which were reviewed and removed from the ration study. While most were invalidated, those that truly reflected the market in high foreclosure areas were used in this study to determine the decline in property values ". Section II. In the interest of obtaining additional current information, in order to attempt to assist in providing information on the many questions from residential property owners, as well as from owners of all other commercial and industrial properties in the City of South Bend, the following plan of action is recommended: 1. That the Office of the County Assessor be invited to further explain the re- assessment process. 2. That the Office of the County Assessor provide quarterly progress reports on the re- assessment. That the St. Joseph County Assessor, the St. Joseph County Auditor and the St. Joseph County Treasurer provide additional information which explains the property tax cycle from re- assessment to billing. 4. That the Office of the County Assessor be invited to further explain the appeal process, the timeframe involved, required forms, and the expected time until there is a resolution of an appeal. Section III. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor. Voting in Favor Voting Against EM John Voorde, City Clerk PRESENTED Henry Davis, Jr., Distric South Bend Common Council Filed #fice CITY CLERK UT BENp� IN I , / a�0101 2015 Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana RESOLUTION NO. SaUqA q(4(( - A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, VOICING CONCERNS OVER MANY OF THE ASSESSMENTS OF LAND IN THE CITY AND SEEKING AMICABLE SOLUTIONS OF THESE CONCERNS WHICH ARE IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE TAXPAYERS 60f^ , on October 1, 2014 the" St. Joseph County Assessor's Office mailed out Form 11- Notice of Assessment of Land and Structures for the 2014 pay 2015 Assessment Year for property owners whose values have changed... "; and CACmmd, even though the St. Joseph County Assessor's Office sent out a News Release on October 2, 2014 notifying the public of this reassessment, many questions have been raised about what many have called "lopsided" relationship between the assessed value, new assessed value and market rate of an increasing number of the properties; and 60AC,md, currently taxpayers may appeal no later than May 10th or 45 days after the date of the tax bill, whichever is later; and GACma, the Common Council recognizes that the County Assessor serves as the Secretary to the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals which reviews property tax assessments and reviews all tax assessment appeals; and NC,=, the Common Council further recognizes that the City of South Bend has a website dedicated to "Property Taxes" at ww_w.ci.south- bend.in.us which provides links to the St. Joseph County Treasurer's Office so that assessments, exemptions and payments may be viewed; as well as links to the Department of Local Government Finance, St. Joseph County Assessor, St. Joseph County Auditor; and 6A ; the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) has an oversight role in the property assessment process after the Assessor has placed values on properties in the county; and G,wd, DLGF reviews "an assessment to sales ratio study" which is "basically a comparison between sales and assessed values in the county to ensure that market values are being used to determine assessed values" in order to measure "the accuracy and equity of assessments" as further addressed on the DLGF website available at www.in.gov ; and 6A64 attached to this Resolution are the most recent documents listed on the DLGF's website for St. Joseph County which include the July 9, 2014 DLGF approval letter, the June 23, 2014 letter from the St. Joseph County Auditor, and a 1 -page summary page from the 92 -page 2014 Ratio Study; and 6N;w4 the "statewide cyclical reassessment began on July 1, 2014 for the 2015- pay -2016 property taxes, and the next four years [whereby] during the statewide reassessments, county and township assessors physically inspect each property to ensure that records are correct "; and Q%Cmz, during the statewide cyclical reassessment process, assessing officials are to re- assess "approximately 25% of the parcels in their jurisdiction each year over a four year timeframe" with the DLGF website further stating that "it is expected [that] the data collection will be more accurate and the cost spread out. Assessment of Lands Resolution Page 2 Section I. The St. Joseph County Assessor noted in her June 23, 2014 letter to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance under the heading "Improved Residential" the following: "Each of our townships had sufficient number of sales to support their own ratio study. Liberty, Lincoln, Madison and Union, no trending was indicated. Portage Township had high investment (rental) sales, flips and rehab sales which were reviewed and removed from the ration study. While most were invalidated, those that truly reflected the market in high foreclosure areas were used in this study to determine the decline in property values ". Section II. In the interest of obtaining additional current information, in order to attempt to assist in providing information on the many questions from residential property owners, the following plan of action is recommended: 1. That the Office of the County Assessor be invited to further explain the re- assessment process. 2. That the Office of the County Assessor provide quarterly progress reports on the re- assessment. 3. That the St. Joseph County Assessor, the St. Joseph County Auditor and the St. Joseph County Treasurer provide additional information which explains the property tax cycle from re- assessment to billing. 4. That the Office of the County Assessor be invited to further explain the appeal process, the timeframe involved, required forms, and the expected time until there is a resolution of an appeal. Section I11. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor. Voting in Favor Voting Against. John Voorde, City Clerk PlIESENTED ;+DOMV - Henry avis, J ., na i South Bend Common Counci ,x'016' Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of Sauth Bend, Indiana L1ce2015 K. µ' . et'IY�, IN �O t �f k � r Common Council City of South Bend Indiana Henry Davis, Jr., 2 "d District Council Member 4th Floor County -City Building 227 West Jefferson Boulevard South Bend, Indiana 46601 (574) 235 -9983 (574) 235 -9173 Facsimile (574)235 -5567 TTY/TDD March 4, 2015 Members of the Common Council 4th Floor County -City Building South Bend, Indiana 46601 Re: Resolution on Concerns Raised by Property Owners on Reassessment Dear Council Members: It appears that a growing number of residents are voicing concerns over their homes being reassessed. The number of calls on this question are greater than ever before. In light of that, I am filing the attached Resolution for your consideration and approval. It sets forth a summary of information related to the process; as well as roles of the County Assessor and the Department of Local Government Finance. It also calls for greater collaboration with the St. Joseph County officials involved in this ongoing reassessment, so that the City taxpayers and ourselves have a greater opportunity to have their voices heard. Thank you. Sincerely, Henry Davis, Jr., is 'ct C ember South Bend Common Council Attachment Filed 2015 CITYCLEM& ;i' SID,i STATE OF INDIANA. DEPART'VmNT OF LOCAL GOVERNNENT MANCE The Honorable Rosemary K 1vlandrici St. Joseph County Assessor 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., Room. 307 County -City Bldg. South Bend, IN 46601 Dear Ms. Mandrici: 1"UNA GOVERNIMY24T CENMR NO12TH. 100 NOR'T'H SENATE A *vumiE N1058(B) JNI DTANAPOLLS, IN 46204 PHON T (317) 232 -3777 FAX (317) 974 -1629 July 9, 2014 The Department of Local Government Finance has reviewed the information and data (both originally submitted and the supplemental information) for the St. Joseph County 2014 ratio study. The Department hereby approves the ratio study based on the results of the Mann - Whitney "Sales Chasing" test and Spearman Rank test for vertical equity; and the review of the accuracy, equity, and uniformity of the assessments as determined by the median ratio, coefficient of dispersion (COD), Price Related Differential (PRD), and the change analysis conducted by the Department. Please note that this approval is granted without verification of all of the actual sales disclosure fortes in order to allow the preparation and delivery of the real property list to the County Auditor pursuant to IC 6- 1.1 -5 -14. As always, the Department encourages counties to use all possible sales, which lend greater. validity to the sales ratio study. In conjunction with our Data Analysis section, please continue to ensure your sales disclosure file database is compliant. For the assessment year 2015, your 2014 sales disclosure data files must be compliant with the rules of the Department. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Barry Wood, the Assessment Division Director, at (317) 232 -3762 or by e -mail at Bwood @dlszfin.gov. Sincerely, c Micah G. Vincent - Commissioner cc: Barry Wood, Assessment Director 2xlccz�_ {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. Improved Residential Each of our townships had sufficient number of sales to support their own ratio study. Liberty, Lincoln, Madison and Union, no trending was indicated. Portage Township had high investment (rentals) sales, flips and rehab sales which were reviewed and removed from the ratio study. While most were invalidated, those that truly reflected the market in high foreclosure areas were used in this study to determine the decline in property values. Vacant Residential: Due to insufficient sales of residential vacant, five townships Centre, Clay, German, Harris and Olive were combined. Warren had four sales, not enough to analyze data. Greene, Liberty, Lincoln, Madison and Union had no sales to analyze. Upon reviewing and analyzing Penn & Portage, it was determined no factor is warranted. Improved Commercial: Due to insufficient sales of commercial property in many townships, the study was conducted on a county -wide basis by Property Class. All sales were reviewed by an independent commercial property appraiser for validity. Upon further review and analysis of economic trends and conditions it was determined that no factor is warranted. The results of the Combined Study by Property Class Code are shown. Vacant Commercial: Not enough sales county-wide to analyze data Improved Industrial: Five townships had valid sales in the Improved Industrial category. Sales were combined Penn, Harris, Lincoln, Portage and German Townships for the Industrial Class Codes 340, 350. For the Property Class codes 346, 360, 370 and 399 there was not enough sales to analyze. The results of the Combined Study by Property Class Code are shown. Vacant Industrial: Not enough sales county-wide to analyze data. Please review the attached ratio study, workbook, and sales not used files for St. Joseph County. Notify me should you find any discrepancies or issues of non - compliance. Thank you. Respectfully submitted, Arcelia Dorado Manager, Compliance Division Office of St. Joseph County Assessor Rosemary R Mandrici 227 W. Jefferson Blvd. South Bend, IN 46601 (574)235 -9523 (574)245 -6642 M OO V OO O V N 1� O O� t0 M N N N N M (A O N N O M O o 0 0 0 0 o m o 0 0 0 0 0 a O r? 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