11-05-04 Informal Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Council Member Pfeifer stated that she would like to see standards for property owners who are landlords, since there are too many slum landlords who are terrible. She believes that slum landlords are not entitled to any type of relief and should go out of business. She estimated that 10-15%of landlords are slum landlords. Council Member Kuspa noted that there was a question on the ballot regarding property taxes. Council Member Kirsits noted that that issue passed overwhelmingly. He stated that it would give the legislature the ability to pursue further exemptions, but the economists were against it. State Representative-Elect Warlorski stated that one of the concerns is the danger of placing more of the burden onto farmers. She thought that there would be "sweeping changes" in the next 2-4 years in light of the new state administration. City Clerk John Voorde noted that reinvestment credit or maintenance allowances are items which could be implemented through the township assessors. Council Member Pfeifer suggested that there need to be more public conversations on property taxes. Town Hall forums with Q & A's with good media coverage would be very helpful since many persons are confused and very upset. Council Member Puzzello also suggested that more public venues be pursued which address property taxes. Council Member Kelly stated that he agreed in principle with the Indiana Supreme Court opinion which held that market rate should be used for property taxes, however believes that the implementation of it was crazy. Council President White stated that the overall impact of the Court's decision on properties should be reviewed, and suggested that it would be very helpful to see a map of the areas most significantly affected in the state. People need information which needs to be shared in public forums,and neighborhoods need to be assured that they will be safe. City Clerk John Voorde suggested that the California model should be looked at since it uses an assessment value at sales price with a%as a ceiling. County Council President Morton stated that the topic of property taxes is not going away. He stated that the situation is "not bad, it is terrible". He questioned whether there was any evaluation of the impact of the assessment before it was implemented. Commissioner Bodle noted that a phased-in program should have been considered; and noted support for John Voorde suggestion to look at the California model. Council Member Kirsits noted that at the last luncheon Senator Broden noted that there are many areas of the state which are not affected at all. He stated that all options should be discussed by the state legislature with an emphasis on fairness and ways to help inner cities. Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council November 5,2004---Page 2