03-09-15 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING MARCH 09, 2015 Whereas , 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 Whereas , 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 Whereas , 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. Now, Therefore, be it resolved, by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, as follows: 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 III. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor. ________________________________ ______ nd Henry Davis, Jr., 2 District South Bend Common Council 7