The Marion County Assessor is responsible for overseeing the assessment work of the county’s nine township assessors and collecting their data for transmission to the State Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF). In addition, the County Assessor processes inheritance tax returns and determines whether taxpayers are entitled to the exemptions they seek. Finally, any time a taxpayer wishes to appeal a decision made by the Township Assessor, the appeal goes through the County Assessor’s Office and its Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals.
The Marion County Assessor is also one of three County Commissioners, along with the Marion County Auditor and the Marion County Treasurer. The County Commissioners supervise the property owned by the county and make appointments to nine boards.
The main goal of the County Assessor should be to ensure the accuracy of property tax assessments. Our property taxes are imposed by the City-County Council, the school board, and several other taxing authorities. Those taxing authorities determine how much is needed to pay for essential government services. Each property owner pays a fair share based on the value of the property he or she owns. The County Assessor’s job is to make certain the tax burden is shared equally and fairly.
I have been a member of the City-County Council for the past three years, and before that, served on the Pike Township Board for one year. In those positions, I have seen all of the services our county and township governments provide, and how much those services cost. I have learned that we must provide those services, but we must also make certain we manage those services efficiently so that we do not unnecessarily increase taxes. As your next Marion County Assessor, I will work to ensure that our taxes are assessed and collected fairly.
I have developed a plan to make our assessment system more fair, efficient, and accessible. This plan calls for consolidation of township assessors into the County Assessor’s office, modernizing our computer capabilities, managing and training assessing officials better, and ensuring the process of assessing property in Marion County is a fair process that results in each taxpayer paying only his or her fair share. If I am elected, I will begin work immediately to reach these goals.
Consolidation of Township Assessors into County Government
The township assessor offices were created at a time when transportation was by horse and buggy. That limitation on travel made separation of the assessor’s function into townships more practical. With the travel limitation eliminated, the need for township assessing is also eliminated.
Marion County currently has nine township assessors who interpret the complex assessment laws in a variety of ways. That gives us an unfair system of taxation in Marion County. The same type of house in the same type of neighborhood with the same market value could result in widely different assessments. Consolidation provides uniformity of assessing practices and results in consistent interpretation of assessment laws and rules.
In addition to ensuring consistent taxation, consolidation will reduce the cost of our assessment system. Mayor Bart Peterson’s Indianapolis Works plan estimates the cost savings from consolidation to be approximately $1.6 million per year. Savings could come from the following areas:
- Elimination of 9 elected township assessors, whose salaries exceed $500,00
- Reduction of rent at 9 township offices, which now costs another $500,000
- Reduction or reassignment of redundant employees, such as 9 separate mapping specialists, whose salaries now exceed $300,000
I pledge to work toward consolidation of the assessing function in one main office, with several satellite offices to provide convenient access for taxpayers. This consolidation could eliminate duplication in positions, cut expenses, and achieve substantial savings for our county.
Until consolidation is enacted, the Marion County Assessor should hold the township assessors to the highest standards through:
- Auditing commercial personal property assessments
- Requiring consistent transmission of data to state government
- Ensuring proper equalization using authority under Ind. Code § 6-1.1-13-6
- Ordering and conducting reassessment under Ind. Code § 6-1.1-13-8 where necessary to ensure uniform and equal assessments
- Reviewing the assessment of individual properties under authority of Ind. Code § 6-1.1-13-5 to identify those taxpayers who are not paying their fair share
Modernization of Computer Services
The computer system currently being used by township assessors is decades old. It allows assessing officials to collect data, but the system makes using and analyzing the data very difficult. Marion County is currently in the process of selecting a vendor to provide for a comprehensive computer system to bring our data collection and analysis up to date. With a price tag in excess of $2 million, we must be certain any new system will meet our needs. At a minimum, we should consider the following:
- Must comply with state computing standards set by statute, Ind. Code § 6-1.1-31.5, and rule, 50 I.A.C. § 23-1-1 et seq.
- Include the ability to use income-based assessment of commercial property
- Use sales disclosure fund to implement on-line capability of filing sales disclosure data
- currently, assessor staff uses valuable time doing data entry that has already been completed by the parties to the transaction
- Require compliance with state standards as a provision in any contract with a private IT vendor. See Ind. Code § 6-1.1-31.5-5(e)
Better Money Management
Taxpayers should insist their government does not waste money. As County Assessor, I will seek better pay for fewer employees. Below-market pay results in frequent employee turnover. Each time an employee leaves, the new employee must be trained, taking time away from supervisors who would otherwise be performing assessing duties. Increasing the pay will reduce employee turnover.
The Marion County Assessor’s Office currently has 12 employees, including the elected Assessor. This number, given the County Assessor’s responsibilities is barely adequate. The number of assessing employees in the county stands at around 150 when the township offices are included. If the township offices are consolidated into one county assessor’s office, the number of employees involved in assessment can be reduced by eliminating duplication. The current township system requires each of the nine offices to have enough employees to perform certain tasks, where fewer are necessary for the entire county.
If elected County Assessor, I will reduce spending on outside vendors. Services such as trend analysis and audit of commercial property can be provided in-house by assessing officials where appropriate. A competitive bid process for any necessary vendors should be implemented. Computer services contracts will also be scrutinized more carefully.
Better Training of Assessing Officials
Although much of what an assessing official does is repetitive, the process involves a complicated formula to make certain a property is assessed accurately. The County Assessor can increase the competence of assessment employees by requiring better training.
All employees with assessing responsibilities must complete the DLGF-sponsored training. The DLGF should be encouraged to tighten its certification standards. All top-level employees should obtain additional training sponsored by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). The County Assessor should take the lead in training for any new computer system.
Fair Appeals Process
As the Secretary to the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals, the County Assessor should make certain a taxpayer appealing his or her assessment receives due process and a fair review of his or her claim. After practicing law for 21 years, and having worked on dozens of appeals, I will ensure prompt, fair and honest review of all appeals.
Openness and Accountability
The people of Marion County own the Marion County government. The function of the County Assessor should be open to scrutiny by anyone. This means the data collected, to the extent it is not made confidential by law, should be readily available to anyone. The best way is to make it available on the Internet.
Because I believe our government is owned by the people, I will require strict compliance with the state’s open meetings and open records laws.
Proper Review of Exemptions
State law provides a long list of exemptions from property tax (see Ind. Code § 6-1.1-10), and the County Assessor is responsible for making certain only qualified organizations receive an exemption. Because of the high tax burden all taxpayers share, exemptions will not be carelessly given.
Fair and Efficient Property Tax Assessments
All property owners must pay taxes to support the services our government provides, and that tax burden must be fair. No taxpayer should pay more or less than his or her fair share. With the complexity of our property tax system, there is the risk for unfair results. To ensure fairness, the County Assessor should implement the following changes:
- Establish equalization procedures using IAAO guidelines to ensure more accurate and consistent assessment within property classes and between townships
- Replace the county’s antiquated computer system
- Increase the sample size used in trending and equalization
- Uniformity of assessments must be measured objectively, using statistical tools, including stratification, the coefficient of dispersion, and the price-related differential
- Conduct proper ratio studies to ensure the accuracy and consistency of assessments, both within and between different property classes (residential, agricultural and business)
- Eliminate the practice of “sales chasing” where the assessed value is changed to reflect the sales price of the property
- Audit of commercial properties at the County Assessor level
Conclusion
The County Assessor is an integral part of our government. An Assessor who does not take seriously his role can cause the tax burden to be borne unfairly. I pledge to work as hard as I can to manage resources carefully and ensure that no person pays more than his or her fair share. I hope you will elect me as your next Marion County Assessor.
