From the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
Notices were mailed Friday to about 78,000 Allen County residents who will see an increase in the assessed value of their properties.
The Allen County Assessor’s Office has wrapped up the full reassessment of all county properties, about 155,000 parcels in all, Allen County Assessor Stacey O’Day said.
The total assessed valuation of all properties increased in Allen County by 0.23 percent. While less than 1 percent, the increase could be attributed in part to new construction and expansion by General Motors, General Mills and Vera Bradley, O’Day said.
It is the first time since 2002 that a full reassessment has been done. But most residents will not see large increases as in the past, because assessors now adjust property values annually based on sales of similar properties, a process known as trending.
A new website, launched this week by O’Day’s office, allows residents to compare the property and market value of homes in their neighborhood by searching and viewing all home sales, including short sales, sheriff’s sales and foreclosures.
The site, known as COMPS – Comparable Online Multiple Property Search – is linked to the assessor’s office on the county website.
The reassessment process began almost two years ago and involved officials visiting each site and making sure information on each property card was accurate, O’Day said.
In short, they make sure a home is relatively unchanged in terms of size and amenities such as outbuildings, swimming pools or room additions, she said.
The inventory ensures that owners aren’t assessed for more or less than what they own. The assessments form the basis of 2013 tax bills.
Cost schedules and land values were also updated for the first time in 10 years, O’Day said. Among those who will see some increases is a group of about 200 residents who owned properties classified as agriculture (AG land base rate) but will lose that benefit because the land is not being farmed, O’Day said.
“These are generally people who own 10 to 20 acres of woods or something similar,” she said.
O’Day’s office met with those residents earlier in the year to discuss other viable options for reclassifying their properties, she said.
Taxpayers have until Aug. 20 to file an appeal if they disagree with their assessed values. But O’Day urges residents to first go to the new website or to call the auditor’s office.
“Our office wants to be fair and accurate, and many times we can make corrections before” an appeal process is enacted, O’Day said.
Property owners whose assessed value decreased or stayed the same will not receive notices in the mail but can go to the new COMPS website to access and print their property data.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120707/LOCAL/307079956/0/SEARCH
