Railroad locomotive maker Progress Rail Services wants the assessed value of its Muncie manufacturing property slashed dramatically, which would result in a big property tax savings for the company and a loss for the city and county’s coffers.
Delaware County officials revealed Progress Rail’s appeal of its assessed value in their New Year’s Day reorganization meetings, and confirmed off-the-record reports received by The Star Press months ago that the company had denied assessors access to its Cowan Road plant.
Delaware County Council member Mike Jones, who oversees property tax abatements for the fiscal body, told other council members about the company’s assessment appeal and its refusal to let assessors into the building, the 740,000-square-foot structure that formerly housed Westinghouse and ABB.
“If they’re not going to cooperate with the county after how the county has helped them, I’m going to reconsider what the county does for them,” Jones said.
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On Dec. 13, County Assessor James Carmichael sent an email to Mayor Dennis Tyler and County Auditor Judy Rust alerting them to “possible large decreases in assessed value that will greatly influence units of government” because of the Progress Rail assessment appeal.
Carmichael reported that the locomotive maker had requested that the assessed value of its building be reduced from $6,401,700 to $1,748,111.
The assessor noted that comparable buildings with assessed values of $1.7 million were “black box or empty structures.”
Jones acknowledged Tuesday that Progress Rail “has the right to appeal.”
“But to deny the assessor’s ability to do his job is wrong,” he added.
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Bledsoe and Jones also noted that Brevini USA had requested a reduction of its assessed value, albeit one much smaller than the reduction requested by Progress Rail. Brevini Wind, the wind turbine gearbox maker and sister company to Brevini USA, did not request a reduction, they noted.
In a letter to Tyler, Carmichael noted that many commercial and industrial businesses had requested “substantial decreases in their assessed value.” Besides affecting overall property tax revenue, reductions could also affect the financial
workings of TIF districts, a big part of local development.
workings of TIF districts, a big part of local development.
In 2012, the overall assessed value of all the property in Delaware County was $3.2 billion.
