The APRA states that a public agency may not disclose records that are "declared confidential by state statute." I.C. § 5-14-3-4(a)(1). I.C. § 6-1.1-35-9 provides the following regarding certain confidential information:
Sec. 9. (a) All information that is related to earnings, income, profits, losses, or expenditures and that is:
(1) Given by a person to:
(A) an assessing official;
(B) an employee of an assessing official; or
(C) an officer or employee of an entity that contracts with a board of county commissions or a county assessor under IC 6-1.1-36-12; or
(2) acquired by:
(A) an assessing official;
(B) an employee of an assessing official; or
(C) an officer or employee of an entity that contracts with a board of county commissioners or a county assessor under IC 6-1.1-35-12;
in the performance of the person’s duties; is confidential. The assessed valuation of tangible property is a matter of public record and is thus not confidential. Confidential information may be disclosed only in a manner that is authorized under subsection (b), (c), (d), or (g).
Confidential information may be disclosed during the course of a judicial proceeding in which the regularity of an assessment is questioned. See I.C. § 6-1.1-35-9(d); See also Opinion of the Public Access Counselor 09-FC-154. An assessing official or an employee of an assessing official shall immediately be dismissed from that position if the person discloses in an unauthorized manner any information that is classified as confidential under section 9. See I.C. § 6-1.1-35-11. Further, if a county or township official or an employee of such an official or board discloses in an unauthorized manner information that is classified as confidential under section 9, a person who owns property which the information pertains to may recover liquidated damages in the amount of five-hundred dollars ($500); or the person’s actual damages resulting from the unauthorized disclosure. See I.C. § 6-1.1-35-12. Finally, a public employee or official who knowingly or intentionally discloses information classified as confidential by state statute commits a Class A infraction. See I.C. § 5-14-3-10.
The County has provided that it utilizes the actual income approach on sold rental properties to arrive at the GRM for specific areas/types of properties in the county. Upon receiving the actual income received by each landlord, the Assessor divides the Sales Price of the property by the Income to determine the GRM. There are three components in the calculation of value using the income approach; the GRM, Assessed Value, and Income. The Assessed Value divided by the GRM equals the Income received by the landlord. There is no dispute that the income from the rental property is considered to be confidential pursuant to I.C. § 6-1.1-35-9. The Assessor has provided that the Assessed Value of the property is readily available via the County’s website. Thus, if the GRM were also to be provided, one would be able to determine the Income for each property, which the Assessor is prohibited from doing. Thus, as applied specifically to the Assessor under the facts presented, it is my opinion that the Assessor would be prohibited from providing you with the GRM in light of the other information that is already made available by the County. As such, it is my opinion that the Assessor did not violate the APRA in response to your request. See also Opinion of the Public Access Counselor 10- FC-242.
See the full order here:
http://www.in.gov/pac/advisory/files/13-FC-18.pdf
The PAC decision 10-FC-242 referenced above has a similar albeit briefer finding:
The APRA prohibits public agencies from releasing records declared confidential by state statute. I.C. § 5-14-3-4(a)(1). Under I.C. § 6-1.1-35-9, “[a]ll information that is related to earnings, income, profits, losses, or expenditures” that is given by a person to an assessing official is confidential. Accordingly, the Assessor denied you access to income information relating to rental properties in St. Joseph County. In my opinion, the Assessor is required by statute to keep such information confidential. I understand your argument that the income information is often voluntarily released by landlords who advertise it to the public. However, some landlords may choose not to release the information, even if they have done so in the past. Moreover, even if they release it to the public voluntarily through other sources, that does not relieve the Assessor of its statutory duty to keep such information confidential. The APRA provides criminal penalties for public officials and employees who knowingly or intentionally disclose
information classified as confidential by state statute. See I.C. § 5-14-3-10(a).
Consequently, in my opinion the Assessor has not violated the APRA by denying you access to the properties’ income information.
http://www.in.gov/pac/advisory/files/10-FC-242.pdf
