Suspense is building for Lake County property owners as officials prepare to mail this year's tax bills.
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Some 9,000 local owners already are appealing the assessed value on their properties in expectation of tax bills they believe will be too high.
The rest of the public should learn their tax numbers soon.
"We start mailing the bills out April 19. The due date for payment is May 10," Petalas said.
The Gateway database on the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance website indicates 21 government subdivisions experienced single-digit rises in both their average property value assessments and their tax rates.
They include Crown Point, St. John, Schneider and much of Lowell, and unincorporated areas.
Nine saw both average tax rates and assessed value drop, including Cedar Lake, Gary, Highland and Munster.
Another 19 saw their tax rates and assessed values head in different directions.
That includes Hammond, where assessed value dropped 4 percent but the tax rate rose 15 percent, and East Chicago, where values dropped 13 percent and the tax rate rose by 12 percent.
Tax rates and assessed values also headed in different directions in Whiting, Lake Station, Griffith, New Chicago, Dyer, Schererville, Merrillville and Winfield.
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Petalas said once taxpayers receive their bills, they can make their first installments at his offices in the Lake County Government Complex, 2293 N. Main St., Crown Point, or the satellite county courthouses at 401 Broadway in Gary and 232 Russell St. in Hammond.
Those who aren't disputing their taxes can avoid lines be paying at these banks: American Savings FSB, Centier Bank, Chase Bank, Citizens Financial Bank, DeMotte State Bank, First Financial Bank, BMO Harris Bank N.A., Horizon Bank, Lake Federal Bank FSB, MainSource Bank, Peoples Bank and Tech Credit Union.
