Porter County continues to see a downward trend in its overall assessments this year.
According to the figures computed by the County’s Auditor and Assessor offices, the overall adjusted net assessed value is $8.368 billion countywide for 2013 pay 2014, which is a $52 million drop compared to last year.
Assessment notices, or Form 11s, were mailed by the assessor’s office to county taxpayers on Sept. 21 in which the majority saw their assessments decrease.
In Duneland however, some taxing units saw their numbers climb, particularly in Westchester, Jackson and Liberty townships.
For the Duneland School District, the auditor’s office reports a dip of 0.6 percent in the 2013 pay 2014 adjusted net AV with an overall figure of $2.391 billion.
According to adjusted net assessment figures from the auditor’s office, which applies credits to the gross assessed values to come up with the net assessment, the biggest value drops by percentage were seen in the Town of Porter with $26.5 million less than last year (a difference of 11.4 percent) and the Town of Pines with $3 million less (a difference of 12.5 percent).
County Assessor Jon Snyder said appeals were the chief reason assessments were down in the Town of Porter. One appeal granted was to Worthington Steel, whose assessment was modified by more than $17 million last year, Snyder said.
The total assessed value for the Town of Porter this year is $205.9 million compared to 2012’s $232.4 million.
A few more properties on the commercial side saw shifts in assessments this year, including the former Splash Down Dunes water park property which is now owned by Seven Peaks Inc., Snyder said.
Chesterton’s AV slid 2.1 percent. Burns Harbor’s fell 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, on the upswing, the taxing unit with the most growth this year was unincorporated Westchester Township by a factor of 6.9 percent with a total of $228.4 million, an increase of $14.7 million from 2012, which Snyder attributes to construction of higher end homes. Jackson Township and Liberty Township unincorporated zones both saw their numbers rise.
By percentage, Portage City-Westchester grew the most with a 10.3 percent increase over last year, moving from $6.0 million in 2012 to $6.2 million this year, the auditor’s office said.
See the full article here:
http://chestertontribune.com/Porter%20County/property_tax_assessments_good_ne.htm
