From the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
Meijer Stores has appealed its tax bills for all Indiana stores, including three in Fort Wayne.
Meijer Stores LTD Partnership filed the latest appeals for 2012 property assessments on its Fort Wayne stores in February, Allen County Assessor Stacey O’Day said Wednesday.
The matter is currently in litigation, she said.
It’s more common to see large chain stores file appeals on a mass scale, O’Day said.
Meijer Stores has about 200 stores in five Midwest states – Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky, according to its website.
Meijer Stores filed appeals this year with the Indiana Board of Tax Review for its Indiana stores. For the last seven years appeals were filed for all three Fort Wayne stores at 6309 Lima Road, 10301 Maysville Road and 5909 Illinois Road. Appeals were also filed in 2002 and 2005 for the Illinois Road store, records show.
The company pays over $1 million a year in property taxes in Allen County, O’Day said.
She does not think the county’s assessments were out of line.
“We did a comparison with the assessments of similar stores and Meijers fell in the middle,” she said. “We strive to be fair to all and to protect the tax base.”
Meijer submitted its own appraisals to the assessor’s office two months ago, O’Day said.
She will ask the Allen County commissioners Friday to approve hiring All Appraisals, Inc., to conduct independent appraisals of the Meijer properties for the county.
It’s not unusual to spend money on a market-based appraisal, O’Day said. There is no exact fee amount for the appraisals, although costs are capped at $45,000. If both parties come together before the appraisals are completed, it would lessen the costs, she said.
Meijer’s properties have been assessed by the county at between $45 and $57 per square foot since 2002.
The company is disputing those figures, stating in the appeal that “based on generally accepted appraisal valuation methods, the market value of the properties is no greater than $40 per square foot.”
If Meijer wins its appeals, the county would have to refund nearly $1.5 million total, O’Day said.
Such a situation is not fair to other taxpayers, she said.
“Whenever someone is granted lower assessments, everyone else has to pick up the shortfall,” she said.
After the appraisals are completed, the Indiana Board of Tax Review will meet with both sides to establish a timeline for hearings, O’Day said.
...
http://journalgazette.net/article/20131106/LOCAL/131109562/0/SEARCH
