Porter Regional Hospital is continuing to challenge the assessed values of its new building and the former structure that has since been torn down.
The hospital has filed a petition with the Indiana Board of Tax Review claiming the new building at Ind. 49 and U.S. 6 should be valued at $34.2 million for March 1, 2012, as compared to the $117 million placed on it by the Porter County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals.
The hospital, through its representative Uzelac & Associates, said it attempted to withdraw its original appeal and agreed with the original assessment of $34 million.
The appeal also claims Porter County Assessor Jon Snyder failed to overcome the burden of proof to raise the assessment and did not provide market-value-in-use evidence to support the revised assessment.
A second appeal challenges the $18 million value placed on the former hospital building at 814 LaPorte Ave. in Valparaiso. The value should be $4.8 million because Snyder failed to overcome his burden of proof for the increase and failed to consider all forms of depreciation and/or obsolescence, according to the hospital.
Hospital officials declined comment Thursday, but Snyder said he is looking into whether the appeals are even legal considering they were filed before the PTBOA finalized its rulings.
The values in question represent the period just before the new hospital opened in August 2012. The PTBOA determined the the new hospital was 90 percent complete.
The hospital opened the door for the increase on the new facility by challenging the initial appeal. Snyder argued in November the original model used to assess the hospital failed taxpayers by undervaluing the site.
