The saying goes that the only two sure things in life are death and taxes.
A portion of property-owners appealing the amount of their taxes might be just as certain.
The number of appeals this year, however, is about twice the number of a typical year.
Dr. Dan Scherb, a local cardiologist, said his entire neighborhood on the south side of town saw an increase in the value of their land in their most recent property assessment.
In fact, the value of his land doubled, he said. There's no discernible reason for it, and he said he hasn't made any improvements that would trigger such an increase.
"I began talking to my neighbors that have homes in the area, and they all had a similar land increase," he said.
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As word spread in late 2012, the group decided to gather at the Centre Township Branch of the St. Joseph County Public Library in early December, Scherb said. There, they spoke with a "fellow" that has helped people appeal property taxes.
Everyone in the neighborhood, including Scherb and Hindsley, has filed a property tax appeal, Scherb said. Though this is not the first time he's filed a property tax appeal, this is the first time his land value has gone up dramatically.
Scherb said he had an opportunity to speak with St. Joseph County Assessor Rosemary Mandrici, who showed him a list of 10 properties comparable to his. But none of those properties were unimproved land sales, Scherb said, and he doesn't understand how those properties could be used to compare to his land.
"She did not give me an understandable answer," Scherb said.
Though many have been vocal about property assessments increasing, Mandrici said 49 percent of properties in St. Joseph County went down in assessed value. Out of the other properties, 4 percent stayed the same and 47 percent increased, she said.
How it's calculated
There are three ingredients in a property assessment value, according to Mandrici. Her department adds up the land value, any improvements to the property (such as a home or other building) and then applies a trending value provided by the state to figure out the assessed value.
How do they get these numbers? Through a mass appraisal system, aerial photography, in-person visits, and building permits, among others. "Trending" factors comes from the state, she added.
The assessor's office contains shelf after shelf of binders of neighborhood data, which shows predicted values based on land sales, among other data points.
If you know your neighborhood number, you can find what home sales were used to create the market and land values, as well as see what trending factors were applied to your property, whether negative (making your value go down) or positive (making it go up).
