From the LaPorte Herald-Argus:
The county's first non-provisional property tax bill in more than six years has been delayed until January 2014.
And county officials say it's due to the actions of one property owner.
On Tuesday, La Porte County Auditor Joie Winski said the state recalled all commercial and industrial property values at the end of October after someone raised concerns about the depreciation schedule used on his property.
Now officials are working to get the bills out by the end of January.
Originally, bills were scheduled for release in November after a law initiated by State Rep. Tom Dermody, R-La Porte, allowed the county to send out one tax bill for the 2012-pay-2013 year, instead of the two provisional bills previously sent, essentially ending the county's property tax situation which has caused area municipalities financial trouble due to late and missing tax payments.
The provisional bills are based on earlier tax years and the county has been sending out reconciled bills to make up for the differences in valuations over the billings. But the bills have not been arriving on a regular schedule, necessitating some municipalities to take out loans.
On Monday, La Porte Mayor Blair Milo said the city of La Porte is now expecting to pay almost $1 million on interest by the end of 2014 due to all the loans it's taken out to meet operational expenses. She noted that it has already paid almost $786,196 in interest, money that has gone to nothing tangible for city residents.
City treasurer Teresa Ludlow said the city basically won't be getting any of its 2012-pay-2013 tax money until 2014. Before the countywide tax situation, the city would have received most of its payments by the end of 2013.
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http://www.heraldargus.com/articles/2013/12/04/news/local/doc529e896a17751514025512.txt
