Tax Realty Consultant

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance slammed assessors in 23 counties Tuesday, saying they face consequences if data isn’t provided by Dec. 10.

Penalties for failing to produce the information include a written reprimand or losing assessor credentials for one year, DLGF Commissioner Cheryl Musgrave said.

“Delinquent data is an indication that 2008 tax bills may not go out on time, and counties may have to borrow in 2008 to fund services to taxpayers,” Musgrave said in her announcement.

McDaniel refused to answer messages at her office Tuesday as well as a face-to-face questions Monday after the La Porte County Council meeting. She referred questions to county attorney Shaw Friedman.

The latest charge is McDaniel did not provide county property data by the original due date of Oct. 1 or by the extended date of Nov. 15.

Friedman said Tuesday he is confident the assessor’s office will provide the required data to the DLGF by Dec. 10.

“I’m a little surprised that the agency would threaten to revoke certifications over data that is a month or so overdue since the state has spent time and money getting those folks properly trained and certified in the first place,” Friedman said.

County treasurer Ken Layton said late data at the beginning has a domino effect. He said state law requires DLGF to certify county tax rates by Feb. 15. To do that, County Auditor Teresa Shuter needs to get property assessment data in October, apply exemptions and send the data to the state.

Layton said Musgrave recently took over as DLGF commissioner. All county officials knew deadlines were going to be strictly enforced, Layton said.

“The DLGF has a directive given to it by the General Assembly and the governor’s office to fix it,” Layton said. “Musgrave is following that edict to the letter.”

The DLGF notified the 23 county assessors by e-mail last week delinquent data must be turned in by Dec. 10, or a certification revocation process would be started within 90 days. It’s up to Musgrave to decide whether to issue a written reprimand or to revoke the assessor’s certification.

According to Musgrave’s announcement, her agency offered data assistance teams in July to help in putting the data package together.

The county is also answering the current challenge as well as a different DLGF directive issued Nov. 7. The assessor is required to submit a formal written response by Dec. 8 addressing “serious concerns” about the county’s assessed property values.

Those concerns were raised when DLGF responded to a petition filed by Long Beach’s Bill Wendt, who challenged the accuracy of the assessments. His charge was based findings by Robert Denne, an analyst hired by Wendt, indicating county property assessments for 2006 were faulty.

Responding to Wendt’s challenge, McDaniel distributed a news release stating Wendt failed in his attempt to delay the approval of county tax rates. The DLGF issued its own press release countering McDaniel’s claim.

The DLGF set a Dec. 8 date for a rebuttal by the county for Wendt’s petition.

McDaniel has incurred expenses from Friedman’s services, and entered into a contract with The Nexus Group, a consulting firm that does the bulk of the work of the assessor’s office. On Monday, the county council approved a $50,000 request from McDaniel to pay for another consultant to reassess property values challenged by homeowners before the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals.

Musgrave was blunt in her needs and those of the DLGF.