Local government wants home rule but when given the opportunity to act, Fort Wayne and Allen County officials refuses to take responsibility. I am talking about House Bill 1478. HB1478 gives local government three local government options on how to reduce the property tax burden imposed on homeowners through over assessment and value trending. The three options are new levy growth income tax with a levy freeze, property tax relief income tax and the circuit breaker. A fourth option is available to fund public safety, a public safety income tax which requires both the levy growth income tax and income tax for property tax relief.
Not much explaining of the options at this time because, the bottom line is this: If income tax is used to fund the budget who do you think will bear the burden of taxes? You got it if you said those who live in the county. So Nelson Peters and John Crawford believes that requiring those with the most income to bear the burden of taxes is unfair. Crawford suggest that unincorporated areas would be paying taxes without representation in local government.
So more time is needed to shift the burden more on city dweller rather than the rural dwellers. Because the more money you make the more income tax you will have to pay. Whereas if local government takes a hands off approach, the burden that now fall on city dweller will only mean those city dwellers who fail to pay their taxes will lose their home.
And although a circuit breaker has been imposed, local government are not sure how much the circuit breaker will reduce what is being collected under value trending. So let the taxpayers paid a large sum one more time before elected officials do anything. Overhearing, one commissioner telling two fellas that if you live in Aboite the taxes will rise to as much as 50%.
Most of my information came from a presentation on Funding and Financing with HEA 1478 by Matthew Greller, IACT Executive Director, Gary Malone, Umbaugh, and Ann Cottongim, IACT. I requested a presentation from Pat Roller from a talk she gave to the Northeast Neighborhood Association Meeting but have yet to receive the information. However, Ben Lanka has most of the information here.
Folks are realizing the property value of their home is not necessarily the actual value. The fact is trending of other homes in the communities are determining the value of their homes. The purpose of the trending of the values makes it easier to project a value on homes in neighborhoods where homes have not sold for years. The goal of trending is to increase the homes to increase property tax. This is why you see a renovated house in the central city raised to outrageous amount like $130,000. All the other houses around it will increase in value through value trending. The city will take homes in the area through a tax sales for those who can not pay the new taxes rather than take the home through eminent domain.
Local budget used property taxes to pay for certain services which a lot of funding going toward public safety. With the increase in the budget local government were able to increase the tax rate to collect needed funds from property taxes. Unwilling to properly assess property after many years of defrauding the public, local government implemented the trending method to continue to defraud the public in assessing property. However, because of the abuse of local government in using the tax rate, the state has placed a circuit breaker on local government. Local government is saying the circuit breaker is going to hurt public safety, so the general assembly provided local government with options. But now local government is saying the general assembly rushed the options through as to why they are going to do nothing!
The circuit breaker goes into effect on July 1, 2007. Those with homestead credit is limited to the two percent circuit breaker and a three percent circuit breaker to all other real and personal property payable in 2010. Those who are locked into the two percent circuit breaker are viewed as a distressed political subdivision. As a distressed political subdivision these locals may petition the state circuit breaker board from applying the circuit breaker. But our local government does not want that because that would mean oversight, with a financial plan agreement.
In applying for relief from the circuit breaker , the local must create a financial plan for the appeal board. If the appeal board authorize to decrease the circuit breaker credit or increase the assessed value.
But Nelson Peters, says HB 1478 needs more study as a matter of fact, the general assembly may need to make some changes because the Republicans can not take another blow to there political base.
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