Homeowners Hope New Assessment Just The Beginning

INDIANAPOLIS -- With the governor having ordered a reassessment of properties in Marion County, homeowners in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood feel like they've achieved something.

But while the order ensures they won't have to pay more in property taxes than they did last year until the reassessment is completed, they feel they're not finished agitating for change.

People in the neighborhood -- which has seen steep increases in property tax bills this decade -- feel that regardless of what the reassessment will do this year, politicians need to do other things to stem the hikes.

"In my opinion, it's going to get worse over time if it doesn't get solved now," said Susan Graham, who lives in the neighborhood on Indianapolis' north side.

People in the neighborhood caught the news media's attention this month with several rallies over this year's property tax bills. Though the state had estimated that bills would rise an average of 24 percent statewide, some people in the neighborhood saw their bills increase more than 100 percent.

Gov. Mitch Daniels on Wednesday ordered a reassessment for all properties in Marion County, saying the most recent assessment put an unfair portion of the tax burden on homeowners. Daniels said the values of very few industrial and commercial properties changed, causing homeowners' tax bills to rise too high and businesses' bills to rise too little.

Homeowners in the county will be able to pay the amount they paid last year, with the difference -- either up or down -- to be made up later. That is of some relief to Graham, whose bill this year was 150 percent higher than last year's.

"I think (reassessment is) exactly what needs to happen," Graham told 6News' Jennifer Carmack. "We need to go back to our bills that we've seen before and pay those bills before you try to collect bills you're pretty sure are wrong."

But Graham noted that her property tax bill rose 100 percent three years ago. She and others in the neighborhood said they fear more steep increases.

"This isn't just the pause button. They've got to figure out what the problem is on running our government," said John Failey, who also lives in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood.

Other Marion County Homeowners Still Concerned

Sustained concern wasn't limited to the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood Wednesday.

In the Fall Creek Place area on the city's north side, homeowner Julie Beaubien said she was worried that her mortgage company wouldn't promptly recognize the governor's suspension of this year's property tax increases in the county.

"Those of us that do have all of our payments in escrow for our mortgage company, we are going to have to still pay the higher amount unless (the government) can get something to us in writing within the next couple of days so that we can give it to our mortgage company," she told 6News' Derrik Thomas. "Our mortgage companies are expecting to pay the higher rate."

Government officials have used incentives to attract people to Fall Creek Place -- some residents used a $24,000 federal grant to purchase homes there. The grant causes special problems -- recipients can sell their homes only to people with a certain income, and with property taxes soaring, people fitting that profile would find it difficult to buy.

Chris Eskew, an attorney with the county's public defender's office, is one Fall Creek Place resident who took the grant.

"I do believe that with the property rights taken away ... as far as being able to sell your house and limiting who you can sell to and how much you can sell for, that should have been taken into account with the assessments of those properties," Eskew said.

Fall Creek Place residents planned to discuss tax concerns at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday night.