Tomorrow at 10 a.m. property owners are meeting at Strongbow Inn to discuss options, with some property owners having been taxed at levels in excess of 100% greater than the previous bills.
More as an update in a couple hours after I talk to a few participants.
Quote from Russ Adams owner of Strongbow: "But the owner of Strongbow Inn in Valparaiso said he's not sure how that will happen. "It's crazy," owner Russ Adams said. "I don't know how I'm going to sell enough turkey dinners to pay my tax bill." Adams said his taxes last year totaled about $46,000. This year his bill comes to about $100,000. The increase in taxes is due to a sharp rise in the assessed value of his property. Knowing he's not alone in his situation, Adams is inviting business owners, homeowners and county officials to a meeting at his restaurant at 10 a.m. Friday to discuss the tax bills.
I did pull up the Strongbow tax bill online this afternoon to review the details. A couple things jump out:
- Assessment jumped substantially as a part of the trending ordered a few years back, looks like it took the assessor three years to get around to assessing business properties.
- The tax rate of 2.8% is pretty high, can any small business survive in an environment where they have to pay almost, or eventually a full, 3% every year?
- Assessments in Valparaiso are up an average of 30% for this most recent set of bills, but the associated tax rate is only down 12%. (Comparing gross to gross) ... a question in my mind as to why the rate isn't down 25-30% overall?
