By VICKI URBANIK

If a 15.5 percent tax savings for Porter County homeowners sounded too good to be true, it was.

After an error was discovered late last week with the county-funded homestead credit, the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance has re-calculated the rate. The new credit rate has been set at 6.0766 percent (0.0676).

The positive news is that that’s higher than last year’s county homestead credit rate of 5.6 percent. And it’s higher than most other counties that also dedicate a portion of their county option income tax for a tax break for homeowners.

The flip side, of course, is that the new rate is far lower than what was approved as part of the Porter County budget order in late October.

Very simply, if a homeowner, after the other two credits are factored in, had a net tax of $1,000, the county homestead credit will now result in a savings of $60.77 on the property tax bill. Up until this week, when the county credit rate stood at 15.5 percent, that homeowner would have enjoyed a bigger tax cut of $155.

The lower county credit will mean that some homeowners who had expected to pay less in property taxes this year will now pay more, and that those who already knew they would pay more in taxes this year will now pay even more. But in some cases, this year’s taxes will still be lower than last year.

For example, an actual Chesterton homeowner whose property is assessed at $143,000 can expect a tax bill of $1,597. Had the earlier approved county credit not been in error, this tax bill would have been $1,418. However, this year’s tax will still be lower than last year, since this particular home’s assessment was hardly impacted by trending, the latest in reassessment.

The error in the county homestead credit caused another delay with the already-late tax bills in Porter County. State and county officials spent this week reworking the numbers and inserting the new figures in a document known as the tax abstract.

Porter County Auditor Jim Kopp said late this morning that his office completed the abstract, but that the state was sending in some additional revisions for the tax rates for the Pine Township tax districts in the Michigan City Schools. He expressed hope that the new figures would come in today and that the final abstract will get quickly approved by the state in order for the tax bills to be printed up and mailed by Saturday.

The due date will be Jan. 11, but county officials are urging taxpayers to pay their tax bills before the end of the year if they want to be able to deduct their tax payments on their state and federal tax returns.

All homeowners in Indiana get a tax savings through two state-funded credits, one of which is the homestead credit. But counties can give homeowners an additional homestead credit, funded by local income taxes. Based on the tax rate data available online, at least nine other Indiana counties have a local homestead credit.

Porter County enacted an increase in its County Economic Development Income Tax in mid-2005, which not only created the county-funded homestead credit but which also allowed Porter County to join the new Regional Development Authority.

Last year was the first time that Porter County homeowners got the additional credit on their tax bills from the county-funded credit.

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County Weights and Measures post filled

Porter County now has a new Weights & Measures director, the official responsible for ensuring that gas pumps and other scales are in properly working order.

The Porter County Commissioners on Tuesday appointed Mike Harper as the new director. Harper has been serving as the assistant director under Richard Claussen, who retired at the end of November after 49 years with county government.

The new Weights & Measures director is no relation to County Commissioner President Robert Harper.

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County looks at increasing funding for burials of veterans

Porter County officials are researching an increase in county funding to help offset the cost of burials for veterans.

Porter County Council member William Carmichael, R-at large, made the proposal at this week’s council meeting, as the county commissioners appeared before the council seeking more funding for veteran burials.

So far this year, the commissioners have received more than 250 claims for veteran burials, and the claims have eaten up their entire annual budget of $25,000. The council granted two budget transfers giving the commissioners another $1,700 for the burials, but pending claims have already accounted for all but about $500 of that amount.

Families of veterans in Porter County can request $100 to help offset the costs of the burials. Carmichael said with the average cost of funerals around $6,000, the $100 in county assistance doesn’t “even scratch the surface” of the cost to families.

Carmichael suggested boosting the amount for each burial to $1,000, as allowed by state law. The commissioners have agreed to research the matter.

Posted 12/6/2007