When the county’s 2009 property taxes are issued this year, Porter Health System will be among the private properties to get a bill, representing the first time that the hospital will pay property taxes since it came under new ownership.

But that tax bill will be based on the sale price when Community Health System bought the hospital property from the county in 2007, not on an actual tax assessment. Now, however, the county is moving forward with that assessment.

At County Assessor John Scott’s request, the Porter County Commissioners last week approved a revised contract with Tyler Technologies to assess the 35 different parcels throughout the county owned by Porter Health System. Earlier, the county included the hospital project in Tyler’s contract for the upcoming reassessment of commercial and industrial properties. However, shortly after the commissioners signed that contract, the Indiana Legislature moved the reassessment date back from this year to next year, in turn putting the reassessment contract on hold temporarily.

Scott said the portion of the contract pertaining just to the hospital was separated out in order for the county to move forward, without waiting for the reassessment work to begin next year. “It’s so important to get this done,” he said, noting that because of the regular assessing work, his office hasn’t had time until now to begin the hospital project.

The hospital will be assessed as an “omitted property” from the rest of the parcels assessed for 2008 taxes payable in 2009. Even though the hospital sale occurred in 2007, new owners don’t come on the assessment rolls until March in the year before they receive their tax bills.

Under the contract, Tyler Technologies will be paid $33,200 for the hospital assessment. In the event the assessment has to be redone as part of the larger reassessment next year, the contract stipulates that the fee paid by the county will be deducted from the total cost.

It is not uncommon for counties to contract with tax consultants to prepare assessments of commercial or industrial parcels, especially those, like the hospital, that represent unique or complicated properties. Scott has noted that the assessor’s office has never before had to assess Porter Hospital.

When the contract came up before the commissioners, North Porter County Commissioner John Evans sought assurances that all hospital parcels will be included, not just those in Valparaiso. City officials have placed the main hospital campus in a Tax Increment Financing District, meaning that the taxes that will be paid will be captured for specific projects designated by the city’s redevelopment commission. Scott said the contract does cover all hospital parcels throughout the county.

The contract approved by the commissioners is a “model” contract in place for such tax work by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, which must also give final approval.