According to the
DLGF, three Duneland townships -- Jackson, Liberty and Pine -- saw increases
in their AV this year, while Westchester Twp. experienced a decrease of
about $20 million. Jackson and Liberty’s AV grew about $20 million and $30
million, respectively, while Pine’s remained relatively flat.
For the 2018 AV
figures, Porter County saw declines in ten out of 31 taxing units, and six
of those were in Duneland.
Unincorporated
Westchester Twp. saw the biggest drop with $171.7 million for 2018’s net AV,
an almost $30 million plunge from the $200.8 million for 2017.
The Town of Burns
Harbor saw its AV dip by $3 million, from $565.1 million to $562 million.
The Town of Porter’s AV was .9 million less for 2018 than in 2017, from
$228.5 million to $227.4 million, and the Town of Pines decreased slightly
by about $100,000, at $21.6 million for 2018. Smaller than that was the
portion of Pine Twp. in the Michigan City School District whose difference
was about $10,000.
The City of
Portage’s small section of Westchester Twp. saw its AV reduced from about $6
million for 2017 to $4.1 million in 2018.
County Assessor Jon
Snyder could offer no specific reason for the decreases but said that the
formula for determining an assessed value is affected by sales activity
within the immediate area, which can cause a value to either shrink or grow.
He also said that all buildings and property receive an assessed value,
whether they are vacant or not.
“There were some
(taxing units) that saw decreases but not that many as the county was up
generally by 3 to 5 percent (in AV),” Snyder said.
While Burns Harbor
and Porter’s AVs decreased, Chesterton’s increased by roughly $22 million
for 2018. Its total from its three taxing units is approximately $692
million.
Meanwhile, the City
of Valparaiso’s AV improved by $60 million and Portage’s AV improved by
$38.1 million for 2018.
The other units
that saw declines in AV were the Town of Hebron, the Town of Ogden Dunes and
Porter Twp. unincorporated.
Below is the list
of tax units with their corresponding 2018 net AV figures with the 2017
figures in parentheses for comparison.
Duneland township
totals
Jackson Township:
$424.3 million ($406 million)
Liberty Township:
$638.4 million ($607.3 million)
Pine Township:
$300.5 million ($299.8 million)
Westchester
Township: $1,597.7 million ($1,617.7 million)
Duneland area
increases
Jackson Township
unincorporated: $400 million ($384.8 million)
Liberty Township
unincorporated: $498 million ($477.8 million)
Chesterton-Liberty
Twp.: $140.4 million ($129.5 million)
Pine Township-Duneland
School District: $40.8 million ($40.2 million)
Beverly Shores-Pine
Twp.: $187.6 million ($187.4 million)
Chesterton-Westchester Twp.: $527.8 million ($519 million)
Dune
Acres-Westchester Twp.: $104.7 million ($98.4 million)
Chesterton-Jackson
Twp.: $23.9 million ($21.3 million)
Duneland area
decreases
Pine
Township-Michigan City School District: $50.48 million ($50.49 million)
Town of Pines- Pine
Twp.: $21.6 million ($21.7 million)
City of
Portage-Westchester Twp.: $4.1 million ($6 million)
Burns
Harbor-Westchester Twp.: $562 million ($565.1 million)
Town of
Porter-Westchester Twp.: $227.4 million ($228.5 million)
Westchester
Township unincorporated: $171.7 million ($200.7 million)
Increases elsewhere
Boone Township
unincorporated: $134.5 million ($133 million)
Center Township
unincorporated: $823 million ($802.6 million)
Valparaiso-Center
Twp.: $1,480 million ($1,464.5 million)
Morgan Township
unincorporated: $267.5 million ($251.2 million)
Pleasant Township
unincorporated: $170.3 million ($164.5 million)
Kouts-Pleasant
Twp.: $82.1 million ($76.9 million)
Portage Township
unincorporated: $258 million ($243.7 million)
City of
Portage-Portage Twp.: $1,431.2 million ($1,391.1 million)
Union Township:
$597.5 million ($574.5 million)
Washington
Township: $274.1 million ($265.1 million)
Porter
Township-Porter Fire: $238.8 million ($221.1 million)
Valparaiso-Washington Twp.: $229.4 million ($185.1 million)
Valparaiso-Center
Twp. Municipal Tax Exempt (MTE): $.05 million (N/A)
Decreases elsewhere
Hebron-Boone Twp.:
$108.8 million ($109.3 million)
Ogden Dunes-Portage
Twp.: $145 million ($147.4 million)
Porter Township
unincorporated: $293.9 million ($300.5 million)
Valparaiso-Morgan
Twp.: $.1 million ($.2 million)