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Tippecanoe Co Auditor: One-Cent Here, Two-Cents There Add Up To Tax Increase

Eric J Paparatto
/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ejpphoto/

Many Tippecanoe County homeowners will likely see an increase when their property tax bills arrive next month.

But County Auditor Bob Plantenga says some residents may see a slight decrease. 

The actual dollar amount will depend on where the property is located.

Plantenga says the largest increase is inthe Lafayette School district, where he estimates the owner of a house priced at $150,000 will pay an extra $50 due to an increase in the LSC’s building debt fund.

Every property owner in the county will pay an extra penny per $100 dollars of assessed valuation for the new Major Bridge Fund, amounting to $6.50 for the owner of that same $150,000 house.

Also, county residents will pay approximately $3 more to pay off the jail bond issue now that the county council has ended its three-year practice of subsidizing that debt with rainy day funds.

Combined with adjustments in the way the state Homestead Tax Credit is calculated, Plantenga says there are more changes this year than is typical.

He says taxpayers can review an itemized list of how the fees are changing.

“There is a comparison statement that comes along with the bill, and that breaks out,” Plantenga says. “You can see this year and last year, and it breaks it out into schools, and city, and county, and you should be able to see some changes there.”

Next year, county taxpayers may see another increase of one- or two-cents per $100 assessed property valuation.

The county commissioners will hear public comment next month on a plan to return the cumulative capital fund to its original taxing rate following more than a decade of declines.

Then the county council will set the amount of the tax rate.

County Treasurer Jennifer Weston says next week tax bills will be posted and taxpayers can make payments on the county's website.

She says taxpayers can also sign up for text or email reminders in advance of the May 10 and November 13 payment deadlines. 

Go to tippecanoe.in.gov and click on the "Stay Notified" button.