Bills for the current Indiana state legislature need to be introduced by mid December to be considered this year. If you are a property owner you are encouraged to contact your state representatives and urge them to introduce legislation to prevent the reclassification of privately held land from “agricultural” to “excess residential” without an attendant change in the use of the property.
Two local land owners have had their land reassessed from “agricultural” to “excess residential” and have seen 1000% to 1200% increases in the assessed value of the land:
- Example 1—18 acres assessed in 2007 at $7200, 2013 at $17,000 and 2014 at $195,000 (1150% increase)
- Example 2—50 acres assessed in 2013 at $24,000 and 2014 at $260,000 (1080% increase)
If you are concerned with having your property “reclassified” and your property taxes skyrocket when nothing has changed with the use of the land, we need you to contact your state representatives and urge them to introduce language to prevent this in the future. Example language could be as simple as: “Land may not be reclassified for zoning purposes unless the use of the land changes or ownership changes.”
You can find a list of your state representatives on the Indiana General Assembly website.
