By DEANNA MARTIN

Associated Press Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Elected township assessors offices would be eliminated and their property tax duties would be shifted to the county level under a proposal advanced by a Senate committee Wednesday.

Supporters say the legislation, which passed the Senate Local Government Committee on a 5-4 vote, would bring more consistency and fairness to property tax assessments. Opponents say taxpayers like having a local, accessible official to hold accountable.

Property tax assessments can vary widely within counties because townships have different assessors using their own discretion, said Greg Bowes, the Marion County assessor.

“We do need to eliminate township assessors,” Bowes said. “Some of them have not been doing their jobs very well. Some of them have. If some of them are doing it pretty well and some of them are doing it not so well at all, we end up having inequitable assessments.”

Several elected township assessors who attended the meeting cautioned lawmakers that eliminating their jobs wouldn’t solve the problem.

“If you’re expecting this kind of a consolidation to save money and be efficient, it’s not going to work,” said Becky Williams, the Franklin Township assessor in Marion County.

Marilyn Schenkel, the assessor in Delaware Township in Hamilton County, told lawmakers that people in her township want to be able to talk to a local official about their property taxes.

“I’m there for them,” she said. “I see them in the grocery store. I’m accountable to them. You’re creating such a layer of bureaucracy.”

The proposal would shift property tax assessment duties from township assessors to the county level in July, but the township assessors could keep their current positions until the next election. The bill would require county assessors to interview former township assessors for jobs, but they would not be required to hire them.

Some opponents of the bill questioned whether county assessors would hire based on politics. But Sen. Connie Lawson, the committee chairwoman, said that if county assessors are to be held accountable for property tax assessments, they should have the right to hire who they think is the best person for the job.

Efforts to consolidate the assessment system have been suggested before.

Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed a similar change after flaws in assessments led him to order them redone in several counties last year.

A reform commission headed by former Gov. Joe Kernan and Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard said last month that the duties of township government should be shifted to the county. Even a previous reform report dating back to 1935 suggested consolidation, saying more government leads to confusion as to why property taxes are increasing and where the money goes.

Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, said it was time to bring Indiana into the 21st century with a more efficient and fair tax assessment system.

“We need to do everything we can to get a handle on the cost of government,” Delph said.

Lawson, a Republican from Danville, said the proposal was a step in the right direction.

“We know there are other things in the assessment system that need to be worked on and made more consistent,” said Lawson. “This is meant to be a beginning.”

The proposal now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

Posted 1/10/2008