Industrial reassessment could shift county tax burden away from residents

An upcoming reassessment of commercial and industrial properties in Putnam County could have a major impact on the shared tax burden of local residents and businesses.

During their regular meeting on Monday, the Putnam County Commissioners approved a request by Assessor Don Badolato to hire Nexus Group to perform a ratio study and industrial reassessment in the county, which is likely to change the assessed values of properties throughout the county.

“It’s kind of really tricky and intricate, so I’d really like a vendor to do that for us,” Badolato said, explaining why he is outsourcing the work. “It’s not just so we can be in line with what DLGF (Department of Local Government Finance) requires. We’re kind of really underassessed with our commercial and industrial properties, so I’d like to get those in line.”

When Badolato sent out a request for proposals, Nexus was the only company to submit.

Badolato said he is currently the only Level III assessor-appraiser in his office. While he is striving to get more certified Level III employees, undertaking these studies likely requires outside help.

“I’ve got a couple of people that are working toward Level III, but they don’t have nearly the experience that Nexus has,” Badolato said.

Brian Cusimano, COO and general counsel of Nexus Group, was in attendance. He explained the company has been in business for 25 years, and that he believes no company in Indiana does more studies like this each year. The company has a team of 11 Level III assessor-appraisers, as well as a legal team to help in the event of appeals.

One aspect of the process is the ratio study, which should be performed every year. The goal of the ratio study is for assessed values to keep pace with sale prices.

The second element is the commercial/industrial reassessment, which will affect about 900 properties.

Badolato said the belief is that this process will show these properties have been under-assessed. If this is the case, it is likely to lower residential tax burdens, even if those assessed values rise as well.

Badolato noted that any changes to commercial and industrial taxes would not take effect until the 2024 pay 2025 cycle of property taxes. He also said the increases to businesses would likely be phased in over more than one year.

The contract with Nexus comes at a cost of $51,500 annually for the next three years, a total of $154,500 over the life of the contract.

Cusimano assured county officials that this is the entire contract, even if the lawyers are needed for appeals.

“There are no additional fees. Other vendors will build in additional fees,” he said.

“I think it would be a good investment,” Commissioner David Berry said.

Commissioner Rick Woodall made the motion to hire Nexus at a cost not to exceed $154,500. The motion passed unanimously, with Tom Helmer joining the affirmative votes.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved going with Howard Companies for this year’s Community Crossings project at a cost of $1,374,240.

The work will repave portions of County Road 1050 South, County Road 700/800 South and Heritage Drive, a total distance of 9.6 miles.

As is standard for Community Crossings project in a community this size, the State of Indiana is paying 75 percent of the originally-estimated cost, or $1 million.

While this should have made the total cost about $1.33 million, in years past the jobs have come in several hundred thousand dollars over that figure.

Peck touted the preliminary work done by Align (formerly Civil Engineering Consultants) to help keep the bids lower than in recent years, and just about $40,000 over the hoped-for figure.

Last year’s winning bid came in at $1,598,482.04, or $168,919.16 per mile on the 9.463-mile project.

This year, the work by Align, which cost the county $20,280, left fewer uncertainties and therefore kept the price down to $142,718.87 per mile over the 9.629 miles of road.

This includes 1.7 miles of County Road 1050 South, where full-depth pavement patching pushed the price to nearly $200,000 per mile. That means the cost was even lower — $130,799.03 per mile — over the other 7.9 miles.

Peck also expressed his intent ask the Putnam County Council for an additional appropriation to give the project a little more cushion so that paving might also be performed in front of the Floyd Township Volunteer Fire Department on Heritage Drive.

• Are staying up to date regarding the proposed solar farm in Russell Township. Woodall noted that negotiations regarding the economic development agreement and road use are ongoing. Meanwhile, a decommissioning agreement has been finalized.

Even if the commissioners reach agreement with developer Tenaska and ultimate solar farm owner Arevon Energy, the solar farm will not have the green light until it is approved by the Putnam County Board of Zoning Appeals, a board that is by its nature deliberate in considering such matters.

A special BZA meeting regarding the solar project is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Bainbridge Community Building. More information on upcoming BZA and Plan Commission meetings will be printed in an upcoming edition.

• Learned that Area 10 Agency on Aging will be asking for an increase to the $15,000 the county pays annually for Rural Transit service.

Although Putnam County actually lies within Area 7, which is centered in Terre Haute, Area 7 pays the Ellettsville-based Area 10 $15,000 annually to provide service to Putnam County.

Although no one from Area 10 was in attendance regarding the matter, Greencastle-Putnam County Economic Development Center Director Kristin Clary noted that the city was recently asked to double its annual payment.

Despite increases to the cost of doing business — notably the cost of vehicles and fuel — Area 10 has not asked for a contribution increase in its 20 years of providing service in Putnam County.

Additionally, Putnam County residents represented 18 percent of Area 7’s Rural Transit users when service started. Today the county makes up 34 percent of traffic.