By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON — It’s been four months since Madison County taxpayers received provisional property tax bills and it could be another three months before they receive the second 2008 bill.
Madison County Treasurer Darlene Likens said the county has still not received tax rates from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, or IDLG. Without the tax rates, she cannot issue tax bills.
On Monday, Likens’ office issued a statement announcing that property tax bills would not be due Nov. 10 as previously anticipated.
In fact, the bills have not even gone out yet.
“We don’t know when they’ll go out,” Likens said.
Madison County is one of just 10 Indiana counties still waiting for final budget approval and tax rates.
Mary Jane Michalak of IDLG said a budget hearing has been set for the county on Nov. 17. “The budget hearing is the last step before the department can approve the budget for the county. Once we hold this local hearing, the budget can be issued within days.”
The release of tax rates for the county will follow the budget hearing, allowing local county officials to calculate tax bills, Michalak said.
Even if tax rates are received on the week of Nov. 17, Likens said, property tax bills will likely not be due for another six to eight weeks.
It takes her office a minimum of three weeks to calculate and process tax bills after receiving the rates, Likens said. Once the bills are mailed, property owners have 30 days to pay the bill.
This means that property tax bills will likely be due in January, adding an extra bill to the 2009 bills planned for release. “It’s possible, yes, that they’d pay three times next year, if we don’t collect until January,” Likens said.
The first round of Madison County bills due in July were provisional bills based on the 2007 tax rates since the tax rates had not yet been released. This next round of billing will be less of a guessing game and will be based on actual tax rates.
Next year, the billing could be back on schedule.
“A delay for the pay 2008 does not necessarily mean pay 2009 delay,” Michalak said.
“I’m hoping we can get back to some normalcy,” Likens said.
Of 92 counties in Indiana, 10 have not yet sent out property tax bills, including Madison County.
