How do you want your property assessment handled?

Come 2009, 17 of Allen County's township assessors will be gone, but three others could remain if affected residents vote “no.” Voters in Aboite, St. Joseph and Wayne townships will get a say Nov. 4 on whether they want all county assessing to be handled by one office.

The question will be: “Should the assessing duties of the elected township assessor be transferred to the county assessor?” A “yes” vote would mean the voter agrees to eliminate the position of township assessor and have all assessments managed by the Allen County assessor.

A “yes” would also mean the voter's home becomes “one of 150,000” parcels, and removes much of the interaction with the assessor that many have come to know and depend on, said Bev Zuber, Wayne Township assessor. Nearly a third of those parcels are in Wayne.

“One size does not fit all,” Zuber said. “Wayne alone is so unique and diverse, it deserves special attention.”

The assessors estimate the value of real property within their assigned legal boundaries. The question, stemming from a proposal in House Bill 1001 passed in March, was given to all counties that have at least one township with a minimum 15,000 parcels (pieces of property). Townships with fewer than 15,000 parcels were required to hand over their duties by July 1.

Wayne Township has around 49,000 parcels, St. Joseph has 25,000 and Aboite has 15,000.

Aboite Township Assessor Carolyn Berghorn said residents will also lose that person in their community who actually knows them and understands what difficulties they are going through because the assessor lives there, too. Berghorn said that was especially important in Aboite, as residents are farther away from central Allen County.

“They will lose that personalized service,” Berghorn said. “We know what's going on around our area and know how to help them.”

St. Joseph Township Assessor Tim Nagel said while he is not vehemently against the General Assembly's decision, he does not understand the reasoning behind assigning all assessing control to one office, especially since several Indiana counties are smaller than single townships in Allen.

“Why not just combine several smaller counties' assessing under one office, too, then?” Nagel asked. “Why not just move all the responsibilities of the state under one office?”

The Allen County Assessor's Office reported assessors from the townships in the vote make $50,000 to $53,000 a year.

The notion that the decision to remove the assessors will save money statewide is also not something the three say they are buying into. The big reason, Zuber said, is the county assessor's office will need to hire more staff to handle the extra workload. And the most qualified people to fill those positions are the possible former assessors themselves.

“We're still the ones who are qualified to handle the work they'll need,” Zuber said.

Assessors from Cedar Creek, Washington, Perry and Adams townships, along with the 13 township trustee assessors in rural Allen County, will continue to be paid for the rest of 2008.