Assessor Inexperience Upsets New Tax Commissioner

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(STATEHOUSE) - The new state tax commissioner says the inexperience of local assessors bears part of the blame for soaring property tax bills.

Cheryl Musgrave was Vanderburgh County Assessor and a County Commissioner before she took over the department of local government finance two weeks ago. She says one reason she left the assessor's job was frustration with the inability to hire more staff with better qualifications.

Musgrave says the start of "trending," intended to smooth out the jump between full reassessments, has highlighted a lack of experience statewide. She says the job requires skills many assessors' offices simply don't have.

Musgrave says she'd prefer to see assessment duties consolidated at the county level instead of being spread among townships, to make assessments more uniform.

Musgrave testified before a legislative study committee which is reviewing the quality of this year's assessments as part of a broader examination of the tax system.

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