Percy Jones, of Gary, said when he opened his property tax bill Monday he was surprised by how much his taxes climbed this year.

“It was a lot more than it was last year,” Jones said.

He was heading into the Lake County Treasurer’s Office in Crown Point on Tuesday to pay the bill. Jones said he did not want to risk forgetting and pay a little late and get dinged by a fine. The bill is high enough as is, he said.

Jones is not alone experiencing sticker shock upon opening their spring property tax bills. Ofelia Gregoline, floor manager for the Lake County Treasurer’s Office, said the phones have been busy with people concerned about the increases in their property tax bill.

Gregoline said staff tries to do what they can to explain the bills to taxpayers, but the office merely collects the money for the county and has nothing to do with the tax rate or how the bills are calculated.

“We just do our best to try and make them feel a little bit more comfortable and not hang up or leave with anger,” Gregoline said.

Lake County Assessor LaTonya Spearman said higher property tax bills can be attributed in large part to rising property values in Lake County.

A study conducted by Policy Analytics in 2022 aimed at evaluating the impact of increased assessed values across the state shows home prices rose more than 5% per year between 2018 and 2020, Spearman said via email.

“There was an increased demand for space during the pandemic and a shortage of stock. Consequently, home prices continue to climb, reaching a peak 19% growth rate at the end of the Q2 in 2022,” she said.

Gross assessed values increased statewide, across all property types with general residential property values increasing by 16.5%

“Sales data shows that Lake County’s residential, and to a lesser extent commercial, values have increased significantly in regard to general property valuation increases.

The county has also seen an influx of buyers from Illinois over the past couple of years,” she said.

Indiana is a market value-in-use state which means your property’s value should reflect what a willing buyer would pay to purchase it.

Properties are valued using mass appraisal techniques, where properties are valued in conjunction with other similar properties, typically within the subject’s immediate market area, Spearman said.

An annual adjustment or trend factor, which is derived from sales data, is also applied to bring the property’s value in line with the market, she continued.

“Indiana property taxes are also a year in arrears by design, thus there is typically a 12- to 24-month lag between higher property values and higher property tax bills. As data is collected, assessments trend up or down to reflect market activity,” Spearman said.

Property owners who feel their assessment is incorrect have the ability to appeal to the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals. Since assessment in Indiana are conducted in mass, an individual property’s unique features are given greater considering during the appeal process.

“However it is important to note when an appeal is initiated, the review of a property’s assessment may result in a decrease or an increase in value,” Spearman said.