First town hall meeting regarding high property assessments in St. Joe County

SAINT JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- The first of a series of town hall meetings regarding skyrocketed property assessments in Saint Joseph County occurred today.

A hundred and more residents filled the Howard Park Event Center this afternoon, some even spilling out into overflow outside the room.

They all came out to hear directly from County Assessor Michael Castellon, to learn how to appeal their assessments, and to ask questions.

Castellon and Portage Township Trustee Jason Critchlow explained the reasons why homeowners are seeing higher property values, including the covid pandemic driving up sale prices, inflation and rising construction costs, incorrect past data collection, and a rise in cost tables.

Homeowners who came out say it's important to come make their presence known and get their questions answered by those in charge.

"I think more people need to come to this and really tell them what they feel, you know, we want to know what's going on. What's going on behind the scenes, why is this," stated Saint Joseph County Resident Shawn Groves.

The next town hall meeting is on June 14th at the New Carlisle Public Library from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m., with the last two meetings set for September and December.