Community resources host property tax appeal information event

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Near Northwest Neighborhood and South Bend Empowerment Center Program hosted a property tax appeal information event Tues. evening at the NNN Community Center.

With the looming deadline for Saint Joe County residents to appeal their property tax assessments, around two dozen community members came to the event with questions.

At the meeting, Stephanie Ball; the program manager for the South Bend Financial Empowerment Center (FEC), Denise Graham with Keller Williams Realty Group, and Beth Szweda; President of Correct Property Tax LLC, all gave presentations on different tools and resources to help in the process.

Ball explained the FEC recently obtained a grant that allows them to start giving free one-on-one professional financial coaching and counseling.

“Sometimes it’s just situational and sometimes it’s more ongoing and what we’re here to do is really to help you to look at your financial situation from an outside perspective. So, the council can give you ideas, but again we’re coaches, we guide you, we can’t tell you what to do, we can’t tell any adult what to do,” said Ball.

Help is there as a guide, while taking action is on you, but how to do that isn’t always clear, especially with complicated processes like filing a property tax appeal.

Many in the community are currently figuring out how to do that in response to their high assessments, which is why the organizers volunteered their time to give our community some of the information they need.

“It helps the assessor's office as well; they’re getting a lot of questions... and I’m providing answers to help their taxpayers, and their constituents understand the process as well,” Szweda.

June 16 is the filing deadline for a property tax appeal to be given to the assessor's office. If you are unsure if you need to file an appeal, you can click here to be taken to the Correct Property Tax website where they can give you a free consultation or analysis.