One of SFT Lawyers‘ largest clients, the Porter County Assessor Jon M. Snyder, recently announced that he would be taking the Porter County Assessor’s office into the 21st Century by allowing taxpayers to file property tax appeals online. (See Post Tribune article, “Porter County Website Gives Taxpayers Option to Appeal Online” 4 Oct. 2011; Northwest Indiana Times article, “Online Assessment Appeals to Begin Friday” 4 Oct. 2011.
In a bold move that capitalizes upon Jon Snyder’s campaign promises to the taxpayers of Porter County, online property tax appeals will revolutionize the way business is done in Porter County Government. The Porter County Assessor, Jon M. Snyder, was the first of ninety two (92) counties in Indiana to officially construct and publicly offer such an innovative option. Online appeals will save the taxpayers burdensome trips to the government center, not to mention that it may prove to reduce the expense of processing appeals, but that is to be determined in the months and years ahead.
For the project, Mr. Snyder was able to retain one of the Region’s great IT powerhouses, Golden Technologies, Inc. to complete the project, and it was done to a high caliber in a very short time and at a minimal cost to the taxpayers. Although a far cry from the eGovernment that local governments have been striving for, this online option to file property tax appeals is bringing government one step closer to the people it governs.