EVANSVILLE — CenterPoint Energy is appealing the assessed value of its riverfront property in Evansville with the state, an action that could impact customers.
In two separate appeals with the Indiana Board of Tax Review, CenterPoint disagrees with the Vanderburgh County Assessor’s 2022 and 2023 assessments of its 101 Court St. property. The assessment area includes the utility’s main office building and the parking behind it.
In 2022, the land was valued at $3,460,100 and improvements at $27,811,200. In 2023, the land was valued at $3,460,100 and improvements at $26,271,000. The assessment remained the same for 2024, according to the assessor’s website.
Cynthia Vaught, chief deputy in the assessor’s office, said the county anticipated CenterPoint would file an appeal for 2024, as well. They did so with the county ahead of Monday’s deadline.
“The assessment appeal process exists so that property owners can ensure that assessments accurately reflect market value and are consistent with the assessments and market value of comparable properties recently assessed in the area,” CenterPoint Energy spokesman Noah Stubbs said. “Our appeal of this assessment is necessary as we continue to keep our customers’ interests, and the impact this assessment has on customer rates, top of mind.”
An appeal for the 2022 assessment was denied at the local level by the Vanderburgh County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals. The 2023 appeal was filed directly with the state.
What sort of decrease, refund would CenterPoint want?
The Courier & Press asked Stubbs what CenterPoint believes the property should be assessed at for 2022 and 2023. Stubbs said the utility has not yet finalized its “opinion.” Filings with the state also do not list a suggested value.
But Vaught said CenterPoint’s initial claim was for an “$11,000,000 reduction in assessed value which equates to refunds in excess of $300,000 per year.”
Earlier this month, Vanderburgh County Commissioners approved a contract between the assessor’s office and real estate valuation firm Integra Realty Resources. Vaught said Integra’s job will be to complete an “entirely independent third-party valuation of the commercial property.”
“We think it is critical to fight these types of cases, as this sort of refund and reallocation of assessed value potentially shifts the tax burden disproportionately to homeowners and other taxpayers,” Vaught said.
According to Vanderburgh County Auditor Brian Gerth, when a refund is paid, it comes from the county’s general fund.
“These transactions are tracked, and at settlement time the money is pulled out of the taxing unit where the money was originally distributed to,” Gerth said. “This money is then reimbursed back to the county’s general fund.”
But in this instance it would work differently because CenterPoint Energy’s Court Street property is a part of the Downtown Tax Increment Finance district.
In those cases, the auditor’s office has to analyze the total refund and compare it to the base assessed value and incremental assessed value to determine how much the TIF will be impacted.
According to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, base assessed value is the value at the time the TIF was created. That goes to the civil taxing units, like schools. Incremental assessed value is increases to value after the creation of the TIF. Those dollars go back into the TIF district.
How would a refund impact other taxpayers?
Gerth said its hard to say how a refund would impact other taxpayers without a completed appeal.
“Depending on what the base (assessed value) and incremental (assessed value) is, the impact from the appeal would be felt by all taxing units with City Pigeon taxing district,” Gerth said. “If the appeal is successful, and the assessed value is lowered on future years, then that difference is spread to the taxpayers within that taxing unit.”
Those same taxpayers are also CenterPoint customers. Customers, Stubbs said, which are already impacted by how much the company has to pay in property taxes.
“It’s important to note we are seeking an accurate assessment, particularly in comparison to other riverfront properties,” he said. “The assessment of this property can impact customer rates because property taxes are part of the utility’s overall expenses.”
He said the ratemaking process in Indiana allows those expenses to be passed on to customers as a part of their rates.
“If the property is assessed at a higher value than its true market value, the resulting higher property taxes would contribute to increased costs,” Stubbs said. “These costs are then reflected in the rates set for customers through traditional ratemaking methods.”
The Courier & Press followed up with Stubbs and asked: If the state does not lower the assessment of CenterPoint’s property, does that mean customer rates could increase?
Stubbs did not respond.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: CenterPoint wants state to lower assessed value on local property
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