By Rusty Nixon Correspondent
PLYMOUTH — As Indiana awaits the impact of the new tax bill enacted by the legislature in its last session, all should remember a classic vaudeville line: there’s good news — and there’s bad news…
The good news is that there will be property tax relief. Will it be as much as what most taxpayers anticipated? Well…
As numbers start to be compiled to look at the new tax bill and its impact one thing becomes evident. The huge cut in property tax most citizens expected may or may not be on the way.

“It really depends on what that taxpayer was expecting,” said Penny Lukenbill, Marshall County auditor. “I really hope that they can be realistic. One speaker at a seminar I was at put it, ‘prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised with what happens.’”
The simple fact is that most taxpayers around the state are expecting huge savings, thanks to the recent house bill on taxes. What may actually happen is still a little more uncertain. While taxpayers will see a definite savings in their upcoming bills, just how big that savings is should be measured in perspective. Chances are they paid more this year, a fact offset by the rebate given by the legislature. Taxpayers should be sure to subtract that amount when figuring how big their savings are in the coming year.
“People need to calculate it based on their tax minus the rebate they received,” said Lukenbill. “They are going to see savings but it may not be as big as what they expected since they may have paid a little more this year.”
The good news is…
It appears that the cap on property taxes in the state will not hit Marshall County in the wallet in the coming year.
“People need to know that two percent cap is a maximum not a minimum so some will not pay the whole two percent,” said Lukenbill. “The first numbers are showing that it will mean a $239 shortfall for the coming year.”
A bigger shortfall is projected for 2009, but far from unmanageable when the 1.5 percent cap goes into effect. Marshall County taxing units will find themselves around $141,000 short of the previous year.
When 2010 rolls around however, it’s a different story.
The impact on Marshall County will be around $1.1 million. The city of Plymouth will be harder hit than the county.
Then there’s more good news…
“We’ve all been thinking about this because we see it coming down the road,” said Lukenbill. “We’re already planning some frank discussion about what the (County) Council is going to expect for the budget and giving department heads a chance to ‘volunteer’ some ways to cut the budget.”
One thing is clear, in spite of the short falls expected.
“We’re working very hard to figure this all out,” said Lukenbill. “All these numbers could change tomorrow and everybody is proceeding with caution. Nobody needs to panic, but we need to start getting ready for what’s going to happen in 2010.”