ELKHART -- It's been a busy two months for Cheryl Musgrave, the new commissioner in the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
She's not fazed, though, even with the debate over the state's ailing property tax system reaching red-hot proportions.
"I'm here to make change," she said Tuesday on a visit to Elkhart, alluding to her mandate to help Gov. Mitch Daniels search out a fix to address homeowner unrest about property taxes. "I'll only be overwhelmed if there is no change."
Daniels tabbed Musgrave in mid-July to head DLGF, which oversees property tax assessments and local government budgeting in the state. She's kept active, helping update the relevant assessment and tax data coming in from the state's 92 counties. On her foray to Elkhart, she offered insights into state officials' efforts to tweak Indiana's property tax system.
The governor ought to come up with a possible fix within six to eight weeks, she said, adding to the list of proposals that have already emerged. She wouldn't provide particulars, but said Daniels is open to consideration of moving certain tax-exempt organizations to the property tax rolls.
"The governor says everything's on the table except taxing churches," she said.
Not surprisingly, she added, the next legislative session will be active as lawmakers wrestle with the property tax issue, prompted by popular outcry stemming from hikes of 24 percent, on average, in Indiana homeowners' property tax bills this year.
"This is it, in my opinion, this is the pivot point," said Musgrave, describing Daniels as "bound and determined" to usher in change. "These problems have been in existence for a long time, spanning multiple administrations."
The DLGF head, a former county commissioner and assessor in Vanderburgh County, also offered her take on several other topics of relevance, stressing they were her personal views:
* The notion of halting the funding of certain government services via property taxes, using income and sales taxes instead, will be "one of the more interesting discussions" in Indianapolis when the legislature convenes in January. Some local officials have proposed an end, at least in part, to the funding of schools and certain state social services via property taxes.
* Township assessors ought to be eliminated, as proposed by some to trim local government spending, she said. Having numerous township assessors instead of just one county assessor makes it harder to achieve "uniformity and equity" in determining property valuations.
* The wholesale elimination of property taxes, though it may get discussion come January, may not be feasible because of the funding that would have to be raised by substitute means, whether hikes in sales and/or income taxes.
Musgrave also stressed moves by her office to put more data on her office's Web site. So far, data on home sales and assessed values is online with tax billing and personal property data to be added later.
"This gives the taxpayers tremendous tools to challenge their assessments, understand their assessments," she said.
Musgrave also met with a group of county officials from around northern Indiana on Tuesday to discuss her office's efforts.