The member of the Lake County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals who inspired a PTABOA member Indiana residency bill left the board earlier this year, officials said.
Samantha Steele, who is also a Cook County Board of Review commissioner, wasn’t reappointed to her seat and left the board in early January, said Lake County Assessor and PTABOA secretary LaTonya Spearman. The Board of Commissioners appointed Warren Reeder, a local real estate agent, she said.
Steele had served on the Lake County PTABOA since 2020, Spearman said. Steele declined to comment on her leaving the PTABOA board.
In her Cook County Board of Review biography, Steele states she is a level three assessor and appraiser with more than 15 years of experience in property valuations.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 187, which changes PTABOA members’ residency, passed out of the House Local Government Committee Tuesday in a 8-0 vote without committee discussion or public testimony. Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point, the House sponsor of the bill, said in committee that Lake County would be impacted by the bill because a member, Steele, lived in Illinois and served as an elected official there while serving on the Lake County PTABOA.
Senate Bill 187, authored by State Sen. Dan Dernulc, states the term of anyone serving on a county PTABOA who isn’t an Indiana resident will expire July 1. The fiscal body, which is the council in Lake County, would then be required to appoint a new member to finish out the member’s term.
The bill maintains Indiana’s current PTABOA law that states a member has to be at least 18 years old and be “knowledgeable in the valuation of property.” The bill also maintains that a majority of the members must have the certification of a level two or level three assessor-appraiser.
“This is an important piece of legislation that directly affects my district,” Dernulc said in a statement when the bill passed out of the Senate Feb. 4.
Dernulc, R-Highland, said he drafted the bill after learning Steele was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence in Chicago late last year.
“Members of an Indiana PTABOA should be Indiana residents to ensure we have equal and fair property tax assessments for those who have chosen to call themselves Hoosiers. I look forward to seeing how this will change how people look at these boards and who serves on them,” Dernulc said.
The bill was amended in the Senate Local Government Committee to include language proposed by State Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, to ensure that the PTABOA member lives in Indiana throughout their four-year term.
Lake County Councilman Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, previously said conceptually the PTABOA bill makes sense, and he supports it. The members of the board should live in the community they are serving, he said.
But Bilski said he hopes the bill doesn’t make it more difficult to find PTABOA members because it’s not always easy to find level two or level three assessor-appraisers.
“(The bill) makes sense. I have no issues with it. I hope it doesn’t impede our ability to fill the board,” Bilski said.
Lake County Council President Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, previously said she told Dernulc she supports the bill. Cid said the county uses a state website to find level two and level three assessors, so it would be easy to find qualified people who live in the county or state that could serve on the PTABOA.
“I believe there are plenty of qualified people here, not just in Lake County but in Indiana, that could serve,” Cid said.
akukulka@post-trib.com