The Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals for Vermillion County held an administrative hearing Oct. 22, 2025, on an appeal of the 2025 assessed value for 1021 South Third Street in Clinton. The board heard from the property owner’s representative, who argued the assessment rose sharply and that the house is in poor condition.

The owner’s representative, Lisa Smith, told the board the property is legally in her name but that her mother lives there and pays on a land contract. Smith said the property’s 2025 assessment listed land at $13,100 and improvements at $195,700 for a total assessed value of $208,800. She said comparable homes she reviewed generally assess between $140,000 and $168,000 and that her mother’s home, in Smith’s view, should assess closer to $100,000–$135,000 because of condition issues such as a nonworking furnace, raccoon damage to a garage, trees growing into siding, and interior deterioration from hoarding.

Pat Ritchie, identified by the board as president of the board panel, and county staff member Paige Kilgore explained the county’s appraisal methods. Ritchie read statutory and hearing information into the record, noting the hearing was conducted pursuant to Indiana Code 6-1.1-1-1 and that the board would compare the property to recent sales, consider condition, and apply the county’s cost and sales-comparison approaches. Kilgore said Vermillion County uses the cost approach as a starting point and applies state-provided depreciation tables.

Smith questioned the application of new cost tables that, she said, drove a 32% increase in the latest assessment compared with earlier years when increases were smaller. Kilgore acknowledged that mass appraisal can produce outliers and said the board would consider the photographs and evidence Smith provided. The board also noted a separate calculation that removes the assessed value attributable to the garage and living area above it; the land-plus-house (excluding the garage) figure cited during the hearing was $128,300.

The board took the matter under advisement and said it would mail a written determination to the appellant’s requested mailing address in Florida. Ritchie told Smith that if she disagrees with the board’s eventual decision she may appeal to the Indiana Board of Tax Review (IBTR), and that information will appear on the board’s written notice.

The hearing record includes the petition number and parcel information entered on the record: petition number 83-002-25-0-5-00018 and parcel number 83-13-22-211-046-002. The board also directed Smith to consult the auditor’s office about exemption and mailing-address changes and suggested community resources for furnace repair, though no formal relief or change was decided at the hearing.