Kathy Gregorich, property tax director in the St. Joseph County Auditor’s Office, told the Budget & Administration Committee that a third‑party audit of homestead deductions has identified $666,765 in amounts to be recovered from taxpayers who were not entitled to the homestead deduction.

“Based on the collections that we've received over the last 3 months, we're estimating that we're going to collect, a little over $666,000 We have 666,765 that we're going to collect as an eligible homestead reimbursement,” Gregorich said. She added the county’s contract with TMA specifies a 40% contractor fee for amounts actually collected.

Gregorich said state law about ineligible homestead recoveries allows the auditor’s office to retain $100,000 in a nonreverting fund for administrative costs; the presentation applied those rules to the estimate and projected about $373,720 would be transferred to the County General Fund after TMA’s fee and the auditor’s retained amount.

Committee members asked procedural and eligibility questions. Gregorich said the audit examines the current tax year plus two prior years when determining entitlement. In describing proofs used to determine whether a property is a primary residence, she listed federal tax‑return address, vehicle registration, and voter registration as evidence the office considers.

When a member asked how a resident should report suspected improper homestead claims, Gregorich replied the property tax division receives referrals, investigates and, when appropriate, sends a letter to the taxpayer asking for clarification; if evidence supports ineligibility, the office bills the taxpayer for the amount owed.

After the presentation and questions, the committee moved Bill 84‑25J forward with a favorable recommendation to the full council for final action.

This item will next appear on the St. Joseph County Council agenda for a final vote.