Auditor

Budget Order Issued

Porter County's annual budget order has been issued. The budget order contains the approved budgets, tax levies, and tax rates for each taxing unit in the county for budget year 2021.  

In all but four of Porter County's taxing districts, tax rates will be lower in 2021 than last year. Taxpayers should note that lower tax rates do not necessarily mean that tax bills will be reduced. Other factors will help determine individual tax bills. For example, if a taxpayer's assessed value increased, the tax bill could end up higher even with a lower tax rate.

Now that the state budget order has been issued, the Porter County Auditor's Office will begin the process of calculating tax bills. The Porter County budget order is available online by clicking on the following link: Porter County 2021 budget order . The table below gives a two-year comparison of the property tax rates in Porter County.  

Income Tax revenue for 2021 certified

The state has certified its estimates of local income tax (LIT) revenues that will be distributed in 2021. This tax comes from payroll withholdings from those who work in the county; the 2021 estimates reflect the income taxes generated in 2019. 

Overall, Porter County is expected to see an increase of 5.48% in its LIT revenues. Half of the total is reserved for a credit on homeowner tax bills and for the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. The other half is distributed to the county and municipalities. 

Did you know? Porter County's LIT rate of 0.5% (.005) is the lowest in Indiana. Only one other county currently has this same rate. The LIT revenues certified by the state are subject to change before the final certification later in the year. The following breakdown shows the distribution to the county and municipalities in both 2020 and 2021.

 Budget austerity measures remain in place

The Porter County Council and Porter County Commissioners last year jointly adopted a financial resolution in anticipation of potentially negative budgetary impacts due to the coronavirus. The resolution, adopted by the Council on May 26 and by the Commissioners on June 9, calls for several austerity measures to continue through 2021. These measures include:

• Department heads must seek Council or Commissioner approval before moving forward with filling vacancies;
• Department heads must seek advance approval before authorizing any overtime or compensatory time for employees;
• Department heads seeking an additional appropriation from the general fund must first seek approval to get on the council agenda;
• The Porter County Auditor will utilize inter-fund borrowing to resolve departmental cash flow problems.