Increases in Delaware County property taxes are wreaking havoc on Muncie residents' wallets, and Ball State University students are no exception.
Property value determines how high or low property tax is for a business or apartment complex or a home, said Allison Quirk, member of Muncie City Council. Assessors come in to determine the current value of the property and how much it has increased throughout the years, she said.
Landlord Ruben Fiorenza said the property taxes for a house he rents to Ball State students rose 100 percent.
"[I] cannot increase the rent this year because the students are under contract," he said.
After the student's contract is up, Fiorenza said he plans to increase the rent by 15 percent per student living in his home. But the rise in his rent charge will only cover the increase in property taxes, he said. He will not make any more money than he did before the tax increase.
For retired Muncie resident, Francis Kratochvil, the property taxes of his home went up 63 percent at the beginning of September.
Property taxes have risen for everyone in the Delaware County. Although, he said, not every Muncie resident's taxes increased at the same rate.
Some people's taxes jumped as high as 300 percent from what they were paying last year, Kratochvil said.
The residents and business owners of Muncie are upset with the rise in property taxes because they did not expect such a big increase, he said. The taxes rose without any warning at all, he said.
Fiorenza's property value did not increase when assessed this year, he said. Therefore, he said he had no idea why he has to pay more in property taxes when the value of his property had not risen.
Essentially, the changes of the tax structure do not come from the Muncie City Council, Quirk said, it is decided by the state legislation. The city council decides where the money goes and how it is spent, she said.
Property taxes go toward keeping Muncie a nice place to live, she said. Therefore, the money is spent on services such as police and fire departments, community schools, libraries, public transportation. Without the tax money, Muncie would not be a safe place to live, Quirk said.
Kratochvil said the prominence of Ball State raises the property values of the community and, considering all of the money Ball State pulls in, he said, it could help to carry the burden of taxes in the community.
One example he suggested of how Ball State could help the community would be to mime what Cornell University has done for its community. Cornell has given Ithaca, N.Y., $20 million over a 10 year period and two million dollars every year to run the community, he said.
Cornell gives Ithaca the money to keep the community looking nice and to keep it safe, Kratochvil said. It also helps to attract students and other people from around the world to their college, he said.
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