A week after Indy Politics reported that the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance was operating without in-house counsel as a major property-tax law took effect, the agency has provided more detail on the vacancy: the department’s top legal position — General Counsel — is open, and the attorney scheduled to start in mid-August is a Deputy General Counsel who would sit below that post.
In its initial answers last week, DLGF said it “has hired for its Deputy General Counsel position,” with that person “scheduled to start in Mid-August.” Asked in follow-up questions about the General Counsel role itself, Commissioner Jason Cockerill said the department’s “former general counsel took a different role within the vertical” — the Office of Management and Budget, which DLGF sits under — and remains “accessible if there is a matter that cannot wait.”
In the interim, Cockerill said, “DLGF is relying upon other experienced attorneys in the OMB vertical.” He did not provide a current attorney headcount.
Who is writing the guidance
With the seat open, we asked who is responsible for drafting and issuing guidance to county auditors and assessors on House Enrolled Act 1210 as new questions arise.
Cockerill described the arrangement as consistent with the department’s usual practice. “Our approach for technical guidance has always relied upon subject-matter expert staff in Assessment and Budget creating drafts for auditors and assessors,” he said. “Legal review will be provided on an interim basis by attorneys assisting DLGF through the OMB vertical as needed. Our legal counsel will be in place before the next round of guidance needs to be released.”
He did not specify whether additional 1210 guidance is planned before the fall budget cycle. The department’s guidance memos, posted May 22 and May 27, and its two June 17 Legislative Update webinars were all issued before its attorneys’ July 10 departure.
HEA 1210 makes several changes to property-tax administration. It converts a veteran’s deduction into a credit, makes the homestead false-claim penalty mandatory, and moves a data-submission deadline from Sept. 1 to July 1 — changes that fall during local budget season.
Differing accounts on a backlog
Cockerill said the department is not aware of counties waiting on instruction. “I am told by our field representatives that we do not have a backlog,” he said. In his first-round answer, he had said, “I have spoken with the DLGF field directors and I’m not aware of any backlog.”
Asked which counties his field representatives had checked with, and whether the department had surveyed county auditors directly, Cockerill did not identify specific counties or describe a direct survey. He invited IndyPolitics to bring him specifics: “if you can point me to specific counties or specific requests, I will personally make sure that they receive an answer quickly.” He added, “Please encourage any county contact you have who says they have outstanding questions to contact me. I want to fix that.”
Several county auditors have told IndyPolitics they asked the department for guidance and did not receive it, and that they are proceeding on their own reading of the law. The department says every county has an assessment field representative and a budget field representative “who is to be in regular contact with the counties.”
The Deputy General Counsel is scheduled to start in mid-August. As of this week, the General Counsel position remains open, and the department has not provided a current attorney headcount.
