Property Tax Board of Appeals Hearing – July 25, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Property Tax Board of Appeals Hearing – July 25, 2025
The Marion County Property Tax Board of Appeals met on July 25, 2025, to hear three exemption appeals and to review numerous objective appeals and exemption requests on the consent agenda. The board granted exemptions for a low-income housing project and a children's respite care facility, while a church's request for retroactive exemption on vacant lots was deferred due to a tied vote.
Discussion Items
Avondell Place – Parcel 806-4466 (2024 & 2025 Exemption Requests)
Matt Anger (attorney, Icemiller) and Corey Stark (Vice President of Finance, Burgeon Hill Asset Management) presented on behalf of the project. The 216-unit development (72 one-bedroom, 84 two-bedroom, 60 three-bedroom) is a Section 42 low-income housing tax credit project with a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement with the City of Indianapolis. Rents are capped at 60% of Area Median Income, averaging $1,100–$1,150 per month for a two-bedroom unit. The exemption was filed late because the county assessed the project as complete in 2024 before it was placed in service. Stark emphasized that the PILOT is financially essential; without it, the project would not meet debt service obligations. Board members asked about resident services (financial literacy, medical assistance, community events) and security deposits ($200–$300, not first/last month's rent). Approximately 70–75% of residents use Housing Choice Vouchers. The board unanimously approved both the 2024 and 2025 exemptions.
Universal Church of Firstborn Saints – Parcels 106-96-84, 109-24-96, and 109-08-39 (2025 Exemption Request)
Dennis Hayes, a church representative, requested retroactive exemption for three vacant lots purchased from the city 10–15 years ago. The church had not filed Form 136 for these parcels until June 2025; the church building itself is already exempt. The lots are currently in tax sale status due to unpaid taxes since 2022. The county noted that the properties were acquired through a surplus sale with a conditional deed requiring development within eight years—conditions not met. The board discussed that the filing was untimely and that the parcels had been owned for long periods without exemption. A motion to deny the exemption failed on a 2-2 tie, deferring the decision to the next month when a fifth member will be present.
Smith Murphy Mentoring Group – Parcel 401-4165 (2022 & 2023 Exemption Requests)
Jennifer and Derek Murphy, co-founders, presented their organization's respite house for children ages 6–17 with emotional disabilities. The property is used 100% for the program, providing temporary overnight stays (up to 14 days) and hourly care, with Medicaid reimbursement. The Murphys explained they were unaware of the need to file Form 136; they had paid taxes in 2023. Their 2024 exemption was already approved. They requested retroactive exemption for 2022 and 2023 to avoid financial hardship (about $10,000 in back taxes). The board noted that even if approved, stormwater and solid waste fees would still be owed (approximately $75–$100 per half). The motion to allow exemptions for both years passed unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from the previous meeting were approved.
- Objective Appeals (Pages 1–16): Approved, except for Parcel 302-6049 (McDonald's) on page 2, tabled due to a land value discrepancy.
- Objective Appeals (Pages 17–104): Approved with two exceptions: Page 75 (Parcel 402-5490) – common area correction; Page 100 (Parcel 902-8953) – parking lot adjustment tabled.
- Objective Appeals (Pages 105–186): Approved with four parcels tabled (pages 117, 122, 125, 129) as they were not ready for recommendation.
- Withdrawals (Pages 187–310): Accepted.
- Exemptions (Pages 311–338): Approved with exceptions for items already tabled or discussed individually. Included a partial exemption for Barrington Estates (housing agency-owned).
Key Outcomes
- Avondell Place: 2024 and 2025 exemptions approved unanimously.
- Universal Church of Firstborn Saints: Motion to deny tied 2-2; matter deferred to the August 2025 meeting.
- Smith Murphy Mentoring Group: Retroactive exemptions for 2022 and 2023 approved unanimously; organization will still owe stormwater/solid waste fees.
- Consent Agenda: All items approved as described, with several parcels tabled for further review next month.
Meeting Transcript
Don't need to do anything different, Joe. Okay. Introduce anybody or no? Okay. Oh. We'll start a Peter Boa, which is property tax custom board of appeals for July the 25th. So we got everybody sign in order. So we have uh you got the sign in shooting last time. One guest another instance. Okay. So it's Matt. Okay. You want to come on up. Matt, do I have the listed separate on the agenda? You do. Okay. So this will be for oh, first one, Avondell Place, parcel 806, 4466. It's for the years 24 and 25, pages 317 and 336. This is for a 136 exemption. So you're an attorney. Yes, he's an attorney. I am Corey is not. So you're going to speak? Yes. Okay, can you raise your hands? I'm going to square you in. You swear to O truth, none but truth, so happy God. I do. Go ahead. Thank you. So we are here for the 2024 and 2025 assessment years for requesting property tax exemption for the Now you want to identify yourself. Sorry. That's okay. Learning the new process. Well we know we are Matt Anger from Icemiller. I'm an attorney representing the project with me. I have Corey Stark. He is he works for the developer on the Project Avondale Meadows. As I mentioned, we're here on for the 2024 and 2025 assessment years requesting property tax exemption. This is a low-income housing tax credit project that's financed with Section 42 low-income housing tax credits. This is a project that entered into and negotiated a pilot with the City of Indianapolis and agreed to pay property to pay a payment in lieu of property taxes based upon the expected revenue of the project since it's a low-income housing project. Rents are capped, it's um limited to low-income housing residents, obviously. There is also a commitment to provide services to the residents as well as part of the overall pilot agreement with the city. So with that as as the background from our perspective, and I think from the county's perspective, not to speak for the county, I don't think that there's any question regarding the underlying basis for the exemption request. Um the reason that we're here today is that the 136s for both 2024 and 2025 were filed earlier this year. Um the main the main reason for that was that the taxpayer did not realize that the county was going to assess the project as complete in 2024 because it had not been placed in service yet. Um and so they didn't receive notice that the project was assessed obviously until tax bills came out earlier this year after all the filing deadlines. Um so working with the city, they put together the 136s and filed them, and that's why we're here. But I will um if it's helpful, I'm happy to let Corey give you a little bit more background on the project if that would be helpful. So Matt's just a gap between when you thought you should file based on construction and the city was gonna implement them and not and we just had a case like this last month at all of this.
openpublica.com