“I’ll lead a protest,” vowed Linda Trout, whose $1,600 annual property tax bill just jumped to $4,574. That’s $381 per month, nearly triple the $133 per month she has paid for years. “That’s more than our mortgage ever was,” said Trout, who moved to the 4400 block of North Central 29 years ago and now owns her home outright. “I’ve made no profit on this house,” Trout said. “And I’m not going to be forced out just because prices in the neighborhood have changed!” Although the Trouts haven’t updated their home, the new assessment assumes they have. They’re expected to pay $2,287 twice a year, with the first payment due July 18.

Of the dozen homeowners interviewed for this article, most were shocked, determined to appeal and furious at state legislators who allowed this to happen. “Legislators knew for years this was pending in the tax court [due to an Indiana Supreme Court ruling]. All they had to do was be proactive,” said Roberta Ross, president of the Meridian-Kessler Neighborhood Association.

Her anger will turn to action when MKNA sponsors a summer property tax forum for homeowners and legislators (as of press time, the date was not yet set). Ross worries that the increases will affect people who make MKNA so diverse. “Older people on fixed incomes, single parents, students all might have to sell their homes, pronto. So any legislative repair will be too late for them,” she says.

State Rep. David Orentlicher, elected last November, said it’s clear to him that lawmakers will have to revisit this issue. The assessed value on his Northwestside Grandview Drive home tripled, but he hadn’t seen a tax bill as of June 28.

“To come up with $3,000 on two week’s notice, that’s not realistic. People can’t even get their houses refinanced in that time,” asserted Jack Esselman, a Meridian-Kessler resident who worries that property values will dive because of the instability caused by these taxes. “If legislators want to bring the neighborhood down, they’ve taken a good first step.”

Within days of getting his tax bill, Casey Cronin, past president of MKNA, called his mortgage company with instructions not to pay it. But he was too late. Now he’s bracing for the huge escrow increase tacked onto future mortgage payments, and he’s angry. His assessment quadrupled, and his new tax is 2.7 times the old one. “You just can’t do that to people overnight!” he says.

Like many of his neighbors, Cronin said he will appeal. People have 45 days to appeal with a four-page form that is downloadable from indygov.org/assessor/appeal (Form 130). The grounds for the appeal section asks homeowners to offer an alternative assessment and details on why a change in value should be granted.

Should anyone need a vivid detail for their appeal, try this one: A 20-year-old brick home in Carmel with 3,400 square feet, excluding the finished basement, is assessed at just under $300,000, with new property taxes lowered slightly to $1,519 twice a year. Meanwhile, a 70-year-old home in Meridian-Kessler with 2,200 square feet, excluding the basement, is also assessed at just under $300,000, but taxes are suddenly $2,565 twice a year. To join the protest, contact Linda Trout at 283-2596.