Here are five things to know about the issue.
1. Property taxes were not collected on the three ambulance garages for several years. Now, Valparaiso-based Porter Health Care System, which operates the hospital, is expected to soon receive a bill to make up for that time, according to the report.
2. Assessed values on the three ambulance garages total $5.2 million for the four tax years to be charged (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015), according to calculations by Porter (Ind.) County Assessor Jon Snyder.
3. According to The Times, Porter County Councilman Jim Biggs discovered the hospital’s back taxes as part of the scrutiny of the ambulance contract that took place after the Porter County Board of Commissioners agreed to modify and extend the agreement near the end of 2014 without first seeking competitive bids. Turns out the contract, which provides ambulance service throughout the unincorporated areas of the county, contains a clause requiring the hospital to pay taxes on the three ambulance garages, according to the report.
4. Mr. Biggs has blamed the lack of payment on the county government rather than the hospital. “We can’t expect people to pay their taxes if we allow some people to get away from paying their taxes,” he said, according to the report.
5. Still, Kelly Credit, director of system strategy and marketing for Porter Health Care System, told The Times the organization “will fulfill our tax commitments to Porter County.”
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