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Committee approves Gary pilot to sample appraisals for mass property disposition
Summary
SB 232 authorizes the city of Gary to commission annual sample appraisals (10 residential, 10 commercial) and use average values as a baseline offering price for similarly characterized properties through a pilot expiring Dec. 31, 2029. Supporters said the pilot will lower appraisal costs and speed sales; it passed committee 10–0.
The Senate Local Government Committee unanimously approved SB 232, which would allow the city of Gary to use a sampled-appraisal approach to set minimum offering prices when disposing of large inventories of city-owned residential and small commercial parcels.
Senator Mark Spencer said the measure would let Gary commission 10 residential and 10 commercial appraisals annually and use the average appraisal value as a baseline price for like properties, reducing the per-parcel cost of appraisals for the city (which the city said owns nearly 7,000 single-family parcels). The pilot would run annually and expire Dec. 31, 2029, and proponents said it would be no cost to the state.
Mayor Eddie Melton and Corey Sharp (planning and development) described recent investment and job commitments in Gary and argued the pilot would help move properties back onto the tax roll and support blight elimination and workforce housing efforts. Corey Sharp said the city would set transparent thresholds each year and that the sampled appraisals would substitute for the statutory requirement for two appraisals per parcel, creating a baseline for annual public offerings.
Committee members discussed safeguards—limiting purchases by city employees, whether one appraisal is sufficient in areas with few comparable sales, and the mechanics of applying a sample average to multiple parcels. Several senators volunteered to be added as authors and said they would refine amendments on second reading. The committee recorded a unanimous 10–0 vote to advance the bill.
