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Landowners at DeKalb hearing allege unfair per‑acre assessments; board cites statute
Summary
Multiple landowners told the DeKalb County Drainage Board the proposed per‑acre charges do not reflect individual benefit; board staff cited Indiana code and case law that allow watershed‑based benefit assessments, and proposed a county contribution to lower the per‑acre charge to $1,000.
Several landowners at the Aug. 6 public hearing challenged how the surveyor’s office calculated reconstruction assessments for the Oro Boulder drain, saying the board applied an even per‑acre charge rather than parcel‑specific benefit appraisals. "Each landowner's land is supposed to be appraised for the benefit or no benefit to figure the monies that you're gonna charge each property owner, and that's not what you're doing," said Jim High, a resident.
Staff and legal counsel told the board that Indiana code and Indiana Supreme Court precedent allow the surveyor and board to treat watershed acreage as a benefit factor unless persuasive evidence shows otherwise. Landowners continued to press for a tiered or repair‑focused approach to reduce large lump‑sum bills; one board member proposed reducing assessments to $1,000 per acre and taking a commissioner contribution (cited in the meeting as about $178,000) to offset the remainder so that the board could reconvene with updated rolls.
