1 STATE OF INDIANA ) ) SS: 2 COUNTY OF MONROE ) 3 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MONROE COUNTY 4 CAUSE NO. 53C06-2203-PL-000509 5 6 COUNTY RESIDENTS AGAINST ANNEXATION, ) INC., an Indiana not for profit ) 7 corporation, et al. ) ) 8 ) ) 9 Remonstrators/Appellants/Petitioners,) ) 10 -vs- ) ) 11 THE COMMON COUNCIL of the City of ) Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, ) 12 et al. ) ) 13 Respondents. ) 14 15 DEPOSITION OF JUDITH A. SHARP 16 17 The deposition upon oral examination of JUDITH A. SHARP, a witness produced and sworn before me, 18 Colleen Brady, Notary Public in and for the County of Monroe, State of Indiana, taken on behalf of the 19 Respondents, at the offices of Bloomington City Hall, 401 North Morton Street, Room 225, 20 Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, on the 14th day of February 2024, at 9:00 a.m., pursuant 21 to the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure with written notice as to time and place thereof. 22 23 24 25 2 1 APPEARANCES 2 FOR THE PETITIONERS: 3 William J. Beggs BUNGER & ROBERTSON 4 211 South College Avenue Bloomington, IN 47404 5 812.332.9295 wjbeggs@lawbr.com 6 7 FOR THE RESPONDENTS: 8 Stephen C. Unger 9 BOSE MCKINNEY & EVANS LLP 111 Monument Circle 10 Suite 2700 Indianapolis, IN 46204 11 317.684.5000 sunger@boselaw.com 12 Andrew M. McNeil 13 BOSE MCKINNEY & EVANS LLP 111 Monument Circle 14 Suite 2700 Indianapolis, IN 46204 15 317.684.5000 amcneil@boselaw.com 16 17 18 19 ALSO PRESENT: 20 Margaret Clements 21 22 23 24 25 3 1 INDEX OF EXAMINATION 2 Page 3 DIRECT EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Questions by Stephen C. Unger 4 CROSS-EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 5 Questions by William J. Beggs 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4 1 INDEX OF EXHIBITS 2 Page Deposition Exhibit No.: 3 Exhibit 1 - Map of City of Bloomington . . . . . . 9 4 proposed annexation areas 5 Exhibit 2 - Notice of expert deposition . . . . .13 6 Exhibit 3 - Tax analysis document . . . . . . . .17 7 Exhibit 4 - Monroe County 2024 tax rates . . . . .17 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 5 1 (Time noted: 9:07 a.m.) 2 JUDITH A. SHARP, 3 having been duly sworn to tell the truth, the whole 4 truth, and nothing but the truth relating to said 5 matter, was examined and testified as follows: 6 7 DIRECT EXAMINATION, 8 QUESTIONS BY STEPHEN C. UNGER: 9 Q Good morning, Ms. Sharp. How are you? 10 A I am fine. Thank you. 11 Q We just met this morning. 12 A Yes, we did. 13 Q Correct, first time? 14 A Yes, we did. 15 Q Have you ever been deposed before? 16 A Uh-huh. Tax court case. 17 Q Tax court. Appeals? 18 A I don't know what it was. Appeals. 19 Q Tax appeals. Any other civil cases? 20 A No. 21 Q I want to kind of go over ground rules, we'll 22 call them. One thing is, you may recall, we 23 have a court reporter here. She is going to 24 write down everything you say. She can't 25 obviously write down if you shake your head 6 1 "yes" or "no." So please remember to answer 2 "yes" or -- 3 A It's really hard to remember that, yes, but I 4 will. 5 Q And you understand you're under oath? 6 A I do. 7 Q Is there any reason you believe you can't answer 8 truthfully or completely to the questions I'm 9 going to ask you today? 10 A No. 11 Q If you don't understand a question I ask you or 12 if there's some reason you believe any question 13 you can't answer it truthfully or completely, 14 will you let me know? 15 A I will. 16 Q Hopefully this won't go much more than this 17 morning, but if you need a break, certainly just 18 ask. The only thing I would ask is you finish 19 the answer to the question that I've asked 20 you -- 21 A Of course. 22 Q -- before we take a break. But if you need one 23 just let us know. 24 A Thank you. 25 Q What did you do to prepare for your deposition 7 1 today? 2 A Well, long story, 38 years in this business 3 being the assessor. All of this that I'm going 4 to be speaking of is what I do every day. 5 Taxes, talking about tax rates, the assessments. 6 I just went over that area, the 1A, 1B. I 7 go to that area all the time, those houses. I 8 know these properties. So I looked at 9 assessments, I looked at the tax rates and, 10 basically, just reviewed that whole area and the 11 paperwork I just gave you, showing you the 12 difference between county and city rates. 13 Q That's long term. Short term, what did you do 14 specifically to prepare for the deposition? 15 Did you do any prep work after you received 16 the notice of the deposition -- 17 A No. 18 Q -- for today? Okay. Didn't talk to anybody 19 about your deposition before today? 20 A I guess whining to my husband that I had to be 21 here today. Does that count? 22 Q Sure. 23 A I'll be very honest about it. 24 Q Anybody besides your husband? 25 A Well, my staff all knows I'm here. 8 1 Q Anybody else besides your staff? I just want to 2 make sure -- 3 A Bill and I have talked -- I mean, knows I'm 4 going to be here. We just talked to each other 5 last night just to say are we still on for 9:00 6 this morning. 7 Q Anybody else? 8 A Not that I can think of. 9 Q Did you review any documents in prep for today? 10 A I reviewed -- reviewed the 1A and 1B just to 11 refresh my memory of the maps, where they really 12 are. I looked at the -- my staff printed out 13 the things we've already given you, the 14 Van Buren, Perry, Bloomington, and the Richland 15 taxes or the assessments, overall. Not 16 individually. It was just sort of, you know, an 17 average of all those places. I looked at all 18 those. 19 Have I looked at it since, when we first 20 started this? Yes, I went over them again 21 yesterday just to make sure that I knew what I 22 was doing. And that was it. 23 Q And we'll get to those in a minute, but that's 24 the material you brought with you today? 25 A Yes, sir. 9 1 Q That's what you reviewed? That's a "yes"? 2 A Oh, I'm so sorry, yes. 3 Q Did you review Bloomington's expert reports at 4 all? 5 A I glanced at it. To be very honest with you, I 6 just glanced at them. I've seen them. I looked 7 at them. I read maybe the first page and I 8 thought, you know, no. I mean, it's fine. I 9 just didn't really -- my expertise is all of 10 this. 11 Q So you didn't -- if I'm understanding correctly, 12 you did not form an opinion about the reports? 13 A I thought they were very long and wordy. How's 14 that, to be very truthful. 15 MR. MCNEIL: That's fact. That's not an 16 opinion. 17 THE WITNESS: That wasn't an opinion. That 18 was totally a fact. 19 MR. UNGER: I just want to make sure and I 20 think you talked about this. We already touched 21 on this, but I want to make sure we're talking 22 about the same things. I'm going to mark 23 Exhibit 1. 24 (Deposition Exhibit 1 marked for 25 identification.) 10 1 THE WITNESS: Let me get my real glasses. 2 These are actually my maps from the GIS, my GIS. 3 Just thought I'd tell you that. 4 MR. UNGER: I'll let you get your glasses 5 out. 6 THE WITNESS: Yeah, give me a second here. 7 Okay. 8 BY MR. UNGER 9 Q I'm sorry, I want to make sure -- are you saying 10 you prepared this map? 11 A No. We have the same map. I mean, we all use 12 the same GIS. 13 Q The maps are -- 14 A Have I seen these, yes. 15 Q So I just want to make sure when I talk today, 16 when we generally talk about Bloomington's 17 annexations or the annexations, we're talking 18 about the annexations that are on this map. You 19 understand that? 20 A Correct. 21 Q So when I say you had already mentioned Area 1A 22 and 1B, we're talking about the 1A and 1B areas 23 that are on the map in green? 24 A Correct. 25 Q If I use the term as well, remonstrators, you 11 1 understand what I'm talking about? 2 A I do. 3 Q You understand that's the property owners that 4 have -- or are actually remonstrating against 5 the annexations? 6 A I do. 7 Q Same thing, when I talk about landowners, you 8 understand I'm talking about the landowners in 9 the annexation territories? 10 A I do. 11 Q You can set that aside. Do you live in any of 12 the annexation areas? 13 A I do not. 14 Q Where do you live? 15 A I live in Salt Creek Township on Pine Grove 16 Road. And it's approximately about -- I live 17 about 4 to 5 miles outside the city limits. 18 Q Do you own any property in any of the annexation 19 areas? 20 A No. 21 Q So I assume you did not sign the remonstrance 22 petition? 23 A No, sir, I did not. 24 Q Does any of your family own any property -- 25 A I'm it. There is no family other than me and my 12 1 husband. So to answer your question, no. 2 Q Thank you. When did you first become aware of 3 Bloomington's proposed annexations? 4 A I couldn't tell you the exact time, but it was 5 probably the very same day it was announced. 6 Whenever that was. 7 Q Around 2017. Does that sound accurate? 8 A I suppose. 9 Q Prior to the first round of the annexation being 10 stopped by the legislature -- 11 A Correct. 12 Q -- you're aware of? Okay. I would assume 13 you've communicated with people about the 14 annexation since 2017? 15 A I have. 16 Q Have you emailed with people about the 17 annexation? 18 A No. 19 Q Never have? 20 A Not that I know of. I just -- I doubt it. 21 Q Okay. 22 MR. MCNEIL: Can we go off the record for a 23 second? 24 (Off the record.) 25 13 1 BY MR. UNGER 2 Q I hand you what I marked as Exhibit 2. And I'll 3 give you a second to take a look at that. 4 Have you reviewed that before today? 5 (Deposition Exhibit 2 marked for 6 identification.) 7 A I did. 8 Q When did you review it? 9 A In the last week or so. I just got it. 10 Q Okay. I want to have you turn to page 2. 11 Actually, if I start at the top -- the bottom of 12 page 1, it includes language that "You're 13 commanded pursuant to the court case management 14 order to produce documents listed below no later 15 than Monday, February 12, 2024, at 9 a.m." Go 16 to page 2. It says "Your complete file, 17 documents, and non-privileged communications in 18 connection with this matter or annexation by the 19 City of Bloomington." 20 What steps did you take to comply with this 21 subpoena? 22 A Actually, what I did, because I never get rid of 23 an email, so I went back as far as -- I have 24 90,000 emails. I just went back on the whole 25 chain, you know, to see, and I had nothing. 14 1 Q And how did you search? What search terms did 2 you use? 3 A There's a little box at the top that says search 4 and I just put in "Annexation," I put "City of 5 Bloomington." I just put anything like that, 6 that would pop up, and I didn't find anything. 7 That doesn't mean that maybe someone that's 8 a little smarter than me can sit down and look 9 at my emails that there's nothing. 10 Q When you say "emails," are you talking about -- 11 what email address? 12 A Jsharp@co.monroe.in.us. That's the county 13 email. That's the only email I have. 14 Q You don't have a personal email aside from that? 15 A I do not. 16 Q You brought a couple of documents with you 17 today. Were there any other documents that you 18 have relating to the city's annexations besides 19 the materials that you brought today? 20 A Just that report that the other side gave, that 21 thick thing. I have that. I left it in the 22 car. 23 Q The fiscal plan? 24 A Yeah. I left it in the car. And this, this is 25 it (indicating). 15 1 Q You don't have any other material besides what 2 you brought today? 3 A No, sir. 4 Q Besides these, the city's annexations, have you 5 been involved in any other annexations? 6 A Not that I can remember. I don't know if the 7 city has ever annexed -- I can't remember if 8 we've -- no, they have, over the years, annexed 9 different things. I was never personally 10 involved. 11 Q Any other annexations in other counties, 12 others -- 13 A No. 14 Q -- around the state? 15 A No, I have not. 16 Q Have you studied any other annexations besides 17 these? 18 A No. 19 Q So you have not done any comparison of 20 Bloomington's annexations to other annexations? 21 A No, sir. 22 Q Are you a certified public accountant? 23 A No, I am not. 24 Q Are you certified financial advisor? 25 A No. 16 1 Q Are you a certified financial planner? 2 A No. 3 Q Have you ever prepared an annexation fiscal 4 plan? 5 A No. 6 Q Do you consider yourself to be an expert on 7 fiscal plans? 8 A No. 9 Q Do you consider yourself to be an expert on 10 annexations? 11 A No. 12 Q Have you ever prepared an annexation tax impact 13 analysis? 14 A Just what I've handed you. If you want to call 15 it that. 16 Q Let's go ahead -- I'm going to mark Exhibit 3. 17 You have the original. 18 A Oh, my stuff. Sure. 19 MR. UNGER: I have a sticker here. Let's 20 go off the record for a second. 21 (Off the record.) 22 BY MR. UNGER 23 Q I have handed you -- or you've handed me, 24 actually, two documents and we marked them as 25 exhibits. 17 1 One is Exhibit 3, and one is Exhibit 4. 2 You understand that? 3 (Deposition Exhibits 3 and 4 marked for 4 identification.) 5 A I do. 6 Q These are the two documents you handed to me 7 this morning; correct? 8 A Correct. 9 Q And this is the first time you've provided them 10 to me? 11 A Yes. 12 Q When you talk about your file and you say "The 13 documents I provided you this morning," are 14 these the two documents you're talking about? 15 A They are. 16 Q Is there anything else in your file besides 17 these? 18 A No. 19 Q Are you an expert on calculating tax rates in 20 Indiana? 21 A I wouldn't call myself an expert. I probably 22 know more than most people do. 23 Q I'm going to start probably with Exhibit 4 24 'cause that one is the shorter one. 25 Can you tell us what Exhibit 4 is? 18 1 A I can. This is the document that I get every 2 year. And it's from the Department of -- 3 Indiana -- the Department of Local Government 4 Finance, the DLGF. They send this out to 5 everyone in the county and the city. This is 6 the newest one I got. 7 What I did, I pulled that yesterday just to 8 give a comparison because I've already given you 9 the whole thing for '23, but I wanted to see 10 also how it would change for '24. And that's 11 taxes due in '23 and then taxes due in '24. 12 These are the new rates. The old rates. 13 So the furthest column, that's the '23 14 rate. What I did, I went into the four township 15 that are impacted in the annexation just to show 16 you the difference in county and city tax rates. 17 The first one is 004, which is Bloomington 18 Township in '23, the tax rate for '23. And you 19 do have to use the whole number there. It's 20 $1.4 -- $1.4532. And then that's the county 21 rate. And then in 005, the Bloomington City 22 Township rate is 2.0290. That's a 57.38 cents 23 difference between the two tax rates. 24 Did the same thing for '24. And I'll tell 25 you right now, gentlemen, most of the time our 19 1 tax rates don't go down year after year. I've 2 seen them go down a little bit over the years, 3 but for the most part, it's pretty average. 4 It's standard. It goes up a little bit. 5 So for the new tax rate for 2024, 6 Bloomington Township is now 1.5053, and the city 7 is 2.1215. That is a total of 61 -- 61.62 8 difference in those two tax rates between the 9 county and the city. 10 What I did there, then, was go ahead and 11 figure out the percentage of the difference just 12 on the average. In '23, 40 percent increase -- 13 not increase, difference between the city and 14 the county and the same in '24 for Bloomington 15 City. 16 Then you go down to Perry Townships and 17 Perry City. Very, very similar. In '23, Perry 18 Township is 1.4489. A little bit less than the 19 Bloomington City was, and then the -- 20 Bloomington Township, I'm sorry. Then Perry 21 City rate is 2.0247. That's a -- 22 Q Sorry, I'm going to interrupt you. I'll stop 23 you there. I want to ask you some specific 24 questions. 25 A Sure. Go ahead. 20 1 Q This sheet, the underlying sheet, you did not 2 prepare the district rates for 2023 and 2024. 3 That is a sheet that comes from the DLGF? 4 A That comes from the state, yes, sir. 5 Q Did you write the "For comparison only," on the 6 report, or is that -- 7 A No, the state does that every year. 8 Q Then there's highlighting in yellow on the 9 report. 10 A That was me. 11 Q And then there's blue handwriting -- 12 A That's all my handwriting. Sitting there, 13 figuring out the difference. Because if I'm 14 going to speak to this, you need to see the 15 numbers. 16 Q Everything else on here, the underlying rate and 17 everything else on the report was prepared by 18 the DLGF? 19 A Correct. 20 Q Do you know what -- when I use the term tax rate 21 circuit breaker, do you know what that is? 22 A I do. 23 Q What is it? Can you explain -- 24 A No. 25 Q -- what the circuit breaker is? 21 1 A I can't. 2 Q You understand it's the tax caps? 3 A It is the tax caps, yes. I do understand that, 4 but to explain it to people, you need an auditor 5 sitting here. 6 Q Do you know what the tax caps are, or what 7 the -- 8 A Yes, I do. 9 Q -- circuit breaker rates are? 10 A 1 percent for homesteads. 2 percent for 11 non-homesteads, and then 3 percent for 12 commercial. 13 Q Have you calculated the circuit breaker impact 14 from Bloomington's annexations? 15 A I have not. 16 Q Have you calculated the circuit breaker impact 17 for any annexations? 18 A I have not -- I have not calculated it. 19 Q What is LIT? 20 (The reporter requested clarification.) 21 Q What is LIT, L-I-T? Do you know what LIT is? 22 A That is another -- I'm not really sure. I know 23 they talk about LITs all the time. 24 Q Do you know what the current LIT rate is for -- 25 A I do not. I don't have to deal with that. 22 1 Q So I assume you don't know what the components 2 are for the LIT rate? 3 A Not really. 4 Q Do you know what LIT can be used for? 5 A It's always special. Like, we're using LIT, 6 don't we, for the courts. You know, it's all 7 sort of special stuff. I don't get into that. 8 That's auditors once again. 9 Q And so I assume you haven't calculated the LIT 10 impact as a result of -- 11 A I have not. 12 Q -- the Bloomington's annexations? 13 A No. 14 Q Have you calculated the financial impact to 15 landowners as a result of Bloomington's 16 annexations? 17 A Big picture, no. 18 Q Small picture? 19 A Small picture, yes. 20 Q Can you explain that? 21 A Yes. What I did was go in and do an aggregate. 22 If you want to get into that, that's on 23 Exhibit 3, when we were just giving you -- I 24 didn't pick any special house or anything. We 25 just went into each township, kind of went to 23 1 the average of what was going on, and that's 2 what we're showing on all of this. Breaking it 3 down. I can go over it with you. 4 Q Let me ask you on Exhibit 3, did you yourself 5 prepare Exhibit 3? 6 A I sat with me staff that does it off the 7 computer. 8 Q So your staff did the report? 9 A With me sitting right there telling what I 10 wanted, yeah. 11 Q Sorry. You had shaken your head. 12 A I know, I'm shaking my head. 13 Q So "Yes," your staff did. Is this -- 14 MR. BEGGS: Whoa, wait, wait. That 15 misstates her testimony. 16 Q I'm sorry. Go ahead. Did you -- let me ask 17 again to be clear. 18 Did you prepare this report? Or did your 19 staff prepare it? 20 A I prepare it along with my staff. I don't know 21 what else I can say. When I'm doing something 22 like this, I'm sitting next to one of my staff 23 and we're going -- we're deciding what we want, 24 and they put it in, and I agree to it. 25 Q Who on your staff -- 24 1 A This was Allie Govia. 2 Q How do you spell her name? 3 A G-o-v-i-a, I believe. 4 (The reporter requested clarification.) 5 THE WITNESS: Oh, I'm sorry. G-o-v-i-a, 6 Allie's last name. 7 Q When was this prepared? 8 A When we started looking at all of this for this 9 testimony; so just recently. I couldn't give 10 you a date. 11 Q Within the last week? 12 A Oh, good -- no. It's been at least a couple -- 13 three months. 14 Q Before the end of last year, or since the 15 beginning of this year? 16 A Around the end of last year. Of '23. 17 Q Have there been any updates to this since it was 18 prepared in 2023? 19 A No. 20 Q Did you share it with anybody when you prepared 21 it in 2023? 22 A 2023, I don't remember if I did. My staff has 23 seen this. We've talked about it. I'm sure 24 I've talked to -- I'm not even sure if I even 25 talked to Bill Beggs about it until I knew I had 25 1 to start testifying. 2 Q And that would have been -- 3 A I don't know. Whenever it was that you decided 4 I was going to be subpoenaed or, you know, 5 deposed. 6 Q Did you email it to anyone? 7 A No. Oh, no. 8 Q Did you share it with Ms. Clements? 9 A No, not at all. 10 Q I want to ask you, on this report, is this an 11 Excel document? 12 A Yes, it is. 13 Q Does that document exist in Excel format with 14 the formulas, I assume, for the columns to do 15 the calculations? 16 A I'm not really sure. That's what my staff does. 17 Q Is there any reason you couldn't give us a copy 18 of this in Excel, in that original Excel format? 19 A We can try. 20 Q Has anyone ever asked you -- 21 A Absolutely not. 22 Q -- for Excel format? 23 So I want to start on the first page of 24 Exhibit 3, titled "Estimated Average of Tax 25 Increase Due to Annexation." So your staff -- 26 1 is it your testimony that your staff filled in 2 these calculations? 3 A Yes. 4 Q Who created the original spreadsheet? 5 A It would have been Allie Govia. 6 Q Was it something she created specifically for 7 this annexation, or is that -- 8 A Yes. 9 Q -- something she -- if you could let me finish 10 my question. 11 A Oh, I'm sorry. 12 MR. BEGGS: Let me just show objection. I 13 think, counsel, you're misstating her testimony 14 earlier, which is that it was prepared by her 15 with the assistance of Ms. Govia. And I think a 16 couple of times you, maybe, stated that 17 differently. So show that objection to form. 18 Q You'll have to bear with me 'cause this is the 19 first time I've seen this. 20 A Okay. 21 Q I may take a little bit of time here between 22 some of my questions. 23 Maybe you could explain to me, in the first 24 chart at the top, on "Property type average 25 assessed value per cap," what are we showing 27 1 here? 2 A Sure. This is what you were asking me about, 3 the caps. Cap 1, what we did was just take an 4 average house. Just, you know, $270,000 in 5 Monroe County is an average cost of a home. 6 Q Let me -- is there data that shows that's the 7 average? 8 A Yes, yes. 9 Q Where is that? 10 A I don't know. You can find it everywhere. 11 Anyway, we took a $270,000 house. This is 12 just to show you what will happen. That's in a 13 Cap 1 because it's a homestead property. So 14 Cap 1, it's showing the parcel count in the 15 whole -- 2,990 homes are in this annexation 16 area, 1A, 1B. That's in the homesteads, 2,990. 17 Tax difference per parcel, when we -- this is 18 probably what you're asking for. We took the 19 average tax rate between all of that. It would 20 come up to $842 on the average increase for the 21 $270,000 home. 22 Q I'm sorry, I want to make sure I understand. 23 The $842 average, where is that pulled from? 24 A That's pulled from the data we have in our some 25 to get to an average on a $270,000 home with all 28 1 of the -- you know, with a homestead on it, 2 without all the other exceptions and all the 3 other stuff, the difference in the tax rate on 4 those would average out about $842 difference 5 increase. 6 Q The difference in the tax rate between if the -- 7 A The taxes -- 8 Q -- pre and post cap? 9 A Yes. The taxes that that individual homeowner's 10 going to have to pay by moving out of the county 11 into the city, on average, would be about $842. 12 Q I'm trying to make sure I understand because 13 there are two things we're talking about. One 14 is tax caps, and one is annexations. 15 So your testimony is that the average 16 property at $270,000 will have an $842 increase? 17 A Correct. 18 Q After annexation? 19 A Yes. 20 Q That's what I want to make sure I understand is 21 your testimony. 22 A Yes, uh-huh. 23 Q And then -- 24 A The last one? 25 Q And you said, I'm sorry, on $842, you said data 29 1 from your system. What are you referring to 2 there? 3 A When we put all the assessments in there -- in 4 the whole area, the two areas -- that's how we 5 came up with the 270. We're just using 270. 6 I'm not looking at an individual, but 270 is an 7 average homestead assessment. And so 842 times 8 2,005 -- shoot I can't see it -- 2,990 comes to 9 an average difference on the parcel sample of 10 $2,517,580. That is the increase in homesteads 11 from going from the county to the city. 12 Q Is that in 1A and 1B? 13 A Correct, both of them. 14 Q I still want to -- I'm sorry, I'm not following 15 where you got the data for 842. Did you prepare 16 a report of all the tax increases -- 17 A We took that 270 -- 18 Q I'm sorry, let me finish my question. Did you 19 prepare a report of all of the tax increases to 20 the parcels as a result of the annexation? 21 A No. 22 Q So how did -- explain -- 23 A See that $270,000? 24 Q Yes, ma'am. 25 A We took that, times an average tax rate between 30 1 all of this and in the county and the city, and 2 it came out to an average of $842. I'm just 3 doing average. Period. 4 Q What year's tax rates did you use for that? 5 A '23. 6 Q And then the following lines, then, would be for 7 a residential non-homestead. You went through 8 the same process? 9 A Same process through the non-homesteads. I went 10 through the apartments, then we went to other 11 commercials. The 1 million and above are the 12 commercials, and then we went to the 10 million 13 and above commercials. You will see, once we 14 did all of those, we gave you a count. The 15 apartments -- let's just use those. 16 In those two areas, the 1A and 1B, I don't 17 have a whole lot of apartments; I have seven. 18 You'll just see the tax difference there also on 19 the average: 12,782, which means 89,000. It's 20 not -- nothing is quite as large as the 21 individual homes. 22 Same with when we get to the other 23 commercials, it was 12 million. I only had two 24 of those. And I actually delineated those for 25 you out here. It's Walmart and Monroe Hospital. 31 1 Both of those are in there. We did those and 2 showed you just what there's would be with a 3 gross assess and everything. That was the 7. 4 And then the industrial. Out there in that 5 area, there's a lot more industrial property in 6 Van Buren and in Richland Township. That's what 7 you're seeing here. 8 Q For these designations from residential, 9 residential, non-homestead apartments -- 10 A Correct. 11 Q -- and industrial, is that information that was 12 just pulled from the parcel cards from the 13 properties? 14 A That is from our data. Not just the parcel 15 cards but everything we do. Those -- that is 16 set by the state, these homesteads, residential, 17 we have -- that all points to all of this. 18 Q By other data, is it data that I would be able 19 to find in the parcel cards for the individual 20 properties? 21 A Sure. 22 Q I wouldn't need to look somewhere else to find 23 that? 24 A You can find the parcel cards. 25 Q If I look at the industrial, the 1,739,340; 73 32 1 parcels. The tax difference per parcel, the 2 10,050 -- or $10,015 -- 3 A Correct. 4 Q How did you come up with $10,015? 5 A That was the difference in what they would be 6 paying if they were staying in the county. But 7 going into the city, we just did the average tax 8 rate and came up with 10,000. 9 Q Did you look at all 73 of those parcels to come 10 up with the average? Or did you just apply the 11 tax rate to the average, the 1.7 million? 12 A Yes, that's what we did. The average. 13 Q Just applied the average to the 1.7 million? 14 A Yes, I did. 15 Q So you didn't do it parcel by parcel? 16 A I did not. 17 Q I see three -- below the chart, there's three 18 stars: average, average assessed value per -- 19 let me ask this. These three starts right below 20 that chart, do they relate to this chart or the 21 one below? 22 A That one right above. 23 Q The second star says "This is not a full 24 calculation of all parcels in proposed 25 annexation area." What does that mean? 33 1 A That means I only did the average. I didn't do 2 individual ones. 3 Q The next star, it is a sampling of impact using 4 the average assessed value at various property 5 types. 6 A Correct. 7 Q The same -- 8 A Same thing. 9 Q Same thing. The next chart, then, below that. 10 The differences in tax rates. 11 A Correct. 12 Q Did you calculate these tax rates yourself, or 13 were these pulled from the DLGF? 14 A Pulled from the DLGF. 15 Q The next star "Used Bloomington Township and 16 City for all estimates below." What does that 17 mean? 18 A That means that's what we used for these 19 estimates. We used Bloomington Township and 20 City when we did all of this. Because if we'd 21 gone down to Van Buren, it gets too specific, I 22 thought. We just used the average, which would 23 have been Bloomington Township and City. 24 Q To make sure I understand, in the chart above, 25 when we're looking at the tax differential per 34 1 parcel average that you calculated, you used 2 Bloomington Township and the Bloomington City 3 rate in -- 4 A Correct. 5 Q -- Bloomington Township for all of those 6 calculations? 7 A I did. 8 Q Even if the parcels were in Bloomington 9 Township? 10 A Correct. 11 Q If I go to the second page, the second page and 12 the following pages, was this spreadsheet -- 13 again, is it in Excel format? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Was that Excel document created by Allie? 16 A Actually -- well, yes and no. It is in the 17 Gateway. You can see up here, tax estimate per 18 Gateway tax bill estimator. You can go on to 19 the DLGF website, and you put in the number they 20 ask for. In this case, this is just mirroring 21 what is over here on the first sheet. This is 22 showing the $270,000 house, the average. You 23 put that in. The net assess value, that's after 24 the homesteads would be taken off, the homestead 25 deduction. Then that gives you the net and then 35 1 the gross annual taxes of 2,125. 2 There was no -- they had not hit the tax 3 cap in the township yet. So there's no 4 difference there. And taxes due to property 5 tax, exempt tax rate, $271. This comes directly 6 from the Gateway tax estimate. 7 We do that all the time for customers. 8 Customers can -- you can do it for yourself. 9 Then it just gives you all of that. This is the 10 township. 11 Q I'm sorry. I want to make sure I'm clear. So I 12 can go to the Gateway -- this email address at 13 the top, Gateway.ifionline.org/calculatorsDLGF, 14 and does it have this exact spreadsheet in it? 15 A Yes, sir. You just put your own numbers in. 16 Your own numbers would be your house. Your 17 assess value that you just got from me, put it 18 in there, and it's going to calculate. 19 So we didn't do anything but what Gateway 20 does, and that's where we come up with all of 21 this. 22 Q If I understand, so you would have then plugged 23 in $27,000 and that automatically populates all 24 the other -- 25 A Correct. 36 1 Q So it automatically calculates the net assessed 2 value? 3 A This is a homestead property; so homestead, they 4 do take the homestead in consideration here. 5 Q So if I see gross assessed values, 270, do you 6 know what all, when it says "net" what changes 7 are made from -- 8 A The homestead. The homestead exemption, which 9 is 48,000 off of the 270. 10 Q That is the only item taken off to get to the 11 net? 12 A That's the only thing we have left that's just 13 automatic. There -- yes. 14 Q And is this spreadsheet or chart, is it 15 specialized to Monroe County and Bloomington on 16 the DLGF? Or is it the exact same chart no 17 matter what county I was in? 18 A It has to be specific to the township and the 19 county because that's where they pull the tax 20 rate so they'll know what it is. 21 Q So it already has the tax rate on the chart? 22 A Uh-huh. You see right there, 1.45? 23 Q Yes. 24 A That's it. 25 Q You didn't have to plug in or Allie didn't have 37 1 to plug in -- 2 A No, sir. Don't have to do that at all. 3 Q The DLGF already has that included? 4 A Uh-huh. 5 Q The same thing on that, if I look further to the 6 right, there's residential city. 7 A Correct. You have the township on the left, 8 residential city. By the way, I know you 9 haven't had a chance to read this, there's a -- 10 up there, it says "This estimation does not 11 include any deductions except the homestead." 12 Because you can have other deductions that we 13 don't know about or what to do with. And it 14 even goes so far to show you the difference 15 between the two, which is that $842 on the 16 average $270,000 house. 17 Q Does the DLGF website calculate that 842,000? 18 A They do. 19 Q It does? 20 A Uh-huh. 21 Q So aside from plugging in the $270,000 on both 22 for the residential township and residential 23 city, is there anything else you did to create 24 this calculation, or it all came from DLGF? 25 A All came from DLGF's website. 38 1 Q And that would be the same for all the other -- 2 A Yes, sir. 3 Q -- charts? Sorry, you were shaking your head. 4 A Yes, it is. 5 Q And then these charts, these are the charts that 6 are on page 2 through 5 of Exhibit 3, is that 7 what was then used to create the chart on the 8 first page? 9 A Correct. 10 Q Aside from Exhibit 3, have you done any other 11 calculation on the financial impact to residence 12 or landowners in the annexation areas -- 13 A I have not. 14 Q Sorry, let me -- make sure I finish my question. 15 Have you done any study on the impact to 16 landowners if the annexation does not occur? 17 MR. BEGGS: Excuse me, counsel, I just want 18 to go back a minute and clarify, object to form. 19 She also testified about Exhibit 4 that you 20 asked about earlier. And so with respect to you 21 asked about any other calculations, and 22 Exhibit 4 has already been asked about. I just 23 want to make sure we have a clear record on her. 24 Sorry to interrupt. 25 Q Aside from Exhibit 4 and Exhibit 3, have you 39 1 done any other calculation? 2 A I have not. 3 Q And I don't think you answered my last question 4 before the objection, but have you done a study 5 on the impact to landowners if the annexation 6 does not occur? 7 A No. 8 Q Have you reviewed any studies or done any 9 studies on impact to communities that cannot 10 annex adjacent urban areas? 11 A I have not. 12 Q In your role as Monroe County assessor, do you 13 assess properties differently if they are within 14 a city or town's boundaries than if they are 15 just outside of the boundaries? 16 A I do not. 17 Q If these annexations occur, will the assessor's 18 office change the assessments of the parcels as 19 a result of the annexation? 20 A No. 21 Q If an area is economically depressed, does that 22 tend to have a positive or negative impact on 23 property values? 24 A Negative. 25 Q If an area has a higher crime rate, does that 40 1 tend to have a positive or negative impact on 2 property values? 3 A Can't answer that. 4 Q If an area has poor road infrastructure, does 5 that tend to have a positive or negative impact 6 on property values? 7 A Can't answer that. 8 Q Why not? 9 A Well, first of all, repeat your question to me. 10 Q If an area has poor road infrastructure, does 11 that tend to have a positive or negative impact 12 on property values? 13 A Not necessarily negative. We have a lot of poor 14 roads in Monroe County and the City of 15 Bloomington. I don't take that into 16 consideration for market value. Market value is 17 market value, and there's a lot of stuff that 18 goes into that. 19 But bottom line is what I have to get to, 20 what that house would sell for. There's a lot 21 of things that go into that. 22 Q And you don't believe a home that's in an area 23 with high crime will sell for less than an area 24 that does not have high crime? 25 A It could but the market would tell me that. I 41 1 don't make that decision. The market does. 2 Q Do you expect that would be reflected in the 3 market? 4 A It could. 5 Q Is property worth more if it has access to sewer 6 or water than if a property has no access to 7 sewer or water? 8 A No. I can say that very frankly, no -- no, 9 water, yes, of course. Sewer, we have septic. 10 Q Let's break that down. Water, yes. If a 11 property has access to water, it will have a 12 higher value, fair market value? 13 A If you didn't have -- if you did not have water, 14 you probably wouldn't have a home sitting there. 15 Unless you're off the grid and we don't have any 16 of those in this county. 17 Q Sewer, it's your testimony, you do not need 18 access to sewer? 19 A No. 20 Q If I have a 1-acre parcel -- scratch that. 21 If I have a .3-acre parcel that does not 22 have access to sewer, is your testimony that 23 they can install a septic system? 24 A .3? 25 Q Correct. 42 1 A You wouldn't be building a house here for .3, 2 period. 3 Q Say, half an acre parcel? 4 A You can't build out in the county for less than, 5 I think, 2.5 acres now. Let's be clear, we're 6 talking county. The city has sewers. 7 Q Understood. I want to make sure I'm clear. Is 8 it your testimony that there's no parcels in the 9 annexation territories that are smaller than 2.5 10 acres? 11 A No. You're pulling in smaller parcels. But 12 you're asking me about septic. All of those 13 that are outside of the 1A and 1B, they are 14 going to have a septic system right now. 15 Someway or the other. 16 Q So if I have -- I want to make sure I'm 17 following correctly. If I have a half acre 18 parcel in area 1A or 1B, and I have access to 19 sewer service, I can build a home on it? 20 A I'm assuming so. There are houses already 21 there, is it not? 22 Q Well, I'm asking you. 23 A Well, I mean, all I can think of is I'm talking 24 about a house that's already there. So it's 25 just not -- it doesn't have an outhouse anymore. 43 1 It's going to have something. If it doesn't 2 have sewer, it's going to have septic. 3 Q It cannot be built on with a septic if it's less 4 than 2.5 acres? 5 A In the county. 6 Q You don't think that would affect the value of a 7 parcel that's half an acre? 8 A Not if it's already there. 9 Q Sorry, an undeveloped parcel -- 10 A Sure. 11 Q -- that's half an acre? Okay. 12 A Half an acre, in the county, you're not going to 13 be building on it. 14 Q Without access to sewer? 15 A Even with access to sewer. In the county, we 16 have zoning rules. I'm talking county. All of 17 those things that happened 50, 60 years ago in 18 1A and 1B, those older homes, whatever they 19 have -- they might even have sewer, I don't 20 know. I don't look at that. 21 If that house is there, they've got 22 bathrooms, it's going somewhere. I'm not the 23 one that decides if it's going to have a septic 24 system. 25 Q You understand you have been disclosed by the 44 1 remonstrators as a testifying expert in this 2 case; correct? 3 A Yes. 4 Q When were you first approached about being an 5 expert? 6 A I don't remember. 7 Q Within the last year? Two years ago? Three 8 years ago? 9 A I cannot really respond to that. I know that 10 because I'm the county assessor, I knew that I 11 would be asked to -- I'd be asked questions. 12 Never thought about even being deposed or 13 testifying. I'm always, you know, I'm available 14 if you need me. I testify a lot. So I don't 15 really remember when all this happened. 16 I know when this whole remonstrance 17 started, it was right outside my door in the 18 courthouse. All the people were there signing 19 up or against things, for things, I'm not even 20 sure. I just know that it took a doorway from 21 me that I could use, that's where they were 22 sitting. So I watched it go all day long for, I 23 don't know how many, months or years. 24 You know, when it becomes part of everyday 25 life, you don't even talk about it, don't think 45 1 about it. Does that make sense? 2 Q Well, at some point somebody asked you to 3 testify and be expert -- 4 A Well, that's what I don't remember. I mean, 5 it's just -- let's just say in the last year. 6 '23 sometime. 7 Q Before you prepared your report in -- 8 A Oh, heavens, yeah. 9 Q -- December 2023? 10 A Yeah, yeah. I knew once I was asked, I had to 11 get some documents together; so we pulled this 12 up. 13 Q Who asked you to be an expert? 14 A I would assume my attorney, Bill Beggs. 15 Q I'm sorry, you mean the remonstrators' attorney, 16 Mr. Beggs? 17 A Is that -- yeah, okay. 18 Q Is he representing you individually? 19 A No. 20 Q I mean, does he represent you in other 21 capacities? 22 A No, no, no. 23 Q What opinion were you asked to provide? 24 A He didn't ask me to provide anything. He just 25 wanted me to give facts, what this was going to 46 1 do. 2 Q So you didn't form any individual opinions, you 3 just prepared the report -- 4 A Correct. 5 Q -- showing the impact? 6 A Correct. 7 Q Okay. Have you -- so if I'm understanding your 8 testimony correct, do you have an opinion about 9 whether or not this annexation causes a 10 significant financial impact? 11 A My opinion, based upon the documents I provided 12 you, yes, it will have a significant impact. 13 Q Why? 14 A 40 percent increase in tax rates, that's why. 15 If you live in the county, your taxes will be 16 40 percent less than living in the city on 17 average. I'm giving you that breakdown. And on 18 average, it's 40 percent increase. That is a 19 significant impact on people. 20 Q Did you review any property owner's personal 21 financial data concerning the impact? 22 A Not for this. As my role as county assessor, 23 I'm in the field out in the county all the time. 24 I deal with individual taxpayers. The reason 25 I'm out there is because there's an issue with 47 1 either their property. Most people want to 2 appeal their taxes. You can't appeal your taxes 3 but I will come out and see if there's something 4 wrong with your assessment. 5 If I find something wrong, I can change 6 things. But what I hear, this is not hearsay. 7 This is me actually out in the field talking to 8 tax payers. One of the major issues in this 9 county, in the city right now, is annexation. 10 It has been ever since it was mentioned a few 11 years ago. I hear that -- I have, on average, 12 1,000 appeals every year. The number one issue 13 with county residences, they are so worried 14 about having an increase in taxes. And I can 15 understand that. This directly impacts people's 16 livelihood. 17 Q And that's based off of your analysis of 18 40 percent estimated tax increase? 19 A Correct. 20 Q That's based just off that, the 40 percent? 21 A That's also based over all my years as assessor, 22 knowing that when you go from the county into 23 the city, that's the average and it has been for 24 years and years and years. I couldn't tell you 25 how many years, but it's been years. 48 1 That is always one of the things that when 2 people ask "What's going to happen to me if I 3 have to go into -- be annexed into the city," on 4 the average, it's going to be 40 percent for 5 most people. 6 Q Had you formed that opinion before you -- 7 A Oh, yes. 8 Q -- prepared this report? 9 A Yes, very familiar with this. 10 Q When did you form that opinion? 11 A From the time I have lived in Monroe County and 12 been the assessor. 13 Q I'm sorry, when did you form the opinion it 14 would be a significant financial impact, the 15 annexation, on property owners? 16 A I became an assessor in 1986. I saw the 17 difference between the county and the city's tax 18 rate. It's always been a major difference and 19 that impacts people's taxes. That's what I deal 20 with on a daily basis. 21 I know this. I mean, I can't tell you 22 exactly when I had an aha moment. Probably the 23 first time somebody yelled at me saying "My 24 taxes went up." Well, you're living in the 25 city. 49 1 Q So anytime somebody -- somebody's annexed by the 2 city, that would be a significant financial 3 impact to them, is that your testimony? 4 A Yes, yes. 5 MR. UNGER: Can we take a short break? 6 (Recess taken from 10:06 a.m. to 7 10:18 a.m.) 8 BY MR. UNGER 9 Q I do want to ask a clarifying question earlier 10 about dispositions. Have you been deposed in 11 the last four years relating to any of your 12 assessor appeal cases? 13 A Four years, that would be before COVID? 14 Q So since 2019? 15 A I don't believe so. 16 Q Have you testified as an expert at any of those 17 assessor appeals since 2019? 18 A Yes. I've had -- well, I can't even tell you 19 how many. I testify on every appeal that I have 20 that goes to the state. Well, I testify on 21 everything, but when it goes to the state, the 22 IBTR, I am the expert witness. I am the one 23 that is the expert witness. 24 So, yes, do I testify, yes, I do. How many 25 have I done? 100 since then. Since COVID. 50 1 Q And you said IBTR? 2 A Indiana Board of Tax Review. That's the state 3 board that after, when all my appeals are heard 4 here at the local board, which is the Property 5 Tax Assessment Board of Appeals, I am the 6 secretary to that and I have a three member 7 board. They hear every appeal that we don't 8 settle informally. 9 After the board decides, yay or nay, if 10 they agree with the taxpayer, it's over unless I 11 don't agree with the board. Then I can take it 12 to the Indiana Board of Tax Review as the 13 assessor. 14 If they disagree with the taxpayer but the 15 taxpayer disagrees with the county, they can go 16 to the state and then the board falls outside of 17 this. And then it's just on the county 18 assessor. So when it goes to the state, that is 19 a full blown administrative hearing with an 20 administrative judge. That is a court of law, 21 and I have my own attorney. 22 Q You as the assessor? 23 A As the assessor. I am the one that is, you 24 know, that they're going after, as the assessor. 25 Everyone else has fallen out of it and, as the 51 1 assessor, the burden is on me. The burden is on 2 me to defend every assessment that goes to the 3 Indiana Board of Tax Review. 4 I have my own private attorney, Marilyn 5 Meighen. She represents about 82 counties. So 6 we go to board. Marilyn does all of this work 7 that you guys do all the time. The board sets 8 the hearing. The hearing can either be -- I 9 prefer it in Monroe County, but the board has 10 gotten real picky about that. They prefer it in 11 their offices. So we have to go up to the state 12 for that. 13 Q By state, you mean Indianapolis? 14 A Indianapolis. State office building is where 15 they're located. That is -- that's a big deal. 16 It can be thousands of dollars, hundreds of 17 thousands of dollars if I lose. I don't lose 18 very often. 19 Then if -- I usually win. If I win, the 20 taxpayer still has the choice or chance, if they 21 want to, to appeal to the tax court. You know 22 what the tax court is up in Indianapolis. 23 This is not a process that happens 24 overnight. It can take two or three years for 25 it to run through the system. Right now, last 52 1 week, I had two hearings that were supposed to 2 take place. And both of them fell apart the day 3 of the hearings. It wasn't because me. The 4 taxpayers just decided not to show up. So one 5 of them has been rescheduled. One of them 6 hasn't. 7 So I am in court not as much as, maybe, 8 some other assessors. I don't have that many 9 appeals go up to the state, but I have enough, 10 and it's what we do. 11 Q You testify in all those hearings? 12 A I testify, yes, sir. 13 Q At the review board level is the tax court. Do 14 you take testimony at -- 15 A At the tax -- at the tax court, I'm not allowed 16 to talk. 17 Q I'm sorry? 18 A I'm not allowed to talk at the tax court. I do 19 not like that. I think my face and my body 20 language talks a lot when I'm sitting there. 21 I'm sitting at the table, but my attorney has to 22 speak for me. Anyway. 23 Q Do you keep records of all these appeals? 24 A Oh, gosh, yes. 25 Q Did the remonstrators ask you to prepare a list 53 1 of all the cases that you had testified in, in 2 the last four years? 3 A Oh, good Lord, no. It's never been on something 4 like this. 5 Q Are you personally opposed to Bloomington's 6 annexations? 7 A Yes. 8 Q Why? 9 A I lived in the City of Bloomington for 30 -- 10 about 34 years. We just moved back out to the 11 old homesite. 12 Q What year period did you live in Bloomington? 13 A Up until four -- five years ago in November, I 14 moved back into the -- I moved back out to Salt 15 Creek. 16 Q Where did you live in Bloomington? 17 A We lived up off of 17th Street and Arlington 18 Road. We moved into the City of Bloomington in 19 1982, Steve and I. My husband and I. We moved 20 in -- Steve was a police officer at that time. 21 The police officers, if they want to advance, 22 had to live in the city. That's no longer true. 23 So we sold our home in Salt Creek. Moved into 24 town, and we couldn't afford anything at that 25 time with Steve's salary. 54 1 I worked at -- I had a Hallmark store here 2 in the city. So we bought a manufactured home 3 and moved into a mobile home park. We just 4 couldn't afford anything even in 1982. Not as a 5 police officer. 6 Anyway, four and a half years ago, almost 7 five years ago, we had a chance to move back 8 into Salt Creek. We decided it was time to 9 leave no reason other than we had a chance to 10 move back home. 11 Q Is your husband still a police officer for the 12 city? 13 A He retired -- he was chief and then became 14 sheriff. After his term of sheriff was over, he 15 went to Monroe Hospital as the chief of -- head 16 of security. He was there for 14 years. 17 He retired two years ago Christmas. So 18 he's been home now. He's a househusband. It's 19 almost two and a half years. It's been pretty 20 cool to be very honest with you. So he finally 21 retired. 22 Q He was the chief of police for City of 23 Bloomington? 24 A City of Bloomington for over eight years. And 25 he was sheriff for over eight -- just at eight 55 1 years. 2 Q Elected twice? 3 A Twice. 4 Q So I apologize. I, a little bit, interrupted 5 you. You were explaining why you were opposed 6 to Bloomington's annexations. 7 A I don't think it's something -- I know if I was 8 living closer in the city, like they are, I 9 would not want to have to pay the extra -- it 10 comes down to tax dollars. Frankly, I don't see 11 that I would get any more services than I would 12 have here, that I already have out in the 13 county. 14 Personally, I just don't think we need to 15 annex those communities. 16 Q Are you testifying in your official capacity as 17 the Monroe County assessor? 18 A Unless I state my own opinion, yes. 19 Q Is it one of the assessor's duties to form 20 opinions on annexations? 21 A No. 22 Q What are the duties of the county assessor? 23 A In a nutshell, I assess all real and personal 24 property for taxation purposes. That's it in a 25 nutshell. 56 1 Q And by "assess," you mean assign a fair market 2 value? 3 A Fair market value in use for all properties both 4 real and personal. 5 Q When you say "in use," you mean as it's being 6 used currently? 7 A Correct. That's the tax court case Town of 8 St. Johns, 1999. 9 Q Did the assessor also play a role in inheritance 10 taxes? 11 A We used to. The state did away with inheritance 12 tax. 13 Q What role does the assessor's office play with 14 respect to GIS? 15 A Actually, I, as the assessor, in 1991, started 16 the GIS for the county. When I came in, Steve, 17 my husband, was chief at that time. The City of 18 Bloomington had already started working on GIS 19 system. I didn't know anything about it. But 20 as part of my role and education and everything, 21 the IAAO -- which is the International 22 Association of Assessing Officials -- that's 23 like your bar association or medical 24 association. It's the people that are over all 25 the assessor throughout the United States and 57 1 internationally. They set up standards, best 2 practices, standards, everything. 3 When I came in in '90 -- I came in in '86 4 as township assessor. Bloomington Township. 5 Four years. Then, I ran for county and was 6 elected. 7 So in '91, I came in and I started really 8 researching 'cause it's a whole different 9 ballgame: county versus the old township and 10 they're gone now. But I started really 11 researching, and I came across a IAAO article 12 about GIS for assessors. It was a new tool back 13 in those days. I didn't know anything about it 14 when I started reading. And then I also knew 15 that they started using it here in the city. 16 And I had connections with the city. I pick up 17 the phone and called the mayor and said, "Can I 18 look at yours?" And she said, "Sure. Come on 19 down." 20 So that was a learning experience for a 21 couple of years. The city asked for the 22 county's plat maps. We held the plat maps. The 23 city doesn't. So we gave the city our plat 24 maps. 25 Q I'm sorry, when you say "we," do you mean the -- 58 1 A County -- 2 Q -- assessor's office? 3 A The county. The county. When I say "we," I'm 4 the county. The county gave -- 5 Q I'm sorry, are you speaking -- 6 A I can speak for this, yes. I'm speaking for the 7 county. 8 The county, which would have been the 9 auditor's office, gave the city access to the 10 plats to put on their GIS system for a computer. 11 Q The assessor's office, does it maintain the 12 plats? 13 A The auditor maintains them, maintains the plats. 14 Q Auditor. The GIS department, is it governed by 15 the assessor currently? 16 A No. We have our own body now. But in 1991, 17 '92, I went to the counsel. I, the assessor, 18 said, "We need the GIS." So working with the 19 other GIS people in other counties that -- my 20 data, the assessor's data, that's the base of 21 GIS. That's your land. That's everything. You 22 have the plats, but everything within that is 23 out of my office. So the counsel said -- 24 Q I'm sorry -- 25 A The county counsel. 59 1 Q You keep track of changes in ownership for the 2 GIS? 3 A Every bit of it. Every bit of it, yes, sir. 4 That's an interesting discussion because -- 5 Q Do you do the mapping? Keep -- 6 A I do the mapping. 7 Q -- keep track of the mapping for GIS? 8 A What happens in the county -- we're having this 9 discussion right now. The auditor's office 10 draws out the plat. They get the plat map. So 11 a new parcel, they just draw the outline of it. 12 Okay. You have a brand new parcel. One acre. 13 They've got the plat. They are drawing the 14 outline on their system, which is the same 15 system I use. 16 When they finish with that, they send it to 17 my office. Everything within that plat is put 18 on by my office, from land to the buildings -- 19 everything else. Then it's given back to the 20 auditor to put in the exemptions, deductions, 21 and that kind of stuff. So -- 22 Q I'm sorry. Do you put the location of the homes 23 on the plat? 24 A Yes, sir. 25 Q You draw them -- 60 1 A I draw them. 2 Q -- on the GIS? 3 A I sure do. 4 Q You go in the GIS tool -- 5 A That Allie I was talking about does that. All 6 the classified forest, all the land, everything 7 is done in my office. 8 And the other thing that we did back in 9 those days -- this was, you know, 100 years ago. 10 In 1992, I went to the county counsel. The 11 assessor has their own funding outside of the 12 general fund. The reassessment fund. That's a 13 separate fund that is set up for us to do the 14 reassessment. 15 Back in the day, it used to draw great 16 interest. So I would have a million or 17 something sitting there every year. You can use 18 that for anything to do with assessing. So I 19 went to the counsel and said, "Hey, I really 20 need this. The city's already working with us. 21 They are willing to work with us. Let's bring 22 it in." 23 So myself and highway, who also has their 24 own funding outside of general fund, went to 25 highway and said, "We really need this tool." 61 1 So we developed the GIS within the county using 2 experts we brought in. As a matter of fact, I 3 got the gentlemen that was the -- that worked 4 for the city doing their GIS, came into the 5 county and worked for us. So we established the 6 GIS back in the early '90s. 7 Since then, it's evolved into probably one 8 of the best GISs in the state of Indiana. One 9 of the best in the nation. And that's 10 acknowledged by everybody. If you've used our 11 elevate system, and most people do, that's where 12 all of our data is that you could possibly want 13 to see. Between the auditor's office, my 14 office, and highway, we all have our own stuff 15 but that's what we do. 16 Q Is there a state agency that oversees assessors? 17 A Department of Local Government Finance. 18 Q What do they do? How do they oversee the 19 assessor? 20 A First of all, they establish all the rules and 21 regulations we follow by statute. The major 22 thing they did a few years ago with the 23 legislature, I am the -- the assessor's office 24 and the assessor is the only elected official 25 that has to be certified, and we're certified by 62 1 the state. It's a certification process. 2 That's to run for office and to hold office. We 3 have to keep that certification. 4 The only other offices -- you don't have to 5 be a lawman to be sheriff. The only other 6 offices that have certifications, if you want to 7 be a judge, at this time, you have to have a law 8 degree. If you want to be a prosecutor, you 9 have to have a law degree. And the lawyers that 10 work for the prosecutor have to. That's it. 11 Q When you said the DOG establishes rules and 12 regulations, is that relating to how you assign 13 fair market value to property? 14 A Correct. 15 Q Is your office overseen by the State Board of 16 Accountants at all? 17 A No. 18 Q Are you audited by the State Board of 19 Accountants? 20 A No. Well, I say no really quickly. I don't 21 have money in my office. I don't get funds in 22 my office. I don't have any money. So would 23 they come in and audit me, no. 24 They audit the county through the auditor. 25 The auditor gets -- I don't know how often. I 63 1 haven't seen her around for a couple of years. 2 But when they would go up there, they would 3 audit contracts. The auditor keeps all the 4 contracts for the whole county. So if they 5 wanted to look at a contract I have, it would be 6 there. That would be the only thing I would 7 ever be audited for. 8 Q Does the DLGF publish a manual for assessors? 9 A Regulation 17. 10 (The reporter requested clarification.) 11 THE WITNESS: Regulation 17. 12 Q Do you know when the most recent version was 13 adopted? 14 A Yes, I do. Hang on a minute. It's about six 15 years ago. Four or six years ago. We're in the 16 process right now of establishing new cost 17 tables, and that's part of the Regulation 16. 18 They've just gone out. We just sent out RFP to 19 get the new cost tables. 20 They're about six years behind. That's the 21 only thing. Unless there's some legislation 22 that happens, which happens every single year. 23 The Regulation 17 pretty much stays the same. 24 Q When you do your assessments, they have to be in 25 compliance with Regulation 17? 64 1 A Correct. 2 Q Does the assessor have any responsibility for 3 the calculation of property taxes beyond the 4 assessed values? 5 A No. 6 Q Any responsibility for preparation of property 7 tax bills? 8 A No. Oh -- no, I just have to send -- I send my 9 values every year to the auditor. And I have to 10 have them up there by June 1st I believe it is. 11 Then she takes that, all my values, and the 12 auditor does the preparation for the tax bills. 13 Q And you calculate the fair market value. Do you 14 do anything in terms of calculating the taxable 15 value of the property? 16 A The taxable value is fair market value. 17 Q You don't do any calculation, your office of 18 deductions? 19 A No, that's the auditor. 20 Q Do you have any role, as the assessor, in 21 setting the county or city budgets? 22 A No. 23 Q Any role in setting tax rates? 24 A No. 25 Q And I think we already -- no role in setting 65 1 LIT? 2 A No. 3 Q Do you need a college degree to be an assessor? 4 A No. I just have to hold Level 3 assessor's 5 certification. 6 Q And you have to have that Level 3 before you can 7 run for office? 8 A That has happened in the last -- I think it was 9 around 2006, the legislature decided we all had 10 to be special. And they mandated that we -- I 11 always had to be -- we have three 12 certifications: Level 1, Level 2, and now 13 Level 3. 14 From the time -- from the early '90s, that 15 Level 1 and 2 came into play in the assessing 16 association or assessor's role. We were 17 mandated, sometime in the mid '90s, that the 18 county assessor had to hold the Level 1 and 19 Level 2. That's was all we had. I have had 20 both of those certifications since the earlier 21 '90s. I was one of the few. There was just a 22 handful of us that did it to start with. Then 23 it was mandated later. 24 Sometime in the 2000s, earlier 2000s, when 25 we went to this market value in use system, the 66 1 legislature, once again, got into the business 2 and decided we needed a lot more education. 3 They thought we needed to be more -- we just 4 needed to know more about what we did. 5 So with the legislature saying "DLGF, you 6 have got to come up with a better system," what 7 we did, we went back to that IAAO that I'm 8 talking about. They have the system. They have 9 the classes. They have the testing for Level 3. 10 That took us to a whole different level. 11 Level 3 is five classes that are taught by the 12 IAAO. These classes are week-long classes that, 13 after four days, on the fifth day, they're 14 tested. It's not open book. It's 50 questions. 15 This is done outside of the state. It's 16 IAAO. This is -- I know these classes. If it 17 was over at IU, these classes, it's economics. 18 All these classes. This would be like getting a 19 graduate degree over at IU that would take you a 20 semester to do, and we do it in one week. 21 It is -- it was not made to be easy. It's 22 probably one of the hardest things any of us 23 have ever done. It's nothing to look down upon. 24 Anyway, when this happened, I was still the 25 assessor of course. Then the legislature said, 67 1 "In order to run for this office, you have to be 2 a Level 3." So if anybody tried to run against 3 me, they had to be a Level 3. Well, what 4 happened, this was so difficult to get and if 5 you were not already in this business, these 6 classes cost you about $500 a class. You'd have 7 to pay it individually. The state picks up 8 ours. 9 What happened when all that hit, the 10 legislators get involved again because you know 11 how they are. They finally said, "Okay. You 12 have to get your Level 2 to run. But at the end 13 of a year, after you've been seated as county 14 assessor, you would have to get your Level 3." 15 Well, that didn't work out too well either for 16 them because there were some people that cried 17 about it. 18 So then they changed it. Well, you still 19 have to have Level 2, but you would have four 20 years to get your Level 3. By the time you 21 finish that term, the four-year term, if you 22 want to run again, you have to have your 23 Level 3. Period. If you don't, you're out of 24 office. 25 I lose my office if I don't keep up the 68 1 certification hours. Up until two years ago, 2 the hours were 45 hours every two years that I 3 have to carry. And those are state mandated 4 classes that the state puts on. We can use 5 other. We can take appraisal classes. We can 6 take all sorts of classes that have to do with 7 our job and the state would count those, after 8 they look at it, for that 45 hours. 9 Two years ago, they changed it to 30 hours 10 every two years and really screwed up the whole 11 thing because in one year -- the first year, you 12 can only get 10 hours. So in the second year, 13 you have to get the other 20. Makes no sense 14 why they did it this way. But it's just -- it's 15 just games that the state plays. 16 So every two years, I have to now carry 30 17 hours. This does not just apply to the office 18 holder, the elected official. They also said 19 certain people in the assessor's office has to 20 have all these qualifications. My main 21 people -- this Allie I'm talking about, Shelly 22 that works in my office -- anyone that actually 23 places value on a property and makes these 24 decisions, they all are Level 3 and I have five 25 of us in my office. Everybody in my office, 69 1 after two years, has to carry the Level 2. 2 That's not that difficult. If you're going to 3 do assessing, those are just residential, 4 commercial assessing, it's an open-book test. 5 It's the manual. I'm talking about Regulation 6 17. Everybody has to be that. 7 Q Do you have to be a licensed appraiser? 8 A Absolutely not. 9 Q Are you a licensed appraiser? 10 A No. I am what is called an Indiana certified 11 assessor/appraiser. I do now -- everything, the 12 whole system has changed so much in the last 13 year or two. 14 We now have a computer assisted appraisal 15 system, assessing system, that appraisers use 16 that has now been given to us. The state 17 developed it -- or our vendor through the state. 18 So you've seen appraisals. You have appraisals 19 where they have the comparisons. We're doing 20 that now in-house, where I don't have to spend 21 $5,000 for an appraiser to come in and use my 22 data, my GIS, to do what I'm doing. But because 23 they are appraiser, you know, you pay that 24 money. 25 Q Do you use outside appraisers to help do 70 1 assessments? 2 A Yes, I do. I use local. I use local 3 appraisers, not assessments, to go to court with 4 me to appraise something. I use local for 5 residential; commercial, I use an assessor -- an 6 appraiser in Indiana. 7 Q Do you have to do that on every parcel you 8 assess? 9 A That goes to the state. 10 Q Just -- so on every appeal -- 11 A On appeal. 12 Q -- you have to have an assessor? 13 A Appraiser. 14 Q I'm sorry, appraiser. 15 A Gets real complicated. 16 Q But otherwise do you use -- 17 A No, absolutely not. 18 Q -- appraisers? 19 A No. 20 Q Do you have other outside consultants that you 21 use to help do assessments? 22 A Yes. I have -- and most of the counties do, we 23 have vendors that are our field people. My 24 vendor is Nexus. They have been with me since 25 1998, '99, when we went to fair market value 71 1 after the Town of St. Johns. 2 Q Are they licensed appraisers? 3 A No. They're level 3 assessors. Actually, the 4 Nexus group, it was two gentlemen that left the 5 state to develop Nexus. Dr. Frank Kelly, he's a 6 doctor of economics, was one of them. He wrote 7 the rules for our new assessing system when he 8 was with the state. 9 So then, they went out on their own, came 10 in my county there and counties all over the 11 state. What they do for me is go out in the 12 field and do my -- what we call fieldwork. 13 They -- we give them blueprints. We get 14 blueprints for everything. They take the 15 blueprints. They go out in any new construction 16 and the reassessment. We do reassessment every 17 year. 18 What reassessment means is we have to break 19 it down in a four-year cycle. 25 percent each 20 year until we finish. That 25 percent has to 21 be -- used to have to be: go out, walk around, 22 touch that every time. The state now has said 23 we have so many different tools in our toolbox, 24 we've done this for so long that our data is so 25 good that we can -- we don't have to go out on 72 1 every parcel every year, that 25 percent. 2 We're going to do that for the first time 3 this year. We're going to try to do a lot of 4 stuff from all of the tools in our toolbox. GIS 5 especially, pictometry. But we'll still go out 6 in the field. All they are doing is that. It 7 all comes into my office, and we put the value 8 and we do everything else. 9 Q So they do your fieldwork for your office? 10 A They just do the fieldwork. 11 Q Does anybody in your office do fieldwork as 12 well? 13 A Yes. Myself. I'm out all the time in the 14 field. Any -- I go out on every -- if any 15 appeal that we need to go out on that the 16 customer, tax payer, wants me -- believe me, 17 they want me -- I go out. I was in the field 18 all day Friday again. 19 Q So you go out in the field if there's an appeal? 20 Or if somebody has a complaint? 21 A Yes. 22 Q That's usually when you do fieldwork? 23 A I'm out in the field probably four or five days 24 a month. And that is looking at -- believe it 25 or not, I didn't know this at one time; the 73 1 assessor is considered first responder. Yeah, 2 this is a fun job. Every tornado and I've had 3 five in the last two or three years I've had to 4 go out on. Every tornado, when things get 5 destroyed, I have to be out there within a day 6 or two because I have to assess that property if 7 it's gone. If it's not gone, I have to make all 8 these decisions. I have a team -- 9 Q If there's a fire, do you visit -- 10 A When the fire happens, after the fire, I have to 11 go out and decide if it's completely gone. I 12 can take it down -- 13 Q Is that a statutory requirement? 14 A Yeah. 15 Q After damage is done, you go out and reassess. 16 Is that what -- what is the specific statutory 17 requirement? 18 A I can't give you IC code. But anything that 19 happens, the assessor or their office -- and in 20 this county, it's me and my appraisal team or 21 assessment team -- appeal team. 22 That's what we were doing Friday. We have 23 had so many in this past year -- well, not even 24 year; probably since September -- fires. Cannot 25 believe how many fires I went out to. We must 74 1 have gone out to 10 different fires in houses. 2 And mobile homes seem to burn a lot. Mobile 3 homes -- this is a big county. I went 4 through -- I've got 11 townships. I was in 9 of 5 the 11 on Friday looking at different 6 properties. We also did a couple of 7 measurements. Somebody added something. We see 8 something, we do that. 9 Just to show you the disaster, we had a 10 tornado in March last year. Wolf Mountain Road. 11 That was the one that went through Owen County. 12 Took McCormick's Creek. We had a death out 13 there. Pops right over into Monroe and County 14 Line Road, Wolf Mountain Road, went right there. 15 Well, that happened on the weekend. That 16 Saturday or Sunday. Monday, we got geared up to 17 go out and the highway department works with us 18 very closely. They called me that morning. 19 They knew we were coming. They said, "No. It 20 is too bad. Don't come out today. We hope to 21 get it cleaned enough for you to get out 22 Tuesday." 23 So my deputy and I went out to Wolf 24 Mountain. It was the worst I've ever seen. I 25 removed 44 houses from the tax roll. Totally 75 1 destroyed. Went back out Friday just to see how 2 things are looking. Still looks like pickup 3 sticks. Like a child, just pickup sticks 4 everywhere. I had one house that was built -- 5 they brought a modular in. Not much has 6 happened. We're back in storm seasons again. 7 This is part of our job. 8 Q Let me ask you do you have bachelor's degree? 9 A I have AA. 10 Q In what? 11 A Just general studies from Vincennes University a 12 hundred million years ago. My education is in 13 management. I went to work for Hallmark Cards 14 in 1981 and was manager. And then I became 15 district manager of three states. Really 16 learned a lot. You can imagine, Hallmark 17 Corporation really makes their people learn 18 management skill. That's how I got in this job. 19 That and I always -- I, actually, have been in 20 this job for so many years, I helped set the 21 standards for the assessing officials in 22 Indiana. 23 Q While you served as assessor since 1991; is that 24 correct? 25 A Yeah, 1986 township. 1991 I was elected. 76 1 Started to serve. 2 Q Did you hold any other employment while you 3 were -- 4 A Oh, God, no. You can't. This is a full-time 5 job. 6 Q I'm going to shift gears a little bit. Have you 7 studied annexation fiscal plans in your career? 8 A No. Just looked at what's happening here. 9 Q Do you know what the statutory requirements are 10 for fiscal plans? 11 A No. 12 Q Do you know what the purpose is of the fiscal 13 plan? 14 A Yeah, to show if it's doable or not. But, yeah. 15 Q Have you studied Bloomington's fiscal plan in 16 this case? 17 A No. 18 Q Do you believe the fiscal plan fails to comply 19 with Indiana code? 20 A I have no knowledge of that. 21 Q Do you believe the fiscal plan fails to 22 accurately assess the fiscal impact of 23 annexations? 24 A I have no knowledge of that. 25 Q Do you believe the fiscal plans -- or fiscal 77 1 plan in this case fails to account for passage 2 of time? 3 A I have no knowledge of that. 4 Q Have you identified any deficiencies in the 5 fiscal plans? 6 A Haven't read it. 7 Q Did you attend any of the cities meetings 8 concerning annexations? 9 A No. 10 Q And also, I want to distinguish, no public 11 hearings? 12 A No, none of them. 13 Q And none of the meetings the city had aside from 14 public hearings? 15 A No. 16 Q Were you involved in any of the efforts to 17 oppose the annexation by County Residents 18 Against Annexation? 19 A No. 20 Q Are you a member of County Residents Against 21 Annexation? 22 A No. 23 Q Did you play any role in organizing the 24 remonstrance? 25 A No. 78 1 Q Collect any remonstrance signatures? 2 A No. 3 Q Did you attend any of the meetings, opposition 4 meetings of the -- 5 A No. 6 Q -- against annexation? 7 A No. 8 Q Did you receive emails from County Residents 9 Against Annexation? 10 A No. 11 Q Were you involved in any efforts to change the 12 law in Indiana relating to annexations? 13 A No. 14 Q Have any discussions with anybody about the laws 15 relating to annexations? 16 A No. 17 MR. UNGER: Can we have five minutes to 18 chat? 19 (Recess taken from 10:54 a.m. to 20 11:05 a.m.) 21 BY MR. UNGER 22 Q Just a couple of more questions. Have you been 23 asked to develop any other opinions besides what 24 we talked about today? 25 A No, sir. 79 1 Q Are you working on any other reports other than 2 what you've provided today relating to the 3 annexation? 4 A No. 5 MR. UNGER: No further questions. 6 CROSS-EXAMINATION, 7 QUESTIONS BY WILLIAM J. BEGGS: 8 Q Judy, you were asked questions by Mr. Unger 9 about being in meetings where annexation was 10 discussed. And we just took a break, and you 11 told me something about meetings at a statewide 12 organization. 13 Did you want amend that answer? 14 A Sure. Yeah. You know, I'm on the board of 15 directors of the Association of Indiana 16 Counties, which I have been there 20-some odd 17 years. When we go to board meetings, all 18 legislation is talked about. So annexation -- 19 the whole subject, not Bloomington's 20 annexation -- is brought up. And I think 21 there's bill. Maybe there was a bill or another 22 one this year. And people talk about it. I 23 couldn't tell you any more than I hear the word 24 annexation and I almost just blank out to be 25 very, very, honest with you. 80 1 Q Judy, has the testimony you've given today been 2 based upon your personal knowledge of the 3 properties and residents and owners of 1A and 4 1B? 5 A Yes. 6 Q Has it been based also upon your experience as a 7 Level 3 Indiana assessor-appraiser -- certified 8 Indiana assessor-appraiser? 9 A Yes, sir. 10 Q Has it also been based on your 38 years as the 11 elected assessor of Monroe County in Indiana? 12 A It is, yes. 13 Q You were asked, Exhibit 3, you were asked 14 questions about the DLGF calculator, for lack of 15 a better term. Is that a process, a method, a 16 system that you rely upon in your professional 17 duties as assessor of Monroe County? 18 A Yes, it is. We use it daily. 19 Q Is that a process -- is that DLGF site 20 calculator you talked about, to your knowledge, 21 used by other assessor-appraisers cross the 22 state of Indiana? 23 A All 92 of us use this tool. It's a major -- it 24 was a great tool when they finally developed 25 this. But also, I can assure you, here in 81 1 Monroe County, taxpayers use it all the time. 2 We publicize this on our website. 3 Q I want to make sure, has your opinion, has your 4 testimony today also been based on the 5 information that you have furnished to counsel 6 and the questions that they have been asking you 7 for the last 2 hour and 40 -- 2 hours and 10 8 minutes or so? 9 A Yes, sir. 10 MR. BEGGS: Thank you, ma'am. No further 11 questions. 12 THE WITNESS: You're very welcome. 13 MR. UNGER: Nothing further. 14 MR. BEGGS: Yeah. We would like signature. 15 (Time noted: 11:08 a.m.) 16 AND FURTHER THE DEPONENT SAITH NOT. 17 18 19 ____________________ 20 JUDITH A. SHARP 21 22 23 24 25 82 1 STATE OF INDIANA ) ) SS: 2 COUNTY OF MONROE ) 3 I, Colleen Brady, a Notary Public in and for 4 the County of Monroe, State of Indiana at large, do 5 hereby certify that JUDITH A. SHARP, the deponent 6 herein, was by me first duly sworn to tell the 7 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth 8 in the aforementioned matter; 9 That the foregoing deposition was taken on 10 behalf of the Respondents, at the offices of 11 Bloomington City Hall, 401 North Morton Street, 12 Room 225, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, on 13 the 14th day of February 2024, commencing at the 14 hour of 9:00 a.m., pursuant to the Indiana Rules of 15 Trial Procedure; 16 That said deposition was taken down 17 stenographically and transcribed under my 18 direction, and that the typewritten transcript is a 19 true record of the testimony given by the said 20 deponent; and thereafter presented to said deponent 21 for her signature; 22 That the parties were represented by their 23 counsel as aforementioned. 24 I do further certify that I am a disinterested 25 person in this cause of action; that I am not a 83 1 relative or attorney of any party, or otherwise 2 interested in the event of this action, and am not 3 in the employ of the attorneys for any party. 4 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my 5 hand and affixed my notarial seal on this 29th 6 day of February 2024. 7 8 <%25563,Signature%> 9 ________________ Colleen Brady 10 11 12 Seal, Notary Public My Commission Expires: State of Indiana March 8, 2029 13 Colleen Brady County of Residence: 14 Commission No. NP0732235 Monroe 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Veritext Legal Solutions 1100 Superior Ave Suite 1820 Cleveland, Ohio 44114 Phone: 216-523-1313 February 29, 2024 To: Mr. Beggs Case Name: County Residents Against Annexation, Inc. Et Al v. City Of Bloomington, Et Al Veritext Reference Number: 6446871 Witness: Judith A. Sharp Deposition Date: 2/14/2024 Dear Sir/Madam: The deposition transcript taken in the above-referenced matter, with the reading and signing having not been expressly waived, has been completed and is available for review and signature. Please call our office to make arrangements for a convenient location to accomplish this or if you prefer a certified transcript can be purchased. If the errata is not returned within thirty days of your receipt of this letter, the reading and signing will be deemed waived. Sincerely, Production Department NO NOTARY REQUIRED IN CA 1 DEPOSITION REVIEW CERTIFICATION OF WITNESS 2 ASSIGNMENT REFERENCE NO: 6446871 3 CASE NAME: County Residents Against Annexation, Inc. Et Al v. City Of Bloomington, Et Al DATE OF DEPOSITION: 2/14/2024 4 WITNESS' NAME: Judith A. Sharp 5 In accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure, I have read the entire transcript of 6 my testimony or it has been read to me. 7 I have made no changes to the testimony as transcribed by the court reporter. 8 _______________ ________________________ 9 Date Judith A. Sharp 10 Sworn to and subscribed before me, a Notary Public in and for the State and County, 11 the referenced witness did personally appear and acknowledge that: 12 They have read the transcript; 13 They signed the foregoing Sworn Statement; and 14 Their execution of this Statement is of their free act and deed. 15 I have affixed my name and official seal 16 this ______ day of_____________________, 20____. 17 ___________________________________ 18 Notary Public 19 ___________________________________ Commission Expiration Date 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 DEPOSITION REVIEW CERTIFICATION OF WITNESS 2 ASSIGNMENT REFERENCE NO: 6446871 3 CASE NAME: County Residents Against Annexation, Inc. Et Al v. City Of Bloomington, Et Al DATE OF DEPOSITION: 2/14/2024 4 WITNESS' NAME: Judith A. Sharp 5 In accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure, I have read the entire transcript of 6 my testimony or it has been read to me. 7 I have listed my changes on the attached Errata Sheet, listing page and line numbers as 8 well as the reason(s) for the change(s). 9 I request that these changes be entered as part of the record of my testimony. 10 I have executed the Errata Sheet, as well 11 as this Certificate, and request and authorize that both be appended to the transcript of my 12 testimony and be incorporated therein. 13 _______________ ________________________ Date Judith A. Sharp 14 Sworn to and subscribed before me, a 15 Notary Public in and for the State and County, the referenced witness did personally appear 16 and acknowledge that: 17 They have read the transcript; They have listed all of their corrections 18 in the appended Errata Sheet; They signed the foregoing Sworn 19 Statement; and Their execution of this Statement is of 20 their free act and deed. 21 I have affixed my name and official seal 22 this ______ day of_____________________, 20____. 23 ___________________________________ Notary Public 24 ___________________________________ 25 Commission Expiration Date 1 ERRATA SHEET VERITEXT LEGAL SOLUTIONS MIDWEST 2 ASSIGNMENT NO: 2/14/2024 3 PAGE/LINE(S) / CHANGE /REASON 4 ___________________________________________________ 5 ___________________________________________________ 6 ___________________________________________________ 7 ___________________________________________________ 8 ___________________________________________________ 9 ___________________________________________________ 10 ___________________________________________________ 11 ___________________________________________________ 12 ___________________________________________________ 13 ___________________________________________________ 14 ___________________________________________________ 15 ___________________________________________________ 16 ___________________________________________________ 17 ___________________________________________________ 18 ___________________________________________________ 19 _______________ ________________________ 20 Date Judith A. Sharp 21 SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME THIS ________ 22 DAY OF ________________________, 20______ . 23 ___________________________________ Notary Public 24 ___________________________________ 25 Commission Expiration Date