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Welcome to the official website for LaGrange County, Indiana Government. Our goal is to provide you with as much information online as we can. Please feel free to browse our site. Please enjoy your visit.

The County's Mission Statement is to establish and nurture a local government that is open and accessible, actively seeks citizen involvement, is fiscally accountable, efficient yet courteous, provides for planned growth and sustainable economic development of the county, while preserving our unique character and cultures and without regard to personal or special interests.

Assessor

The Office of the County Assessor is responsible for accurately and uniformly determining the market value-in-use of every property in the county. This is achieved by using three approaches to value: Cost, Income, and Sales Comparison. The State requires annual adjustments of assessments to reflect changes in the market. Property values are annually adjusted each year, in a process known as trending, to bring them closer to market value-in-use.

Overview

The County Assessor identifies, lists, and calculates the assessed value of all Real and Personal property. In general, the County Assessor performs the following duties:

• Oversees the Cyclical Reassessment process; conducting on-sites to all properties every four years.
• Records property characteristics (measurements, number of stories, basement vs crawl) to determine cost to build accurately.
• Discovers and identifies omitted improvements (i.e., barns, decks, new construction w/o permits).
• Insures countywide uniform Property Tax Equalization.
• Conducts Ratio Studies, using recent sales, making Annual Adjustments to bring assessments to Market Value.
• Utilizes recent sales of land (Sales Disclosures) to establish base market rates and values in each neighborhood, adjusts base values depending on location, amenities and other influence factors.
• Calculates the assessed value of all real property in each taxing district.
• Provides current assessed values to the County Auditor's Office.
• Verifies and reviews the self-reported values of all Business and Farm Personal Property in each taxing district.
• Calculates the assessed value and transfers ownership of Annually Assessed Mobile Homes.
•  Serves as a non-voting Member & Secretary of the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA).
• Logs all property assessment appeals and conducts preliminary hearings.

Auditor

The Auditor is the principal financial officer in county government and is defined under IC 36-2-9-2 as the fiscal officer of the county.

The Auditor serves as a secretary to the Board of County Commissioners and as clerk to the County Council.  

The Auditor has responsibility for keeping accounts and issuing checks for the county.  As a result, the Board of Commissioners, the County Council and other officials often look to the Auditor for day-to-day operational assistance, information and advice.

In keeping accounts and issuing warrants, the Auditor must develop financial analysis and cash flow projections and assist with budget preparations.  

The county Auditor must also prepare and file an annual financial report with the State Board of Accounts.

The Auditor is directly responsible for preparing tax duplicates that show the value of property and taxes assessed against each taxpayer.

As a part of the tax function, the Auditor must also prepare plats that show the ownership and assessed valuation of each parcel in each township in the county. The plats much contain information prescribed by the Department of Local Government Finance and must be kept current.

Building

The LaGrange County Building Department oversees all new construction in LaGrange County, to ensure safe and up-to-code structures.

To begin the process of obtaining a building permit, you will need to supply us with the complete application packet. Which includes the Improvement Location/Building Permit Application and ALL the required documentation, (we will not accept an incomplete packet). You can find the application in our Forms box below.

All Contractors and Sub-Contractors must be listed and registered in LaGrange County BEFORE the permit is issued.

The Building Department will start taking the 2025 Contractor Registration Payments beginning December 1, 2024.

Once ALL required Documentation has been obtained, please allow a minimum of 3 to 5 business days after receipt for the review process. The review process begins in the Planning & Zoning Department, then is routed to the Surveyors Department and ends in the Building Department where the permits are issued. Due to the complexity of a project and/or if corrections need to be made it may take longer to issue a permit.

Permits will not be issued after 3:30 p.m.

For additional information regarding the Improvement Location Permit and Site Plan Requirements please contact the Plan Commission.

For information regarding inspections, code guidelines and helpful tips click on Guides.

Circuit Court

Honorable William R. Walz IV is the Judge of the LaGrange Circuit Court.

Clerk

The Clerk is a county elected official who serves as an officer of the court, the manager of court information and the chief financial officer for all revenues collected on behalf of the court.

The Clerk is appointed by statute to serve as the Secretary to the County Election Board. The Clerk administers all Elections for LaGrange County.

Coroner

The LaGrange County Coroner’s Office investigates and determines a person’s cause and manner of death, particularly in cases when the individual died under accidental or unusual circumstances. The office consoles families, advocates for the deceased, and gives information to police and courts to prosecute suspected criminals.

All LaGrange County Coroners are Certified Medicolegal Death Investigators and members of the Indiana Coroners Association. 

County Commissioners

The LaGrange County Commissioners are elected for four year terms. 

Commissioners

Mission Statement

To establish and nurture a local government that is open and accessible, actively seeks citizen involvement, is fiscally accountable, efficient yet courteous, provides for planned growth and sustainable economic development of the county, while preserving our unique character and cultures and without regard to personal or special interests.

Commissioners' Goals

Goal One: Make government more open and accessible
Goal Two: Actively seek citizen involvement
Goal Three: Maintain fiscal accountability
Goal Four: Provide services efficiently and courteously
Goal Five: Provide for planned growth
Goal Six: Provide for sustainable economic development
Goal Seven: Maintain our unique character and cultures
Goal Eight: Eliminate personal and special interests

County Council

The county council comprises seven elected members – four from each council district and three at large.

They include:

Emergency Management Agency

The mission of the Emergency Management Agency is to save lives and to protect property while minimizing the impact of catastrophic events on LaGrange County's citizens.

The purpose is to establish functions and responsibilities of LaGrange County agencies through a comprehensive plan. This plan helps organizations deal effectively with the mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery elements of emergencies.

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GIS

Geographic Information Systems

GIS is a term for Geographic Information System. Beacon is the Schneider Geospatial web-based GIS data reporting software that is LaGrange County’s web application maintained by the GIS Department and the other County Departments utilizing ESRI’s ArcGIS software.

Beacon is a user friendly informative tool that provides valuable information for a community concerning real estate, county government, natural resources and many other documents beneficial in today’s society. It is organized to efficiently capture, analyze, update and display geographically referenced information.

Parcel Report

When researching a parcel Beacon allows you to search by Name, Address or Parcel ID. The Parcel Report provides you with information such as the parcel number, owners name, address, brief legal description, property type, taxing district and school corporation it is located in. The Parcel Report also includes assessment information on the land and improvements for any given parcel. In addition, the Parcel Report includes information on exemptions and deductions given and amounts, transfer history and tax history. You also have the ability to print a property record card from a hyperlink at the bottom of the page and additional links are available for a Tax Estimator through the DLGF’s website and also one for sales disclosures.

Map

The map page offers a layer list that allows you to choose the information that you want displayed. This includes general land and parcel information such as parcels, subdivisions (plats), corporation limits, drains, watersheds and zoning to name a few. In addition, you can find some general information such as recreational spots, lakes, streams, trails and cemeteries. Information concerning voting can also be obtained, this includes boundaries for the voting precincts, county commissioner and council districts and the town council districts with the polling locations. The When “Parcel Info” is chosen as the selectable layer you can find parcel-specific reports such as LOMA’s, vacations, surveys and other documents that are printable. The Septic layer and the Survey Layer displays documents that are viewable and printable also.

Disclaimer

The information in this web site represents current data from a working file which is updated continuously. Its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. No warranty, expressed or implied, is provided for the data herein, or its use. LaGrange County digital cadastral data are a representation of recorded plats and surveys for the use within the Geographic Information System for purposes of data access and analysis. These and other digital data do not replace or modify land surveys, deeds and/or other legal instruments defining land ownership or use.

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Contact Us

Contact the GIS Department if you need assistance with locating an address, voting district, school, zoning district, subdivisions, parcel data, etc. Or if you can't find what you are looking for on the public map, please contact us and we would be glad to assist you with any of your mapping needs.

LaGrange County GIS offers a wide range of data on our public Beacon website.

Health

Highway

The Highway Department maintains the County roads and right-of-way.

Refer to the Department's FAQs for more information.

Human Resources

Click here to apply online!

Current Job Openings are posted in the Recent News section below.  If you want to know more about a job opening, please email Jenny Landez, Human Resources Director, at jlandez@lagrangecounty.org .

If your interested in being considered for a job with LaGrange County, all you need to do is click the link above to complete our online application.  You can submit your resume and any other supporting documents you want taken into consideration as we consider all candidates for our openings.  Interested candidates that do not have access to the Internet, may come to the Human Resources Office to complete a paper application in-person.

Department of Parks & Recreation

Explore LaGrange County Parks!

• 3 public beaches
• 10 miles of walking/hiking trails
• 3-D archery course
• 18-hole disc golf course
• 8 daily rental facilities
• plus playgrounds, fishing docks, outdoor recreation, events, & natural areas to enjoy

Park and Facility Rules

Plan Commission

The Plan Commission plays a key role in creating and communicating the vision of LaGrange County. It acts as the primary agency in the development, adoption, and implementation of the County's plans and policies relating to development and use of the land within the county.

The LaGrange County Plan Commission is responsible for the LaGrange County Comprehensive Plan, and its implementation through the County Zoning Ordinance, the Subdivision Control Ordinance, and various policies and practices adopted within the county.

Guided by the Comprehensive Plan, the Plan Commission controls the type, location, and timing of development in the unincorporated and incorporated areas of LaGrange County.  

The LaGrange County Plan Commission’s focus is: long term commitment to economic vitality, efficient use of land, while reflecting the highest professional standards with enduring regard for our customers.

Powers and Duties of the Plan Commission

The Plan Commission shall provide for notice and conduct public hearings on amendments to the map or text of the ordinance, final planned unit developments, and development plans.

The Plan Commission shall forward proposals to amend the zoning map or the text of the Ordinance to the Board of County Commissioners with a favorable, unfavorable, or no recommendation in accordance with IC 36-7-4-607 and 608 and the Plan Commission’s Rules of Procedure.

The Plan Commission shall hear and approve, approve with conditions, or deny final planned unit developments and development plans.

Probation

MISSION

It is LaGrange County Probation Department’s mission to encourage positive change with the upmost commitment and integrity while promoting public safety.

POSITIVE CHANGE

It is our goal to assist Probationers with any resources necessary in order to achieve their absolute potential.

COMMITMENT

Both the Probation Department and Probationers are expected to be 100% committed to change to receive positive lifelong results.

INTEGRITY

The Probation Department’s objective is to lead by example in implementing consistency of actions, values, methods, measures and principles.

PUBLIC SAFETY

The Probation Department strives to assist Probationers in positive lifelong change while ensuring the safety of the community.

Prosecuting Attorney

The LaGrange County Prosecutor’s Office represents the State of Indiana and prosecutes individuals charged with the commission of a crime or infraction occurring within LaGrange County. Our office appears in all traffic infractions, juvenile matters, and all criminal matters, both misdemeanor and felony level. The LaGrange County Prosecutor’s Office also works to enforce court-ordered child support through the Title IV-D Child Support Program.

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Recorder

The Recorders office is responsible for record keeping of all property and mortgages in Lagrange County. Deed Records can be researched as far back as 1832. Recorders are not researchers. We are glad to help you acquire copies of your current Deed or Mortgage.