LAPORTE COUNTY — Some homeowners are breathing a sigh of relief.

The State has ordered a property tax reassessment for LaPorte County, making property tax bills from 2006 void. The county has until November 28 to do another assessment.

County officials initially said a reassessment would cost taxpayers more than $2 million.

But the state says the county only paid $219,000 for the original assessment. They say it should only cost that amount for the reassessment and anything higher must be cleared by the state.

Many homeowners are happy about the news but say they won't relax until they have their new bills.

The Meells have lived without a budget -- until now.

"We hadn't been budgeting, but we'll probably have to set aside $400 or $500 a month," said Joe Meell, a Long Beach homeowner.

That's because of their property tax bill.

"It went up 130 percent," said Meell.

Like other Long Beach couples, they're retired and on a fixed income.

"People have the idea that if you live on Lakeshore Drive you are a millionaire, but they aren't," said Marylou Meell.

They wanted a reassessment.

"I think it's definitely needed because there are a lot of potential inequalities in how it was done," said Meell.

And the Department of Local Government Finance agreed.

"Our review showed in nine out of 19 townships, different standards had been used to assess sold and unsold homes," said Mary Jane Michalak, DLGF spokesperson.

But many people in Michigan City say they didn’t want a reassessment because their property taxes went down and they didn’t want to pay for a new assessment.

"The goal of the reassessment is to make sure the assessed values in LaPorte County are accurate, uniform, and equitable," said Michalak.

The Meells say that's all they want.

"If it is done properly, I'm willing to live with whatever they come out with," said Meell.

The 2006 property tax bills won't be due until next year.

The county does have the option of sending provisional bills, so that schools, police, and other departments that rely on county funding will still get some on time.

No one from the county was available for comment Friday night. But earlier in the afternoon, a county attorney said a reassessment was not needed.