HUNTINGTON, Ind. (AP) — A state law enacted this year to phase out elected township assessors is unconstitutional, one of those assessors claims in a lawsuit.

The lawsuit filed Monday in Huntington Circuit Court argues that when voters elected their township assessors, a contract was agreed to that the officials would serve four-year terms, performing statutory duties and getting paid for doing so.

The suit was filed by Joan Stoffel, the elected assessor for Huntington Township in northeastern Indiana's Huntington County. It names several county officials and some state agencies as defendants, and seeks class-action status on behalf of 139 township assessors across the state.

The property tax restructuring bill enacted into law this year includes shifting property tax assessment duties to the county level in townships with less than 15,000 parcels on July 1. In 43 townships with more parcels, voters will decide in November whether to transfer assessing duties to the county.

There are 829 township trustee-assessors and about 180 township assessors in Indiana. Trustee-assessors have additional duties, such as providing poor relief and fire protection, and will continue to provide those services.

The consolidation requires township assessors to assist county assessors in transferring records and operations.

Although appraisal duties will end for most assessors on July 1, they must receive the full salary and benefits that were set by the county fiscal body for this year, according to an official opinion issued recently by state Attorney General Steve Carter.

Although township assessors could continue to hold the title of their office through the end of their terms on Dec. 31, 2010, county fiscal bodies could choose to pay them nothing after this year since their assessment duties will be eliminated, Carter said.

According to Stoffel's lawsuit, Huntington County Assessor Terri Boone began meeting in April with Huntington County officials to discuss the transfer of Stoffel's office into her own.

Boone said she would come up with a transition plan by May 9, and gave Stoffel and her staff until May 30 to apply for employment with the county assessor's office, according to court documents.

Stoffel said she did not hear anything from Boone by May 16, and she and some of her staff went to a weeklong training seminar. While Stoffel was gone, Boone told the rest of Stoffel's staff to help move the offices to the county assessor's office, including phones, computers and files, according to the lawsuit.

When Stoffel talked to Boone on May 20, she said she told Boone she wanted to work for the county assessor's office. Boone said she did not have room for Stoffel, court documents said.

Boone had the locks changed on Stoffel's office and has denied Stoffel access to some of her files and records, the lawsuit said.

Boone told The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne that she transferred the phone lines when she did because it was the only day the technicians were available. She said she went through the proper channels of the county commissioners, council members and county attorney.

Stoffel has been the assessor for Huntington Township, which includes the city of Huntington, since 1995 and makes $39,234 this year. Her term continues through 2010.

According to the lawsuit, some township assessors already have been told they have no job, or will not be paid any salary or other compensation for the rest of 2008.

Indianapolis attorney John Price, who is representing Stoffel, said Tuesday that some county assessors have agreed to hire township assessors and pay them their full salaries. But he said some have not.

"Under Indiana's constitution and contract law, when voters say we will hire you for four years and pay you, then it's a contract," Price said.