The county’s revenue stream could get a lot slimmer going forward depending on how Senate Bill 1 (SB1) is approved by the state legislature.
Other local government entities that also receive revenue from property taxes would also be affected.
At the end of the Kosciusko County Council meeting Thursday, Council President Tony Ciriello said, “As you all know, there is a lot of debate going on at the Indiana Statehouse over tax reform. Senate Bill 1 is still alive, but is being chopped up and then putting into pieces.”
He said House Bill 1402 has officially died, but the legislature is trying to pull pieces from it to put into SB1.
“As it stands currently, this county stands to lose a lot of revenue from property taxes, from this tax reform,” Ciriello said. “So I just want to caution everybody that when we start looking at budgets, especially with our department heads, there may not be anything there. There might be ‘stay the same as it is,’ or there might be reductions.”
He said they won’t know about that until April 29 when the state legislature adjourns.
“We are monitoring this every day,” Ciriello said, adding that he spent about 2-1/2 hours Wednesday listening to testimony on HB 1402. “It was long and grueling. But this is the reality right now that we are going to lose money. We just don’t know how much yet.”
Councilwoman Kimberly Cates said Council Vice President Kathleen Groninger, County Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell and her are on the county legislative committee so every Friday they meet and get updates.
“It’s like tens of millions of dollars. So it’s a serious, serious issue,” Cates stated.
According to LegiScan.com, HB 1402 “increases the acquisition cost threshold for the business personal property tax exemption from $80,000 to $200,000 over six years. Provides that the 30% minimum valuation limitation does not apply to business personal property placed in service after Jan. 1, 2025.”
Senate Bill 1 is a property tax reform bill that aims to provide relief to property owners.
In other business, the council:
• Approved County Assessor Gail Chapman’s request to transfer $11,400 from her computer equipment budget line to create a new budget line for dues and subscriptions for CoStar for her commercial and industrial department. CoStar is a company that provides rental/lease, income, apartment and other information that will help Chapman’s staff help fight assessment appeals at the county level before they get to the state level, potentially saving the county money on legal fees.
• Approved GIS Director Bill Holder’s request to apply for a $30,000 Sowing Enriched & Enhanced Datasets (SEED) grant from the Indiana Geographic Information Office. The grant, if approved, would be used to improve address points and road center lines, which is what 911 and Beacon use. The county commissioners approved his request at their last meeting.
• Approved for the probation department and Reentry Court to apply for a $170,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Court Services for the Reentry Court. Last year, they asked for $170,000 - the same as this year’s request - and received $110,000, Kelly Krugman, probation department, told the council. The county commissioners approved the request at their last meeting.
• Approved a 2025 salary ordinance amendment for a probation officer, as requested by Circuit/Superior I and IV and the probation department, presented by County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker. She explained the employee is being replaced by a former employee with more years of experience so the salary ordinance needed amended. The employee’s salary will be $81,719.40.
• Approved a 2025 salary ordinance amendment for a conservation program/field tech, as requested by the Soil & Water Conservation District, presented by Schmucker. The tech, whose salary will be $53,479, retroactive to March 10, has more experience than the person who previously held the position.
• Approved the reappointed of Mark Koehler to the Lakeland Regional Sewer District for another four-year term, which will expire in April 2029. Koehler joined the board two years ago to fill the remainder of a term vacated by a previous board member. That term expires next month, according to LRSD Board President Jim Haney.
• Heard presentations from Cori Humes, Kosciusko County Convention & Visitors Bureau; Heather Barron, Warsaw Community Public Library; and Tammy Cotton, Living In Transition Effectively (LITE).
• Remembered Councilman Mike Long, who died Feb. 27, with a moment of silence and in the prayer before the meeting. Thursday’s meeting was the council’s first since his death. At Long’s seat at the table was his name plate, photo and a candle.