Though the Kosciusko County Council usually is not in favor of tax abatements, the council Thursday approved an abatement for the construction of a building not yet built.

Attorney Richard Helm, representing the petitioners - Jerry and Marilyn Irvine of G.I. Printed Tape and Polishing Inc. - told the council the business has been in the community for 51 years. The business is growing and wants to move to the Airport Industrial Park. Right now, Helm said, the abatement is just for the building, but in one to 1-1/2 years, G.I. Printed Tape may ask for an abatement for equipment.

Over the foreseeable future, Helm said, the number of employees is expected to double from five to 10. The business makes all types of labels.

Councilman John Kinsey said he's known Irvine for a number of years and he sees no better way "to help one of our own, so to speak." The business will definitely grow, and Kinsey made a motion to approve the abatement.

Before seconding the motion, councilman Tom Anglin said he's been pretty much against tax abatements. He has voted for only one other abatement, but this will be the second, he said.

There were no remonstrators.

The abatement was unanimously approved.

Up next, the Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau presented its proposed 2004 budget. The county council will vote on it at the Nov. 13 meeting.

The CVB commission's budget is $320,000. Of that, $292,000 (plus $2,500 in interest) is directed to the CVB Inc. contract. That money will be used for salaries and wages ($102,783), payroll taxes ($9,077), employee benefits ($16,652), and office supplies and publications ($8,500), with the remaining monies being used for other services and charges, such as insurance and utility services.

The remaining $28,000 of the $320,000 is money the CVB commission is keeping in their control for legal and accounting fees ($4,000) and tourism promotion grants ($24,000).

After Joe Banks, of the CVB, told the council the CVB probably will close financially somewhere around $300,000 for this year, councilman Larry Teghtmeyer expressed concern that the council will be budgeting more money for the CVB than the revenue stream can support. Banks replied that it's always a concern, but the good thing is that good people are appointed to the commission.

County Auditor Sue Ann Mitchell then told the county council she would like to bring the council up to date on the tax rates, but as of Thursday, the rates still had not arrived and she said she was not sure when they would come from state officials.

She said there still is debate as to whether the county has to give 15 days for people to pay the property taxes after the rates go out or if that should be extended.

"At this point," she said, "we're still up in the air where we're headed with that."

Definitely, though, she said, the county will not receive the rates for the townships in Whitko School Corp.

She said she hopes the tax bills will be sent out by Oct. 24 at the latest, except for the Whitko townships.

When asked what the holdup for Whitko was, Mitchell said a new assessor took office in Whitley County this January. Along with that, that county also has a new computer system.

In other business, the county council approved a transfer of $500 for civil defense from emergency services to office supplies; a transfer of $5,900 for reassessment from office supplies to group insurance benefits; a transfer of $10,000 for reassessment from overtime pay to part-time pay; a transfer of $2,350 for Drug Free Communities from YMCA teen night to operating expenses; and $1,544 for the county sheriff's budget from insurance proceeds.

Kosciusko County councilmen present include John Kinsey, Larry Teghtmeyer, Tom Anglin, Harold Jones, Charlene Knispel and Maurice Beer. Not present was Brad Tandy. The council meets at 7 p.m. in the county courthouse, Warsaw, on the second Thursday of every month. [[In-content Ad]]