County Discusses Using EDIT To Fund Justice Building Expansion
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
EDIT is back before the Kosciusko County Council, only this time there's a twist.
It's the council who's proposing the Economic Development Income Tax.
Faced with funding the county jail and Justice Building expansion, the council has two choices: raise property taxes or raise the County Option Income Tax and institute EDIT.
In a special meeting Thursday to discuss funding options, the council voted to discuss the COIT and EDIT option at its March 2 meeting.
Four members of the council were present: Brad Tandy, Harold Jones, John Kinsey and Kathryn Teel. Councilman Jim Tranter "attended" from Florida via phone hookup.
The proposed funding solution would raise COIT, which is now at six-tenths of 1 percent, one-tenth of 1 percent, and would institute EDIT at three-tenths of 1 percent. Together, COIT and EDIT would equal 1 percent.
The council's problem is this: The projection for the cost of the jail/Justice Building expansion is approximately $22.59 million, said Sue Ann Mitchell, county auditor. Estimated payments on the bonds to finance the expansion would total $1.9 million per year, she said.
To come up with enough money to make the bond payments, the council would have to raise property taxes 24 cents per $100 of assessed valuation "if we go through taxes only," Mitchell said.
But that's not all. Other county projects are on the back burner, such as addressing the lack of downtown parking and building a county building at the fairgrounds to take some of the space burden off the courthouse, said county administrator Ron Robinson.
Also, he said, the county's work-release center needs a kitchen, the expanded jail and Justice Building will need additional personnel and the juvenile justice problem will need to be addressed within the next five years, he said.
The county also is looking at adding another court soon, and the probation department needs personnel, Jones said.
The county has a cumulative capital development fund that is to be used for building projects, but that fund can't begin to cover all the projects the county is facing, Tandy said.
To raise all the funds necessary, Jones said, "we can't get by with 24 cents, we'd need about 40 cents if you look at the whole package."
"I still think EDIT is the way to go, it's just a matter of determining how much," Kinsey said. "With EDIT, people who are working and have a good income will pay a little more."
Mitchell said instituting EDIT at 0.3 percent would generate $2.3 million, which would allow for the $1.9 million bond payment and leave approximately $400,000 to put into the Cumulative Capital Development Fund for future building projects.
At the rate of 0.3 percent, she said, for every $100 a county taxpayer makes they would pay an additional 30 cents in taxes. Someone making $500 per week would pay $1.50 more.
Social Security benefits would not be considered income, she said, and would not be taxed.
The council added the COIT tax because the Justice Building expansion will mean approximately $700,000 per year in additional operating costs, and EDIT according to state law can pay only for infrastructure improvements.
The COIT addition would raise more than $481,000 for the county, Mitchell said, plus would disburse funds also to the townships, cities, towns and libraries in the county.
"I'm not a mathematician, but I think it's a no-brainer that this is the way to go," Kinsey said. "I think most of our county residents realize we've got to do this jail thing."
"In the past we've received proposals from other towns on EDIT ... ," Tandy said. "I think it's best that we just take the lead in (doing) what's most appropriate."
The council's decision Thursday to hold a public hearing on EDIT was not conclusive and did not adopt the tax - it only set the hearing, Jones said.
"I see no other avenue of escape here. I see no way to avoid this any longer," he said.
Mitchell said if EDIT is adopted by April 30, county taxpayers would start seeing the change in July.
The county auditor's office will advertise the final date and time for the public hearing on EDIT.
County council members are: Brad Tandy, John Kinsey, Kathryn Teel, Harold Jones, Jim Tranter, Lewis Bertsch and Tom Anglin. [[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
EDIT is back before the Kosciusko County Council, only this time there's a twist.
It's the council who's proposing the Economic Development Income Tax.
Faced with funding the county jail and Justice Building expansion, the council has two choices: raise property taxes or raise the County Option Income Tax and institute EDIT.
In a special meeting Thursday to discuss funding options, the council voted to discuss the COIT and EDIT option at its March 2 meeting.
Four members of the council were present: Brad Tandy, Harold Jones, John Kinsey and Kathryn Teel. Councilman Jim Tranter "attended" from Florida via phone hookup.
The proposed funding solution would raise COIT, which is now at six-tenths of 1 percent, one-tenth of 1 percent, and would institute EDIT at three-tenths of 1 percent. Together, COIT and EDIT would equal 1 percent.
The council's problem is this: The projection for the cost of the jail/Justice Building expansion is approximately $22.59 million, said Sue Ann Mitchell, county auditor. Estimated payments on the bonds to finance the expansion would total $1.9 million per year, she said.
To come up with enough money to make the bond payments, the council would have to raise property taxes 24 cents per $100 of assessed valuation "if we go through taxes only," Mitchell said.
But that's not all. Other county projects are on the back burner, such as addressing the lack of downtown parking and building a county building at the fairgrounds to take some of the space burden off the courthouse, said county administrator Ron Robinson.
Also, he said, the county's work-release center needs a kitchen, the expanded jail and Justice Building will need additional personnel and the juvenile justice problem will need to be addressed within the next five years, he said.
The county also is looking at adding another court soon, and the probation department needs personnel, Jones said.
The county has a cumulative capital development fund that is to be used for building projects, but that fund can't begin to cover all the projects the county is facing, Tandy said.
To raise all the funds necessary, Jones said, "we can't get by with 24 cents, we'd need about 40 cents if you look at the whole package."
"I still think EDIT is the way to go, it's just a matter of determining how much," Kinsey said. "With EDIT, people who are working and have a good income will pay a little more."
Mitchell said instituting EDIT at 0.3 percent would generate $2.3 million, which would allow for the $1.9 million bond payment and leave approximately $400,000 to put into the Cumulative Capital Development Fund for future building projects.
At the rate of 0.3 percent, she said, for every $100 a county taxpayer makes they would pay an additional 30 cents in taxes. Someone making $500 per week would pay $1.50 more.
Social Security benefits would not be considered income, she said, and would not be taxed.
The council added the COIT tax because the Justice Building expansion will mean approximately $700,000 per year in additional operating costs, and EDIT according to state law can pay only for infrastructure improvements.
The COIT addition would raise more than $481,000 for the county, Mitchell said, plus would disburse funds also to the townships, cities, towns and libraries in the county.
"I'm not a mathematician, but I think it's a no-brainer that this is the way to go," Kinsey said. "I think most of our county residents realize we've got to do this jail thing."
"In the past we've received proposals from other towns on EDIT ... ," Tandy said. "I think it's best that we just take the lead in (doing) what's most appropriate."
The council's decision Thursday to hold a public hearing on EDIT was not conclusive and did not adopt the tax - it only set the hearing, Jones said.
"I see no other avenue of escape here. I see no way to avoid this any longer," he said.
Mitchell said if EDIT is adopted by April 30, county taxpayers would start seeing the change in July.
The county auditor's office will advertise the final date and time for the public hearing on EDIT.
County council members are: Brad Tandy, John Kinsey, Kathryn Teel, Harold Jones, Jim Tranter, Lewis Bertsch and Tom Anglin. [[In-content Ad]]