No EDIT This Year?
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
If no town or city council in Kosciusko County moves on the economic development income tax within days, it could be a dead issue for 1998.
Deadlines apply on when councils must advertise for public meetings to discuss EDIT and on how long county offices have to circulate information.
According to state law, the entire issue must be addressed between Jan. 1 and April 1 of each year. So far in 1998 no council in the county has passed a resolution calling for the tax.
EDIT has been a recurring theme for four years as Syracuse, Winona Lake and Warsaw have supported the tax as a means of paying for expensive infrastructure projects.
But each year the tax has been defeated by the Kosciusko County Council, the largest entity in the County Income Tax Council.
Last year the issue didn't even come up.
Still, it's an issue that's not going away, at least while many towns, including the city of Warsaw, have projects that could be funded by EDIT.
Warsaw's need for a second sewage treatment plant is approaching critical, and many see EDIT as the most equitable way of funding that plant.
"Our problem is not going away," Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said last week. "We can either plan for the future or we can react to it, and I'm not very hot on the reactionary mode.
"...we can't rest on our laurels. We've got to be able to not only attract new industry, we have to be able to maintain what we have here. Not only for Warsaw but also for Kosciusko County that treatment plant is vital."
Wiggins said financing a sewage treatment plant, which would cost about $12 million, through user fees is not reasonable.
"It's not fair to double rates to current users. It's not fair and it's not going to happen. ... EDIT is the financing mechanism that makes the most sense."
Wiggins stressed that EDIT is based on income, so people who make the most also pay the most. Social Security benefits would not be taxed.
Still, the Warsaw City Council has not voted in favor of EDIT.
"Whether or not we are going to pass a resolution, that hasn't been determined with any certainty yet," Wiggins said.
Kosciusko Development Inc., which led the drive for the tax in the past, will not take a position this year, said KDI president Larry Teghtmeyer.
"KDI is not planning to have any involvement in the tax - that's kind of up to county officials," Teghtmeyer said. "KDI could answer questions, but we're not going to be promoting any county tax."
He said the organization will support a second sewage treatment plant, and will help the county and municipalities identify needs, but will not get involved in the tax.
Syracuse, which has supported the tax since the subject was introduced in 1994, has been silent this year.
Matt Vigneault, Syracuse town manager, said only, "I haven't been instructed by my council to prepare anything (like a resolution for EDIT)."
Winona Lake, also a past proponent of EDIT, has not yet addressed the issue but plans to, said town council president Brent Wilcoxson.
"We haven't talked about it yet, but it will be on the agenda" for the next couple of meetings, he said.
Wilcoxson said the tax would be used in Winona Lake to help offset the town's property taxes and to help fund some much-needed street repair.
Indiana law strictly regulates the EDIT procedures: a town council, also a member of the County Income Tax Council, may propose an ordinance to accept EDIT after a public hearing on the issue. The council must advertise the public hearing at least 10 days in advance.
Once a council has approved an ordinance, the ordinance must be sent to the county auditor, who has 10 days to distribute the proposed ordinance to other members of the CITC.
The members of the CITC have 30 days to vote on the proposed ordinance; the vote can take place only after public notice has been provided, which must be at least 10 days in advance.
Each city and town in Kosciusko County has a specific number of votes on the County Income Tax Council. The county council represents residents who live outside cities and towns, and, therefore, has the most votes in the CITC. [[In-content Ad]]
If no town or city council in Kosciusko County moves on the economic development income tax within days, it could be a dead issue for 1998.
Deadlines apply on when councils must advertise for public meetings to discuss EDIT and on how long county offices have to circulate information.
According to state law, the entire issue must be addressed between Jan. 1 and April 1 of each year. So far in 1998 no council in the county has passed a resolution calling for the tax.
EDIT has been a recurring theme for four years as Syracuse, Winona Lake and Warsaw have supported the tax as a means of paying for expensive infrastructure projects.
But each year the tax has been defeated by the Kosciusko County Council, the largest entity in the County Income Tax Council.
Last year the issue didn't even come up.
Still, it's an issue that's not going away, at least while many towns, including the city of Warsaw, have projects that could be funded by EDIT.
Warsaw's need for a second sewage treatment plant is approaching critical, and many see EDIT as the most equitable way of funding that plant.
"Our problem is not going away," Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said last week. "We can either plan for the future or we can react to it, and I'm not very hot on the reactionary mode.
"...we can't rest on our laurels. We've got to be able to not only attract new industry, we have to be able to maintain what we have here. Not only for Warsaw but also for Kosciusko County that treatment plant is vital."
Wiggins said financing a sewage treatment plant, which would cost about $12 million, through user fees is not reasonable.
"It's not fair to double rates to current users. It's not fair and it's not going to happen. ... EDIT is the financing mechanism that makes the most sense."
Wiggins stressed that EDIT is based on income, so people who make the most also pay the most. Social Security benefits would not be taxed.
Still, the Warsaw City Council has not voted in favor of EDIT.
"Whether or not we are going to pass a resolution, that hasn't been determined with any certainty yet," Wiggins said.
Kosciusko Development Inc., which led the drive for the tax in the past, will not take a position this year, said KDI president Larry Teghtmeyer.
"KDI is not planning to have any involvement in the tax - that's kind of up to county officials," Teghtmeyer said. "KDI could answer questions, but we're not going to be promoting any county tax."
He said the organization will support a second sewage treatment plant, and will help the county and municipalities identify needs, but will not get involved in the tax.
Syracuse, which has supported the tax since the subject was introduced in 1994, has been silent this year.
Matt Vigneault, Syracuse town manager, said only, "I haven't been instructed by my council to prepare anything (like a resolution for EDIT)."
Winona Lake, also a past proponent of EDIT, has not yet addressed the issue but plans to, said town council president Brent Wilcoxson.
"We haven't talked about it yet, but it will be on the agenda" for the next couple of meetings, he said.
Wilcoxson said the tax would be used in Winona Lake to help offset the town's property taxes and to help fund some much-needed street repair.
Indiana law strictly regulates the EDIT procedures: a town council, also a member of the County Income Tax Council, may propose an ordinance to accept EDIT after a public hearing on the issue. The council must advertise the public hearing at least 10 days in advance.
Once a council has approved an ordinance, the ordinance must be sent to the county auditor, who has 10 days to distribute the proposed ordinance to other members of the CITC.
The members of the CITC have 30 days to vote on the proposed ordinance; the vote can take place only after public notice has been provided, which must be at least 10 days in advance.
Each city and town in Kosciusko County has a specific number of votes on the County Income Tax Council. The county council represents residents who live outside cities and towns, and, therefore, has the most votes in the CITC. [[In-content Ad]]