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Since the Economic Development Income Tax was voted down Saturday by a 4-to-2 Kosciusko County Council vote, Kosciusko County Commissioner Avis Gunter said raising property taxes may be the only place to get funding for jail expansion.
"We'll have to explore other ways of financing the jail," she said immediately after the council meeting.
Gunter, along with commissioners Brad Jackson and Eddie Creighton, did not take a stand on the issue, but indicated in a letter to council that EDIT revenues could be used for jail expansion and other projects.
Gunter said the county has only $1.5 million dollars with which to start the jail expansion project.
EDIT, if it had passed, was a 0.4 percent tax rate and would have begun collecting July 1, 2000. The tax would have been based on an individual's adjusted gross income as reported on their federal tax return. EDIT is used for infrastructure, such as a jail expansion.
Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said even though the council did not approve EDIT, "we're still going to be cooperating neighbors with the county."
Gunter agreed. "You have to have a good working relationship with all of them."
On the actual vote, Wiggins said, "I was surprised until yesterday." Wiggins said EDIT was a hard decision to make but he applauded the Warsaw city council for taking the initiative.
Asked if she was surprised at the council's vote, Gunter said, "It doesn't make a bit of difference. I didn't know how to read them."
During the council meeting, councilman Jim Tranter brought up the issue that the council heard officially from only five of 16 taxing units. And only three were present at the meeting.
Wiggins said he would not guess why the other towns took the actions they did or why they didn't take any at all.
"I take exception when people put words in my mouth and I'm not going to put words into the mouths of other towns," he said.
Jackson said the professionalism of the 100-plus crowd said something positive about the community.
"The way this meeting went and the way the people (behaved) says something about the community," he said.
During the meeting, there was only one interruption. After every person spoke to the council, the crowd applauded the speaker, whether or not they agreed with them.
After the meeting, Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce president Tim Yeager said now that EDIT is not an option, funding for Syracuse projects, including an industrial park area, will be like a house of cards. He said everything would have to fall into the right places.
"It's not going to be as easy. We're going to have to explore other avenues," Yeager said.
Tranter said while he could not speak for the whole council, "(The council) wanted to see more specifics with what is going to be funded by EDIT."
He said when cities, such as Ligonier, wanted industrial park areas, they first got definite donations. The community then got together and got definite investments into the industrial park. Syracuse, he said, could do the same thing and then come to the council for help.
As for Warsaw, Tranter said, Syracuse and Turkey Creek Conservancy sewer rates were twice as high as Warsaw.
"I'm not sure I'm in favor of paying a higher tax rate for paying a tax to help Warsaw fund a sewer," he said.
He said the Warsaw tax rate was very low and at some point they have to raise that rate.
"We need to exhaust all other avenues before we come back and pass (EDIT)," he said.
