Kosciusko County Council adopted a 2015 budget of about $32.3 million Thursday and gave the OK to local budgets throughout the county. The 2015 budget includes an overall 1.8 percent increase, offset by a 3.8 percent decrease in the general fund, according to council President Bob Sanders. He also noted county tax rates will not be pinned down until the state responds to the county budget, though the county did pass a declaration to maintain current income tax rates. The council has the option of making non-binding recommendations on the budgets and tax rates of taxing entities in the county, but councilman Jim Moyer moved to approve them all as-is. “In prior years, we’ve asked them not to exceed the state growth quotient,” Moyer said. “They’ve all done well – some have increased a little more – but they all have local boards who know the details and I’m comfortable with their increases or decreases, whatever the case may be.” The State Budget Agency set a growth quotient of 2.7 percent for 2015, up from 2.6 percent. Designed to ensure the costs of government don’t exceed personal income, the growth quotient represents the maximum increase allowed for local governments’ property taxes. Nearly every town in the county reported to the council a drop in net-assessed valuation, from 9 percent for Warsaw and Syracuse to 20 percent for Silver Lake. The drop has meant that many towns have had to reduce their 2015 budget, ranging from $11,000 in Claypool to more than $100,000 in Milford. Also Thursday, council: • Tabled a tax abatement request from iDNA Brands until a company representative could address council on the details of the request. • Signed an inter-local agreement between the highway department and Elkhart County in preparation for splitting an $800,000 state grant for road sign replacement. • Discussed appointing a council member to the Bowen Center board, at Moyer’s suggestion. The councilman remarked that, in his experience as a township trustee, the more involved council is in where the money goes, the better able they are to answer taxpayers. • Approved fund transfers including $74,470 from motor vehicle highway – trucks to cover work on other equipment; more than $11,000 from various funds to cover a full-time position in Drug and Alcohol User Fee; and close to $8,000 for repairs to a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department cruiser damaged in an accident.
