EDIT On Hold

Kosciusko Development Inc. is in good standing with the state again, and its president doesn't plan on supporting establishment of an economic development income tax as it has in recent years.

KDI's status with the state was drawn into question during the 1996 fall election by a handful of Democrats who publicly opposed KDI's role in pursuing EDIT for Kosciusko County.

For the first time in three years, the county apparently will not be faced with an EDIT proposal - for a combination of reasons.

One of the chief proponents of EDIT has been the city, which is in transition after Mayor Jeff Plank announced his resignation two weeks ago.

EDIT has been opposed for three years by county council, and without any changes on county council, a change in votes is unlikely.

Democrats and members of the Taxpayers Action Committee were especially critical of KDI last year as they publicized the fact that KDI had failed to register with the state.

But KDI regained its official status on Dec. 6, said Charlie Sparks, president of KDI.

Regardless, Sparks said KDI isn't in a position to lead another charge in support of the tax. TAN likely would have brought up the status question and made it difficult to represent a tax proposal this spring.

According to other sources, nobody appears to be willing to propose establishing the tax before the spring deadline.

But, Sparks said, the need for more infrastructure and some type of funding mechanism isn't a dead issue.

He said the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce will begin assessing the infrastructure needs of area towns.

Depending on the results of that assessment, he said the chamber would likely represent future efforts to support any EDIT proposals.

Since the chamber already has a government issues committee, Sparks said, it is the more appropriate body to carry the issue.

Sparks serves a dual role as president of the newly renamed chamber and KDI.

The chamber is a more appropriate vehicle for such an undertaking, Sparks said, because KDI receives county funding. That arrangement could appear to be a conflict of interest.

EDIT is a tool to address a problem that continues to exist, he said.

Any future proposal on how to deal with infrastructure needs - mainly sewer expansion - could come together this fall, he said.

Sparks said he expected some criticism of the name change and notified chamber operations connected with towns within Kosciusko County about the decision before it was formally announced two weeks ago.

Those town-oriented chambers have different missions, often geared to specific projects within the town, while the newly named organization's mission is countywide, he pointed out.

One of the goals of the chamber is to establish more networking with outlying communities and working with those towns' chamber representatives in assisting their needs, he said.

Sparks said he hopes to host a meeting this spring in which an open forum will exist. He said he doesn't want to dictate the meeting's agenda.

The chamber is also working on developing an Internet home page and updating demographic information for use by the business community.