Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Discussion about the proposed Economic Development Income Tax is popping up at local board meetings like daisies.
Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce discussed EDIT Tuesday.
"The EDIT passed the (Syracuse) town board unanimously. That doesn't mean we have the tax yet," chamber president Tim Yeager said.
Yeager told the chamber members at the meeting the Kosciusko County Council will hear public input and vote on EDIT Saturday at 3 p.m. in the old courtroom in the Kosciusko County Courthouse. He urged anyone who could make it to show up at the meeting.
"I think it's important we be represented at that meeting," Yeager said.
He said if it was possible, the Chamber should speak for EDIT.
Syracuse town manager Matt Vigneault said: "For our efforts with the industrial park and other projects, EDIT would be a valuable tool."
Vigneault was asked how the industrial park expansion in Syracuse would receive funding if EDIT was not passed by the county council.
"It's kind of a house of cards. A lot of things have to come together to make it work," Vigneault said.
He said businesses could be involved in the project if the town made it known they would follow through with road and sewer development. He said the town could make accessible land available for a certain price. State and federal grants can be applied for, barring something like EDIT, for new infrastructure.
"We have to foster the interest and confidence of a local business," Vigneault said.
He told the chamber there are alternative ideas for the industrial park area expansion if EDIT is not passed.
Yeager said, "As you can see, the financing for this whole thing will be rather complex."
Syracuse councilman Paul Stoelting said Vigneault could fax or send to the county council the town's plans for money generated from EDIT if it is passed. If the council knows what the town wants to do with the revenue, he said, they may be more likely to pass EDIT.
Vigneault said, "The easy answer to that is when you see the scale of the numbers (of town projects) we are talking about."
He also said, "These are not numbers we are pulling out of the air. They are numbers that engineers have given us."
The scale of the projects for the town exceeds the budget, he said.
"You can't just shut down the town for a year and concentrate on roads," Vigneault said.
He said it is important to keep up Syracuse's infrastructure because that is what helps the community maintain its current industries and grow. He said if manufacturing companies, like Dana Corp., left the area, Syracuse would be seriously hurt financially.
Manufacturing provides 30 percent of the town's tax base and 60 percent of the town residents' income. Dana Corp. alone is one-sixth of the entire tax base of the Syracuse community, Vigneault said. He said if Dana Corp. should ever choose to move out because infrastructure isn't developed, the town would have a million-dollar building but would lose a tax base of about $5 million. There would also be a loss of about 650 jobs.
Vigneault said area businesses and industries are the bread and butter of Kosciusko County, providing $1 billion in personal income generated in the county.
Yeager said EDIT could provide money to keep and maintain infrastructure in the community, thus ensuring that businesses like Dana Corp. remain in the community.
"It's something where local people can see where their money is going," Yeager said.
