by

Fred Swift 

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com)

These are financially good times for Hamilton County government. According to County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt in a recent mailing to voters, the county has an unobligated cash balance of $56.3 million, which is likely more than any other county in Indiana.

County officials have done a great job of financially providing for the services residents want and need without excessive taxes. But, in one recent instance they have not done what they could do to save our citizens money.

It’s a little complicated, hard for the public to understand, and that’s probably the way some in this story wanted it.

The county wants to hold on to the $56 million, saying they have needs for State Road 37 cost overruns, partial payment for a parking garage, etc. But, that does not add up to the $56 million.

So, some county officials encouraged city and town leaders to increase the Local Income Tax to pay for the Emergency 911 Communication Center. That’s because the larger cities were paying a disproportionate share of the $9 million annual 911 cost, a third of which is paid by state-collected cell phone taxes. Ever-increasing county revenue could pay for it. And, why shouldn’t it be county funded? After all, 911 communication workers are county employees working in a county facility. And, if the worst happened, a tiny increase in countywide property taxes could cover the needs. So, most of the cities and towns adopted a resolution to enact a local income tax increase of 10 percent. In an ironic twist, since the county council did not vote on this tax, their members can say they did not vote to increase taxes.

The Local Income Tax next year will rise from one percent to 1.10 percent, which amounts to about $17 million. That doesn’t sound too bad, and maybe few taxpayers will notice this increase each year. But, it is the principle of the thing that matters and the fact that only half that amount will be needed. And, it may not be the last increase. (If Marion County’s Red Line mass transit system is a success, look for local officials to push for another increase to help fund expansion of the Red Line into Hamilton County.)

In October, a resolution calling for the increase, apparently drafted by the Town of Arcadia, was circulated to the county, town and city councils and sold on the argument that fairness was the issue and everyone should pay their share. And, everyone involved wants to keep an effective 911 system, as we all do.

As a result of the increase, the small towns’ budget makers are off the hook for paying toward 911 communications, the larger cities like Carmel, Fishers and Noblesville, won’t have to contribute to 911, and instead can direct the money to other uses. And, county government doesn’t have to face financing the operation countywide in their budget.

So, it seems there is something for everyone, except the taxpayer. And, many of the taxpayers do not know what happened because the matter saw little to no debate or publicity.

As stated earlier, the amount is not large for any one taxpayer, but there is a lesson here. It’s well to watch what officials are considering and demand information regarding true needs for tax revenue because this kind of issue could soon arise again.