Mayors and city councilors throughout Hamilton County have been in talks to come up with a solution to the dispute over distribution of Local Option Income Tax (LOIT) funds within the county.   That distribution formula is set by state law.

State Representative (and Speaker Elect)Todd Huston tells LarryInFishers.com that most state legislators are not sympathetic to solving Hamilton County problems.  But, if all parties agree to a new distribution formula, state lawmakers would likely go along and enact that statute.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said earlier this year that his city is losing about $21 million this year to Carmel, when both municipalities have roughly the same population.  That amount of money would pay for the entire Fishers Fire Department and a good portion of the police force, according to Fadness.

“I have a proposal ready that would go back and make necessary changes, but from my understanding with the local elected officials, they’re working to resolve it themselves,” said Huston in a podcast interview recorded with LarryInFishers.com December 23rd.

An effort was made to change the formula near the end of the 2019 legislative session, but Huston says concerns were raised about possible unintended consequences for other parts of Indiana, scuttling the proposal.

“I think (the Hamilton County cities are) going to resolve it locally,” Huston said. “There’s an acknowledgment that if they don’t, I will have my own plan and that probably won’t benefit all the cities.  Hopefully, they can resolve it.”

You can listen to my entire podcast interview with Todd Huston at this link.