The Wabash County Board of Commissioners re-established the Cumulative Capital Development Fund, which increases the tax rate to the level first established when the fund was created in 2002.
The tax is collected from taxable property in the county, and for 2018 the rate is $.0164 for every $100 of years of assessed valuation. Next year, the county will collect $.0333 for every $100 of years of assessed valuation, Wabash County Auditor Marcie Shepherd explained.
Money generated by the fund will more than double. Before the tax increase, the County expected to raise nearly $220,000 through the fund, but after the increase, the County plans to generate almost $450,000 in 2019, Shepherd said.
This is the first time the Wabash County Board of Commissioners have reestablished the fund. Each year, the tax rate declines by fractions of a cent, so in order to increase money generated from the fund, the Commissioners must re-establish the fund, Shepherd said.
“It’s very common,” she explained, noting that several other counties have re-established their CCD funds.
Commissioners may use the funds to build, repair and remodel buildings in the county. The funds cannot use the funds for department operating costs.
The commissioners may also use the funds “to protect public health, welfare or safety in an emergency situation that demands immediate action,” according to Indiana Code 36-9-14.5-8.
This tax is outside of Wabash County’s maximum tax levy for property taxes, so it is an additional tax added to the property taxes.