With little fanfare, the Jennings County Council on Tuesday rescinded the controversial jail tax.
It was no surprise whatsoever that the vote was unanimous. All seven councilors - Mike Gerth (R-District 1), Mandy Creech (R-District 2), Bob Ellis (R-District 3), Charlie Weber (R-District 4), Howard Malcomb (R-at large), Paul Belding (R-at large) and Dave Woodall (R-at large) - have been voicing their desire for months to abolish the special income tax.
"Obviously we are not going to build a new jail," said Malcomb, the council president, before the vote. "We have a work-release program starting next year (in partnership with Jackson County and the City of Seymour) and there is a new state program that will take the Level 6 felons. Plus, more beds have been added to our jail."
Jennings County's jail tax - which has a rate of .65 percent of gross adjusted income for all county residents - has been in effect since Jan. 1. The tax will go off the books on Dec. 31, by which time $3.1 million in revenue will have been generated. That money will then be transferred to the county's Rainy Day Fund as is required by state law.
"We want to keep that amount locked in the Rainy Day Fund until we approve how that money is to be used," Creech said, making that part of the motion she made to rescind the jail tax.
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