Allen County Council says no to earmarking money for Regional Cities projects

Council President Roy Buskirk, R-at large, proposed setting aside the $3 million, stating he believes upcoming capital projects can be funded in other ways than raising taxes. Buskirk and 17 other Republican elected officials from Allen County signed a letter earlier this week questioning whether Greater Fort Wayne Inc. is using public funds to lobby for a sales tax increase.

The money will stay in the county's general fund for now and may be used for regional cities projects in the future, Councilman Bob Armstrong, R-at large said after the meeting.

"I realize that we need these projects," Buskirk said. "I think they can be funded other than raising taxes. This would be an example of where we would have money available without raising taxes. That's the reason that we would just earmark it currently for regional cities projects."