By Jason Michael White, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
The most common question Center Grove area residents ask about merging or incorporating is how much it will cost them and what services their additional money will provide.
The answers to their questions are educated guesses based on assumptions.
Predicting the property tax impact of the Center Grove area merging with Greenwood or Bargersville or becoming its own city is too difficult, partly because of new state laws taking effect, said John Dorsett, president of a residents group that gave a presentation to a crowd of more than 200 people on Monday.
White River Citizens United is trying to get the community information so they can decide for themselves whether to merge, become their own city or town or do nothing and stay unincorporated. The group has tentatively scheduled another meeting for Oct. 6 and invited state tax expert Larry DeBoer, a Purdue University professor and fiscal analyst.
Group members surveyed the residents Monday to see if they were interested in attending another informational meeting. The group plans to review the survey results Thursday and decide how to move forward and whether to have a second meeting about the future of the township.
Many of the Center Grove area's 30,000 to 40,000 residents live in unincorporated parts of the township, meaning they are not a part of a city or town.
They get most of their services, such as street maintenance and police protection, from the county and pay county property taxes.
Residents would still have to pay the taxes they pay now if the Center Grove area merged or incorporated. But they would have to pay an additional city or town property tax. The town or city would then be responsible for providing most services.
Self incorporation is the most expensive option for the Center Grove area in terms of getting services started and a government organized.
Private residents would have to organize and come up with the money to cover a broad range of legal requirements, including an official survey of the territory, a certified statement of the territory's assessed valuation and a break down of services that will be provided and the cost and timeline of those services.
Certified mailings alone would cost $80,000 to reach all of the unincorporated area's residents, Dorsett said.
The new town or city's first year of operating would have to be financed, likely through a bond sale, Dorsett said. Property tax revenue would not be available during the first year to fund salaries for town or city employees or to pay utility bills for town or city offices, he said.
Also, the new town or city would have to find space to put all its employees and provide equipment and vehicles, such as police cars.
The new town or city would legally have to provide at least six services, which could include police, fire protection, a health department, utilities, parks and recreation or planning, said Courtney Schaafsma, an attorney with Crowe Horwath. If the community can't provide at least six services, it can't incorporate, she said.
The new town or city also would need permission from cities within three miles, which would mean Greenwood, in order to incorporate, she said. White River Citizens United does not have the resources it would need to be the leader in forming a new city or town, Dorsett said. The organization could not afford the start-up costs of creating a new government, he said.
Merging with Greenwood or Bargersville would have less of an initial cost because the city and town already have governments in place, along with some services such as police protection.
The Greenwood police department has 51 officers including the police chief, 68 vehicles including vans and patrol cars and a proposed 2009 budget of $4.45 million.
The Bargersville police department has five officers including the police chief, six vehicles and a 2008 budget of $747,876.
Adding officers, vehicles and equipment to existing police departments is less expensive than creating a police department from scratch, Dorsett said.