ANGOLA — Steuben County, like many other communities across Indiana, could be looking at increased uses of income taxes and other measures brought about by Senate Enrolled Act 1, said Steuben County Council President Dan Caruso before a meeting of the Republican Chairman's Breakfast held on Saturday.

While the county as well as other communities in Steuben County might be looking at ways to offset revenue impacts of SEA 1, the county has benefited from doing its work on getting wages in a competitive place and attracting and retaining talent, Caruso said.

Personnel and wages are the top priority in the budget, followed by debt management and future capital needs, Caruso said.

"We have, obviously, cities and municipalities within our county and neighboring counties within out state that we are competing with for talent within our county government," Caruso said.

The county has brought up wages after conducting an outside analysis of the county's pay and benefits structure.

That meant bringing up wages last year and continuing to provide more money to employees. Generally, employees are receiving 5% pay increases next year.

Beyond the cost of human capital, there are other impacts, Caruso said.

Some of those impacts include the funding of the $26 million Steuben County Judicial Center, and the county no longer having American Rescue Plan Act monies at its disposal. Steuben County received about $7 million from ARPA, which was provided during the President Joe Biden administration to help offset losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The county has elected to have a public defender's office, which will increase expenses but provide benefits. Steuben County is one of a few counties chosen for a trial project that pays for reimbursement of 40% of the cost or providing public defenders for people who can't afford their own attorneys.

The county already gets reimbursement for felony defendants by being part of a state program, but not for misdemeanor crimes.

This new department will require administrative and paralegal staff as well as a full-time chief public defender.

It will end up costing the county about $250,000 a year, Caruso said.

When crafting the 2026 budget, Caruso credited department heads with submitting clean budget requests that required little trimming.

The health department's budget has grown due to state funding being cut for additional programs given to the county to run, but the council is reviewing programs to ensure sustainability, Caruso said.

As they are right now, Caruso said, highway funds are insufficient to maintain roads at desired levels, which has been impacted by inflation and equipment maintenance costs.

The county for years has tried to get the state to allow it the opportunity to collect a local option gas tax, but so far has been unsuccessful. That doesn't mean the county is going to keep pushing for that local gas tax option.

The county isn't just spending money. It has installed a fueling station to save money on fuel for county vehicles. All county vehicles are being fueled from one central location using county equipment.

The potential impact of new taxes on different income levels was discussed, with concerns about the fairness of the proposed structure.

What is difficult, Caruso said, is the fact that so many people who have property in Steuben County do not work in Steuben County, particularly seasonal lake residents. That doesn't allow the county to tap into new income tax revenue sources like other counties do.