By the numbers
Estimated property tax cap impact, area cities and towns, 2018
  • Richmond: $4,158,960
  • Connersville: $3,643,401
  • New Castle: $3,372,177
  • Rushville: $1,658,806
  • Liberty: $206,605
  • Brookville: $50,535
Source: Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, 2018 Estimated Property Tax Cap Impact Report
It’s around this time of year that area taxpayers hear the talk of proposed budgets for the next year, tax revenue and circuit breakers, better known in layperson’s terms as tax caps.

And, while those taxpayers will see more money in their pockets – the circuit breakers limit how much in taxes local governments can collect on homestead, residential, commercial and personal property – they will hear of how those circuit breakers often impact, negatively, local governments when they try to plan for the next year’s budgets, primarily because the assessed values of those communities aren’t increasing enough to help balance out the increasing amount of revenue being lost by taxing units because of the tax caps.

And with less tax revenue, area governments often find themselves trying to be creative in offering the same, or more services, often with lesser funds to do so.

Some communities see that impact a little more than others, and the impact can truly been seen in several communities throughout the Whitewater Valley, according to a report released last month by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.

The city of Connersville, for instance, finds itself only trailing the city of Richmond when it comes to the city’s estimated 2018 tax cap impact.

The DLGF estimates that the city will lose out on $3,643,401 in tax revenue due to the tax caps, the largest impact of any taxing unit within Fayette County.

The next largest within the county are the Fayette County School Corporation, which is estimated to see $1,352,563 in tax revenue uncaptured because of the tax caps, followed by Fayette County itself, which will lose out on $1,075,396.

The Fayette County Public Library will see a $144,170 impact, and of the nine townships to see the biggest impact of the tax caps will be Connersville Township at $35,433 and Harrison Township at $25,629.

Columbia, Fairview, Jackson, Jennings, Orange, Posey, and Waterloo are all expected to see tax cap impacts of roughly $200 or less.

The only other civil taxing unit within Fayette County, the town of Glenwood, is estimated by the DLGF to see a $4,326 impact – on the Fayette County side of the fence. On the Rush County side, Glenwood is estimated to see a $7,450 impact.

The impact of the tax caps on Fayette County and Connersville, for instance – and just how much of an impact it is estimated to be – can be measured against Franklin County, which overall for all its taxing units will only see $217,217 of property tax revenue lost due to the tax caps, paling in comparison to Fayette County.

The city of Connersville, however, and Fayette County aren’t the only area counties seeing such an impact from the tax caps. Wayne County, for instance, is estimated by the DLGF to lose out on $3,155,443 in tax revenue, while the city of Richmond is projected to lose out on $4,158,960.

In Henry County, the county is expected to lose out on $1,666,852 in tax revenue, while New Castle would lose $3,372,177, due to the property tax caps for 2018.
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