BROOKVILLE — Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, Franklin County residents who pay income tax will have an additional .25 percent income tax withheld from their paychecks.
Thursday evening, Franklin County Council voted five to two to enact the Public Safety Income Tax. Council members Daryl Kramer, Joe Sizemore, Dean McQueen, Jeff Koch and Aaron Leffingwell voted in favor while Keith Hall and Council President Becky Oglesby voted against.
The tax is expected to generate $884,000. The vote had been postponed from Sept. 1 when a public hearing had to be put off because of incorrect legal advertising.
Resident Charles Neeley complained that taxes are being raised at every turn. During the winter, he goes to Texas where there is no income tax. He said his house would be sold before paying insurance for members of the commissioners and council.
Other residents brought up the issue of council members and the commissioners having county health insurance even though they are part-time employees. If those bodies did not take insurance, it would save more than $100,000, they estimated.
Leffingwell said the council asked the commissioners to change the personnel handbook to not include that benefit and the council did not include that amount in the proposed budget. If the commissioners do not change the handbook, they can still receive the insurance and if they take the insurance, it has to be paid.
Stanley Monroe said there were 102 tax sales out of some 22,000 residents this year because people can’t pay the taxes. If the county can’t pay its bills, he suggested filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy and trying it again.
Harry Graves reported speaking to the commissioners in August about a misallocation of funds in distributing funds to the towns because he cannot find annexations being recorded nor can he locate the recorded boundaries of the town of Brookville.
Rich Baundendistel supported the tax. If employees have to be cut, that affects the community.
“We elect you to be responsible for the money and make the decisions and if you don’t like the decision, vote for someone else,” he said.
“We will,” many in the crowd said.
Wayne Monroe complained a firetruck has been purchased that has had two transmissions replaced and the engine has had major work done on it. Does the community need a ladder truck?
Leffingwell suggested if there is a question about the fire department, he should go to the town board.
Don Smith has worked at the sheriff’s department for 35 years. He said the council has a tough job.
“Thirty-five years ago, things were cheaper,” he said. “If you’re going to have services like we have now, and not increase the services, you’re going to have to have money. You get what pay for. I’m in favor of the tax.”
In explaining his vote for the tax, Kramer said the council has spent the past two years making cuts and has eliminated jobs, which were hard decisions. The county is now more efficient and will be made even more efficient in the future.
“There comes a time with falling revenues – the $500,000 from the riverboat and $100,000 from the town of Brookville for 911, when we have to make fundamental decisions about how we want to run this county,” he explained. “In order for us to make fundamental decisions that would not require a further tax, there are only two options in my estimation we can do. Those are to cut the highway department and the sheriff’s department. I’ve heard tonight that people want better roads and this society does not have law and order.”
There is not one council member that wants to raise taxes but it’s the responsibility of the council to fund the police and have suitable roads. The council won’t make those cuts, he said. There are many laws that require the council to fund certain activities and offices that maybe they would not like to fund, but they have no choice.
“This is not the federal government, we have to balance our budget,” he said.
“I don’t see this as a solution to the root cause,” Hall said. “In the past four years, the budget has increased 6.8 percent whereas the income is up 2 percent. I don’t see a recommendation to stop the spending. Of this tax, 75 percent goes to the county with 25 percent to the towns and we don’t control that.”
Leffingwell said that with the passage, he would go to Brookville Town Council and ask them to get their share of the tax back to the county.
With the passage of the ordinance to establish the tax, the council also approved a resolution stating the council would direct the at least 15 percent of the revenue to the dispatch center.
Oglesby cast the lone vote against the resolution.
Hall said that although he voted against the ordinance, since the ordinance passed, it is important to manage the tax properly and he promised to spend his time doing that.
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