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County council discusses new tax to fund roadwork

The Huntington County Council and Highway Superintendent Troy Hostetler discussed the importance of passing an ordinance to fund roadwork in 2017 at the board’s meeting on Monday, April 25.

Council and Hostetler are looking at an ordinance that would establish a local option highway user tax, which is a combination of the county motor vehicle excise surtax and the county wheel tax. The tax would be paid at the time of a vehicle’s registration and finance roadwork exclusively.

Last year, the board passed an ordinance establishing such a tax for 2016, but the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles informed council in January that it would not be collected as parts of the ordinance did not satisfy state code. This development left Hostetler and the board seeking alternative ways to fund the roadwork both parties had anticipated the wheel tax would cover.

“We’re getting some money back from the state this year that’ll help,” says Hostetler. “That’ll help cover us while we do our sealing and everything this year.

“But we need something for the future and that’s why we’re looking at the wheel tax. If we let another year pass, we’ll fall behind another year.”

The deadline to pass an ordinance instituting a wheel tax for next year is June 30. If such an ordinance is approved by that date with a unanimous vote, the tax will be active starting the first of the year. Council and Hostetler are currently working out the particulars of the tax. Both parties hope to see an ordinance passed at the board’s May meeting.

Both the assessor’s and auditor’s offices are on a deadline, too, said County Auditor Cindy Yeiter. The assessor’s office is currently re-assessing its valuations of geothermal units that were factored into spring tax bills. Michael Duffy, general counsel for the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, took issue with the office’s previous valuations upon learning that it had assessed small units and large units the same.

“So, (Duffy) had told them they have to get this changed, but that means an individual look at every 756 parcels individually to come up with that new value,” says Yeiter.

With the values changing, the auditor’s office will have to print out new bills. As no errors may be corrected after May 10, Yeiter said her office is looking at the prospect of working overtime in order to get the bills out.

In other business:
Council granted a request by the County Commissioners to appropriate $395,000 in CEDIT funds to finance an economic development project. The board also gave the commissioners permission to spend $70,000 that had been appropriated for a project last year that is still being worked on this year.

Councilman Don Davenriner stated that he felt the northwest and southwest portions of the county were underserved by vote centers. He said he would like to see County Clerk Kittie Keiffer address that issue going forward.