KNIGHTSTOWN — The town council met in special session Thursday and voted to increase the tax rate for the Cumulative Capital Development Fund (CCDF).
Prior to a vote and during a public hearing on the matter, clerk-treasurer Beth Huffman explained that the CCDF rate currently is .095 cents on every $100 of assessed evaluation and suggested the rate be increased to 5 cents, the maximum allowed by state statute.;
“It really is to the advantage of the Town of Knightstown to have the rate at 5 cents, because it would bring more dollars into the town to be able to operate,” Huffman said.
Huffman said state law dictates what CCDF monies can be used for, but added that the law allows for wide variety of uses that would be “very beneficial” to the town.
According to the clerk-treasurer, assessment of the tax would begin in 2018, but any additional funds the increase generates would not be available to the council until 2019. She also said that according to a financial consultant the town works with, the increase will generate roughly $11,000 in new revenue annually.
Following the close of the public hearing, during which a few questions were asked but no one spoke for or against the proposed increase, a vote was held to follow Huffman’s recommendation and increase the CCDF rate to 5 cents.
Huffman said the matter had twice been legally advertised. The public hearing held Thursday was the next step in the process. The increase will again be advertised and a 30-day period to allow for remonstrance begins. Assuming all goes as planned, the move has to be submitted to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, which has the authority to approve or deny the increase.
“This is necessary because our General Fund keeps getting cut,” Huffman said. “So, anyplace where we can bring revenue into the town in order to be able to operate the town efficiently and wisely makes sense. As our costs rise and the property tax cap kicks in, we find that the funding to the town has decreased over time and we struggle with finances. When we realized the rate had not been re-established for some time to the amount allowed by law, we determined that this was a good time to have this discussion.”
Huffman said that while the town’s financial situation has improved considerably during the past year, she favors a very conservative approach to spending public funds.
“There’s still a concern, not knowing what’s going to happen to funding in the future,” she said. “We barely slide by and we do have to prioritize ... what projects we do complete and what projects we are not able to complete. I cautiously say that we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”