Porter County cumulative capital development fund tax rate increased

The increase, from 1.89 cents, amounts to less than half a penny; Evans said that for a house with an assessed valuation of $150,000, it would total 25 cents a month, or $3 for the year.

That will be offset because the county has paid off its bond on the Juvenile Service Center, removing it from tax rates. The county’s increasing assessed valuation also will help push down taxes.

“There is a likelihood that your overall property tax rate in 2015 will be less than it was this year,” Evans said.

Commissioners plan on moving about $825,000 in annual power, water and sewage expenses from the county’s general fund to the CCD. “This will free up that $825,000 in the general fund to help the council manage the budget shortfall,” Evans said.

The switch was recommended in a financial report done by Umbaugh and Associates two years ago, which noted the county should lessen its reliance on property taxes, which are declining because of tax caps, and rely more on the CCD fund and the County Economic Development Income Tax.

The CCD rate was last reset in 2007. A 15-day remonstrance period before the rate is established for the coming year started Tuesday.

The CCD rate collected $1.9 million in 2010, but that dropped to $1.6 million last year, said Bob Clifford, a principal with Umbaugh. The county is losing money to the tax caps, he said, and the increased rate, the maximum allowed by the state, restores that lost revenue.

“We did recommend you do this because of the circuit breaker losses here,” Clifford said. “You need to do all you can to preserve the cash balance in the county.”

No one spoke in favor of the increase at a hearing before the commissioners’ vote, though one person had a question about the county’s general fund budget, which will be set by the County Council in the fall, and another wanted to know what the impact of the hospital’s assessed valuation would be.

Assessor Jon Snyder and hospital officials agreed last month that Porter Regional Hospital’s assessed valuation was $130 million, putting the facility in compliance with the terms of a 10-year tax abatement granted by the council.

The hospital ultimately will generate more tax dollars for the county, said Auditor Bob Wichlinski, and could increase the county’s assessed valuation, but won’t be enough to resolve a $5 million budget shortfall.

“I would be remiss to say this is going to be a panacea for this problem,” he said. “I’m hesitant to use the word lifeboat, because it’s not.”