GREENFIELD — The Hancock County Council has proposed increasing the local income tax rate for next year — monies that could be spent on the first phase of a criminal justice center outside of Greenfield.
The county council introduced an ordinance on Wednesday to modify the income tax rate, a decision spurred from a jail plan proposed by the county’s design firm earlier in the month.
Indianapolis-based RQAW pitched an option to build half of an inmate-housing pod to accommodate overflow at the current jail until and while a new facility is constructed. The plan states the building would be operational within a year’s time and cost $10.5 million.
Indiana counties can increase their income tax rates to not exceed 0.2 percent to cover the costs of a new correctional or rehabilitation facility, according to a law enacted earlier this year.
Hancock County’s local income tax rate is set to be 1.74 percent on Jan. 1. The council recently voted to increase the rate next year by 0.04 percent to fully fund the Hancock County 911 Center’s operational costs. The county collects local income tax from residents’ paychecks.
Councilman Jim Shelby said he asked Hancock County’s financial adviser, Greg Guerrettaz, to see how much the county could raise its income tax rate to fund the “half-a-pod” between a five and 20-year payoff.
Shelby said about 0.06 percent of the proposed tax rate hike would be used for jail employee salaries — the council already agreed to fund 16 new jailers — and an additional 0.06 percent of the tax increase could cover the first phase of the jail construction.
The council will decide the exact rate at a meeting on Oct. 22. The council will meet at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 to discuss how much to increase the tax rate and how long the payoff should last. Then at 7 p.m., the council will hold a public hearing on the proposed tax increase. The meetings will take place at the Hancock County Courthouse Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield.
The council needs to pass the increase soon so the county can start collecting the money in January 2019, Shelby said. If they wait any longer, the county can’t obtain the tax contributions until next October.
Councilman Kent Fisk said he thinks the county should pay the half-a-pod off over 20 years at a lower rate increase, and raise the rate again in later years for future criminal justice system projects, such as probation, drug treatment programs, courts and the prosecutor’s office.
Council President Bill Bolander said building part of a permanent jail would save the county more money than building a temporary structure.
“I think it’s imperative to get something done,” Bolander said. “We can’t beat this to death.”
The Board of Commissioners last month voted to begin negotiations with Missouri-based All Detainment Solutions to build a $5.2 million temporary jail comprised of 16 modified semitrailers adjacent to the county jail at 123 E. Main St. and not at any other location in the county. The commissioners had previously approved using a $5 million property tax bond to fund the project, but the council didn’t act.
Instead, most council members want to pursue building the estimated $10.5 million half of an inmate-housing pod, which could house 158 inmates, and not move forward on plans to build a temporary modified-trailer jail in downtown Greenfield.
Previously, many council members had wanted to build a new jail at land commonly called the county farm, along U.S. 40 between County Roads 400E and 500E. On Wednesday, council members said the jail doesn’t necessarily need to be built on the county farm, but they all agreed it shouldn’t be in downtown Greenfield.
Maj. Brad Burkhart, chief deputy of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, told the council that he now needs direction on if the county should still proceed with negotiations for the modified trailers that would serve as a temporary jail.
Bolander said that’s up to the commissioners, adding that the council didn’t offer any money to build the trailers.
Burkhart said the council seems to be dictating where to put the jail and how it should be built, when that’s the role of the three commissioners. He also said the costs and timeline provided by RQAW for the trailers were incorrect. The trailers should only take six months to build, rather than the nine months RQAW suggested.
Bolander said it’s not in the best financial interest of the county to spend about $7 million on a temporary jail when the county could invest $3.5 million more and be steps ahead on a permanent jail.
The temporary trailers can be resold, Burkhart said, to offset the costs of a new jail. Whatever the council and commissioners decide, Burkart said the immediate need is space in the jail. On Wednesday, the jail had 236 inmates cramped into the 157-bed facility. Some inmates have to regularly sleep on the ground.
“We’ll be standing here next year … and into 2020 talking about the same thing, being overcrowded, because we won’t be in a facility,” Burkhart said.
County Attorney Ray Richardson reminded the council that they’re only proposing a higher tax rate for a new correctional facility, not halting negotiations for modified trailers or voting to build a half a pod outside of Greenfield city limits; that’s up to the commissioners.
“So nothing is off the table,” Richardson said, “and nothing is exactly on the table, either.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
WHAT: The Hancock County Council has proposed increasing the local income tax rate by no more than 0.2 percent in order to fund part of a new jail.
WHEN: 6 p.m. special meeting, 7 p.m. public hearing on Oct. 22
WHERE: Courthouse Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield
[sc:pullout-text-end]
