Matthew Nash in the Jeffersonville News and Tribune:
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One of the biggest misconceptions of our county council or any other in the state of Indiana is that they are not a legislative body. They are the fiscal body for the county. What this means is they do not create laws or policy, that is the job of the county commissioners. Their main responsibilities include preparing the annual budget which in turn sets our tax rate county wide and appropriating other monies that are within their authority including Economic Development Income Tax funds, River Boat and Rainy Day funds.
Another misconception of the general public, which may even be held by some members of the county council, is who they actually represent. Some people are of the mindset that the council’s boundaries begin at the city limits and extend to the edge of Floyd County. It seems that some people believe that if you live within the confines of the city of New Albany, you are not also a resident of Floyd County. In reality we are all one big happy family, or at least should be.
You see New Albany city residents pay the same Floyd County tax rate as citizens that live outside of the city limits. That means if I live in a house with an assessed value of $100,000 in the city of New Albany and you live in a house with an assessed value of $100,000 outside of the city limits [including Georgetown, Greenville, Galena or any place in between] you pay the exact same amount in property tax to the Floyd County Treasurer. That tax money is what the county council uses to pay for things like the Floyd County Jail, the Floyd County Sheriff’s department [including the salary of the Floyd County chief of Police] and the salaries of the members of the Floyd County Council.
Do the citizens of New Albany get the representation that they are indeed paying for? I believe that some members of the Floyd County Council are under the impression that they only represent those who live outside of city limits. They do not understand that citizens of New Albany are indeed also citizens of Floyd County and deserve the same consideration when they make their decisions. I believe it is time for our elected representatives to actually start representing everyone that lives and pays taxes in Floyd County.
This should not be a war between hill vs. valley people. I am not trying to start any friction between “city” and “county” people. I am a citizen of New Albany and Floyd County and in a war between city and county no matter if my team wins, my other team loses. I believe that our elected officials should begin to represent everyone that resides within the confines of our county equally, no matter what part of the county you live in.
http://newsandtribune.com/columns/x157473006/NASH-City-vs-County-nobody-wins
