Lake County officials say county homeowners now shoulder the cost of nearly half of local government's budget, up from about a third a decade ago.
A 2003 law that reduced land values and the tax value of industrial equipment for the county's big industry, resulting in their paying much less in taxes, shifted the county's tax burden to homeowners.
So, even though rises in property taxes have been capped for several years, homeowners are still paying more in property taxes. With a $20 million budget shortfall looming, county officials are considering doing anything, including borrowing money to pay for operations.
A few Lake County officials are daring to broach the once-taboo suggestion of adopting a county income tax as the only sensible way out of the budget hole, but others insist they will never vote for one because it's a further onus on residents and not business or industry. All 91 other Indiana counties have some form of an income tax.
