Porter County Attorney Betty Knight said Tuesday she does not believe a recent modification to state law clears the way for the County Council to break with tradition and spend local income tax revenue without the support of the county commissioners.
The preliminary legal opinion, which strengthens the commissioners' stand on the issue, was given in response to a comment reported in The Times on Sunday by Tammy White, county office supervisor with the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
White said interpretation of the law is up to the county attorney and not her agency, which is charged with auditing all government units in Indiana.
Both White and Knight said the recent change in state law that at least some council members are interpreting as giving them exclusive power to transfer the revenue, does not identify which local board has that authority.
White said the rest of the state law on this subject supports the county's current approach of the commissioners proposing a use for the income tax revenue and then the council voting it up or down.
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