From the Terre Haute Tribune-Star:
The Terre Haute City Council wants more time to think about a major financial decision and a major traffic decision.
At their Thursday night regular meeting, the council decided to postpone votes on two important measures: The first would transfer $2 million from the city’s Economic Development Income Tax fund into the city’s critical general fund. The second would make downtown’s Cherry Street a two-way street.
The decision to table the EDIT transfer came as a setback to Mayor Duke Bennett, who had requested the move. It was one of three measures Bennett put forward seeking a total transfer of about $7.7 million into the general fund from three different sources: The EDIT fund, the “rainy day” fund and from the wastewater treatment utility in the form of a “payment in lieu of taxes” or PILOT.
The council passed the transfer of the “rainy day” and PILOT dollars, but had stronger reservations about transferring $2 million from the EDIT fund, which was designed to be used for economic development projects.
“You don’t eat your seed corn,” said Councilman John Mullican, D-6th. Economic development income taxes are “our seed corn,” he said. Mullican also said he worried the city was on a path to be in the same position next year. “I don’t see us doing things differently” in 2013, he said. “I think we need to make some changes in the way we’re doing business.”
Councilman Jim Chalos, D-at large, said the economic development income tax was sold to voters as a way to raise revenue for economic development – job-creating – projects. Therefore, he was reluctant to use it to pay the city’s ordinary bills, he said.
The vote to table the EDIT transfer was unanimous.
Had all three measures passed, the city would have ended 2012 with a positive balance in its general fund, Bennett said. It will now end the year with a $2-million shortfall in the general fund, something state auditors “red flag” in annual audit reports. Terre Haute ended 2011 with a $4.5-million shortfall in its general fund.
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http://tribstar.com/local/x942852392/Council-tables-two-proposals
