From the Indianapolis Star:
Many Marion County property taxpayers outside the old Indianapolis city limits would see a tax hike for police under Mayor Greg Ballard’s 2014 budget proposal.
The mayor wants to expand the Indianapolis police taxing district so that all taxpayers pay a tax rate that helps fund the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s daily operations. His proposal, which his aides provided to The Indianapolis Star this afternoon, would significantly reduce the tax rate for that district as its boundaries are expanded, which means properties that already pay the tax would pay significantly less.
The district’s boundaries still follow the former Indianapolis Police Department coverage area and were not expanded in the 2007 police merger.
Though city number-crunchers are aiming to raise the same amount, the effect of lowering the rate would be that some who are over the tax caps in the central city — and don’t pay the full rate — would now pay the full reduced rate. That would result in a net boost of about $1.3 million in collections for IMPD next year.
Ballard plans to seek that change in tandem with a renewed attempt to eliminate the homestead property tax credit. The City-County Council voted against that change last month, but the mayor’s plan would depend on it to generate $11.5 million, all earmarked for IMPD.
The tax credit, which is separate from the more lucrative homestead deduction, was created by diverting a portion of county income taxes each year for property tax relief.
Eliminating it would increase property taxes by $30 or less for most homeowners. But those who are over the tax cap — setting their maximum bill for regular taxes at 1 percent of assessed value — would see no impact.
The effect of expanding the police taxing district, in contrast, would be mixed: 42 percent of parcels of all types are within the current district boundaries, and those would benefit from the 68 percent decrease in that tax rate.
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See the full article here:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013308160073
