An agreement to end double taxation for emergency dispatch services isn’t going to make much difference come tax time.
Howard County and the city of Kokomo reached an agreement that will maintain funding for the jointly operated dispatch center after several months of wrangling over the issue of city property owners being taxed twice for the same service. Under the agreement Howard County will raise its taxes while the city lowers its taxes in direct proportion.
The city will transfer $338,319 from its tax levy to the county, said Howard County Assessor Jaime Shepherd. The end result will be a slight savings for city property owners as the taxing burden for dispatch services is spread over all county properties. City taxpayers will no longer pay a city tax rate for dispatch services.
While the savings for city property owners will be slight and county residents may end up paying a little more, Shepherd said both city and county property tax owners are seeing a savings of tax dollars over separate operations.
Prior to consolidation two years ago, dispatch services cost Kokomo and Howard County $2.1 million. Creation of the joint center resulted in an annual savings of $700,000 per year.
Nick Capozzoli, coordinator of the dispatch center, presented the proposed 2014 budget Thursday. Continuing the consolidated service will cost $1,389,000.
“There is no change in the bottom line,” he said.
The county is expected to receive $645,000 from Indiana for the 911 service fee on all telephones in the county.
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