From the Indianapolis Star:
A
City-County Council committee’s rejection tonight of a proposal to eliminate a
property tax credit
leaves a $9 million police funding gap next year, Mayor Greg Ballard’s top aide
says.
leaves a $9 million police funding gap next year, Mayor Greg Ballard’s top aide
says.
Council
Democrats, including President Maggie Lewis and Administration and Finance
Committee Chairwoman Angela Mansfield, said they still were exploring
alternatives that wouldn’t increase tax bills for most homeowners.
...
It
was the council’s third rejection of Ballard’s push to ax the homestead credit.
That credit diverts some income tax revenue to lower property tax bills for 75
percent of homeowners by an average of $22 a year.
Ballard’s
proposed $1 billion city-county budget for next year depends on the elimination
to free up $11.5 million for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Without that move, Vaughn said, IMPD’s main budget fund would go into the red
by an estimated $9 million.
Vaughn
said the mid-game budget move leaves in limbo a compromise offered by Ballard:
If the council would phase out the the homestead credit over two years, he
would agree to borrow $7.5 million from a city stability fund to plug IMPD’s
budget next year and pay for a second recruit class of 30 officers.
The
committee voted 5-3 vote, along party lines, against a motion to send the
proposed credit elimination to the full council.
Lewis
said talks with the administration would continue but declined to comment
further.
The
council still could revive the credit elimination, but under state law, it
must act by its Sept. 23 council meeting for the change to take effect next
year. It plans to vote on the overall budget by mid-October.
must act by its Sept. 23 council meeting for the change to take effect next
year. It plans to vote on the overall budget by mid-October.
Separately, the committee postponed another
tax proposal to its Sept. 17 meeting.
That measure would expand a special police taxing district, which currently
adds an assessment to tax bills only in the old city limits, to the county
line.
.
That measure would expand a special police taxing district, which currently
adds an assessment to tax bills only in the old city limits, to the county
line.