From the Northwest Indiana Times:
City and town clerks were told Friday to prepare for a $45.3 million windfall of local income tax revenues next year.
That was the good news, according to Dante Rondelli, financial director for the Lake County Council. Rondelli delivered the news to a monthly meeting of 16 Plus, a group of municipal officials from throughout the county who gathered at Schererville Town Hall Friday.
The bad news is property taxes will rise in suburban areas while property tax collections for other government services will drop significantly in coming years, he said. The spike will pay for the upcoming launch of a consolidated E-911 communications network for all police and fire services in the county.
"You will see county tax rates for bonds go through the roof," Rondelli said. "If your taxpayers come to complain about that, tell them why we are doing that."
The county council passed a 1.5 percent tax last May on the personal incomes of county residents and workers. The county will begin collecting it from paychecks Oct. 1.
The new tax will eventually generate $135.6 million annually. Two thirds of that will be in the form of property tax relief. But because of lags in tax collection and distribution, the county won't begin to feel any of that relief until 2015, Rondelli said.
However, Rondelli said local officials can start planning to spend the remaining third in 2014. County government will get the biggest share, a total of $15.3 million.
Approximately half the money must be spent on police, fire and other public safety costs.
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See the full article here:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/lake-planner-predicts-the-ups-and-downs-of-county-taxes/article_98522011-c323-52f9-8efe-e7e82880cc03.html
