Should County Taxes Be Increased To Renovate Jail?
By Bryan Fox
Most citizens, by and large, will oppose any kind of a tax imposed on them. However their are some  exceptions that benefit education, roads, law enforcement safety, etc.  Recently, a bill was quietly introduced in the Indiana State House that would give Vanderburgh County the option of raising the income tax on its residents by 1.25% This bill,  pushed by the County Commissioners, would bypass the Evansville City Council completely and give the County Council the final decision making authority to approve this increase if the bill was ever to become law.
CCO attempted to reach out to all three County Commissioners. Of the three Commissioners, Cheryl Musgrave, Bruce Ungethem, and Ben Shoulders, only Shoulders responded to CCO directly. Â Shoulders, the only democrat of the three Commissioners says, “Jail overcrowding is a serious issue, and we are working together as Commissioners, and as a community, to explore EVERY option possible in order to uncover the necessary funding.” Shoulders also went onto say he would “ask for the same opportunity given to previous administrations in order to carefully evaluate all options, discuss with my constituents and dive deep into any and all financial resources possible before committing to any type of local tax increase.” What Shoulders is essentially saying is raising the income tax wouldn’t be the first option but it would be an option.
The other Commissioners, Musgrave and Ungethem, had a Indy Public Relations firm respond to CCO on their behalf. According to this firm, the County Commissioners are responsible for the upkeep of the county jail and basically reiterated what Commissioner Shoulders said about only having the tax increase as an option. We are puzzled why Ungetheim and Musgrave needed a Public Relations firm from Indy to answer our question about the jail and Mr. Shoulders didn’t.
The one huge government entity left out of this equation is the Evansville City Council.  This bill was written by State Senator Veneta Becker and filed with the Indiana State Legislature Ways and Means committee by State Rep Hollie Sullivan.  When members of the Evansville City Council found out that a bill was written and filed without their knowledge they vehemently opposed it.
Responding to CCO, 5th Ward Councilmen Justin Elpers says, “Any decisions to raising LIT should be shared between city/county reps not solely by county.” If there was any better argument to support city/county consolidation, which the county voted against in the 2012 election, that would be it. Considering that roughly 70% of county residents live within the city limits, having both city and county reps making tax decisions seems like a good option to CCO.
Musgrave’s and Ungetheim’s Indy Public Relations firm did provide CCO with a list of 16 other Indiana counties that also has this option of raising the income tax to support jail funding. Of these 16 counties, with the exception of Elhart and Monroe, all of them are rural counties where the cost of living is cheaper. None of the 16 counties are even close to Vanderburgh County. population wise. Of course the overall crime rate in Vanderburgh County is by far larger then the other rural counties.
With public employees Healthcare premiums on the rise, the Evansville sewer and water rates going up, increase in property because of the 2% reduction the Homestead Tax Credit passed by City Council, State of Indiana gas tax increasing this coming year and increases in City/County fees and permits will cause Vanderburgh County taxpayers to bulk at anymore taxes leveled on them.
its time that Evansville City Council, County Commission and County Council stop playing political games concerning the possible funding for the renovation plans for the Vanderburgh County jail? …its time for members of all three elected bodies to sit down like reasonable adults and address the overcrowding and understaff issues concerning the jail and to come up with reasonable solutions to how to correct the problems? …if they agree that building an addition to the jail is the answer then they should build the jail for future needs and not for the current needs?
If CCO has reported correctly on the bill, it’s not strictly for the jail. It’s basically a blank check for the county. Taxpayers should beware.
Lets hold up on it for a while. I am hearing that President Trump is planning to use these prisoners as part of the construction force for the southern border wall project. It makes good sense to me. Let them work for early release dates, or to learn a trade that they can use to make a living.
Comments are closed.