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What Has Happened To Indiana Local Income Tax Rates in 2019?

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What Has Happened To Indiana Local Income Tax Rates in 2019?

Larry DeBoer

February 17, 2019

Indiana reformed its local income taxes during the 2015 legislative session, and the new set-up took effect in 2017.  The old income tax acronyms, CAGIT, COIT, EDIT, and LOIT, were no more. Now we have LIT, for local income tax, with a single rate and a collection of revenue buckets for various uses.
Three years into the new system, however, you still hear the old acronyms. The legacy of our local income tax history remains. It matters which counties had CAGIT, the county adjusted gross income tax. School districts receive some income tax revenue in counties that had CAGIT. Schools don’t receive LIT revenue in other counties. It matters which counties had COIT, the county option income tax. A local income tax council makes tax decisions for those counties. In other counties, the county council is the decision-maker.
The expenditure bucket under LIT that goes for public safety often is still called the public safety tax. The bucket for economic development often is still called EDIT, for economic development income tax.  The official term for the general spending bucket remains “certified shares” even though the term “general expenditures” would be more descriptive.
We may use the same terms. But under the new system, counties are changing their tax rates and how they use their revenue.
Under the old system, the public safety tax had a maximum rate of 0.25 percent. Now that rate is included under an overall expenditure rate limit of 2.5 percent. (In Marion, the limit was 0.5 percent and the new maximum is 2.75 percent.) This year, 15 counties will see their public safety rates above the old maximum. Under the old system, counties wanting to adopt a public safety tax had to adopt an income tax rate for property tax relief, too. The income tax revenue is used to give some property owners a credit against their property tax bills. The new system dropped the tax relief requirement. Two counties have eliminated LIT rates for property tax relief since 2017, and five more have reduced LIT relief rates.
In each case, the lower LIT rate for property tax relief was matched with a higher rate for other LIT revenues, mostly for public safety. The share of LIT revenue used for relief has decreased.
Last year, the General Assembly passed a new LIT option. Counties can now adopt an added rate of up to two-tenths of 1 percent to be used for correctional facilities. All the revenue from this rate goes to the county government. Ten counties have adopted this new option.
In 2018, the second full year under the new system, 18 counties increased their LIT rates. The average rate rose 5 percent. The median rate – the middle value among all counties – increased from 1.5 percent in 2017 to 1.73 percent in 2018.
Maybe this larger-than-usual increase was a one-time adjustment to the new system.  Maybe, though, the new system encourages counties to increase local income taxes more rapidly every year. Would 2019 show another big increase in rates and revenues, or would the rise be more modest?
The answer: Modest. The average rate rose only 2 percent; the median rate barely budged from 1.73 percent to 1.75 percent. Half of this increase was due to the 10 counties that adopted the new correctional facilities rate.
Twelve counties increased their overall LIT rates in 2019. Six increased their public safety rates, but two reduced their public safety rates while adopting the new correctional facilities rate. Three decreased their property tax relief rates and raised an expenditure rate by an equal amount. Four counties increased their general-purpose “certified share” rate. Two increased their economic development rate, but the two others decreased that rate. The General Assembly authorized special-purpose rates for three more counties.
In total, though, local income tax rates increased by a relatively modest amount, and half of that increase was due to the new tax option. Perhaps the new system will not result in more rapid increases in local income taxes.
What happened in your county?  Since local income taxes are paid along with state income taxes, you’ll be checking your county rate by April 15.

PUGH OR PHEW?

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PUGH OR PHEW?

Gavel Gamut By Jim Redwine

Peg and I recently moved from Posey County in southwestern Indiana to Osage County in northeastern Oklahoma. The acculturalization for me was fairly seamless as I was born in Pawhuska, which is the county seat of The Osage. As for Peg, she was born in Schenectady, New York and has lived north of the Mason-Dixon Line and east of the Mississippi River her whole life. She is what we of the Oklahoma persuasion would generally classify as a “Yankee”. For Peg, the move from the land of corn, soybeans, and concrete has been, well, let’s just say more interesting. And our log cabin out on the prairie thirty miles from the nearest Walmart occasionally poses new challenges for her. Oh, we do have a Dollar General about five miles away, but there’s one of those everywhere so that does not assuage Peg’s concerns.

As Peg becomes accustomed to being called “Ma’am” and getting to frequently use her high beam headlights on the uncrowded highways she is often confronted with the ambiance of a life lived among creatures she used to assume lived in zoos or within the confines of the Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve or the 3,700 acres of the marvelous Woolaroc Museum with bison and other animals only 7 miles from our cabin. Imagine her reactions when she began to encounter hawks, eagles, deer, wild turkeys, cattle, armadillos, scorpions, coyotes, opossums and raccoons right outside our door. Actually she has habituated quite well to most of Mother Nature’s creatures even when they pushed their way into our personal space. Unfortunately, our most recent visitors have been a family of skunks. That’s right. What the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1803-1857) classified as Mephitidae, which means stink.

When Pepé Le Pew was cavorting on the cartoon movie screen in search of love while spouting off in a French accent, the skunk came across as cute and lovable. However, when our own skunk family took up residence under our cabin and spent their nights defending their territory by spraying copious volumes of malodorous ink at the opossums challenging for the same space, Peg called for Terminix. The nearest office was in Tulsa fifty miles away.

Now we have live traps baited with some kind of cat food and cement poured into every cranny around the base of our cabin. Each night the skunks find a new way to burrow, chew or claw their way back under our home.  Gentle Reader, please imaging city girl Peg’s reaction to the wafting of odiferous waves of stench up through the floor and into her rugs and clothing. That’s right. It ain’t pleasant.

On the positive side, we probably do not need to worry about any visitors wanting to stay even the traditional 3-day limit. As for Peg, she now understands why I bought a shotgun when we decided to move west.

For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com

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OBITUARY OF JUDY SELBERT KNAPP

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OBITUARY OF JUDY SELBERT KNAPP

‘Kill them with Kindness.’
‘Leave everything better than you found it.’
‘Don’t date until your 27.’
Just a few of the many words of wisdom Judith Seibert Knapp shared during her full and beautiful life that ended peacefully on February 15, 2020, in the arms of her loving husband and surrounded by her six children.
She was born in Evansville, Indiana on June 6, 1942, to her parents James and Angelina (Datillo) Seibert. She and her siblings, Toni Flamion of Newburgh, Angela Gioe of Martinsville, and the late James Seibert of Newburgh, grew up in St. Ben’s parish.
A proud 1960 graduate of Mater Dei High School, she served as the school’s clerk during her senior year and its biggest fan for the rest of her life. Her Mater Dei friends, of every generation, meant the world to her.
The most special of her Mater Dei relationships became her lifelong love and best friend, Edward Knapp, who she married in June 1966. They have been parishioners at St. Philip Church since 1967, and have welcomed hundreds to the home they lovingly restored in that community. Not only a beacon of beauty at Christmas, but this home she created together with Ed was also always open for friends of all ages to share a laugh and hugs.
Together, with their dear friends, Judy and Ed traveled the world as the most patriotic Americans and created the most magical of worlds right here in Evansville for their six children.
Her heart and energy were always poured into the lives of her children: Eddie (Jackie) of Evansville; Miranda (Jody) Graham of Inlet Beach, FL; Alex (Andrew) Rodman of Indianapolis; Michael (Katie) of Santa Rosa Beach, FL; Anthea (Shane) Turner of Seagrove Beach, FL; and David (Jaimie) of Murfreesboro, TN.
She loved all of her children’s friends like her own and loved, even more, the beautiful friendships that blossomed from the relationships with their families.
With her amazing example of raising children, her six children have blessed her with 20 grandchildren. Endless dancing, homemade candy, seashell walks, front-yard football games and plenty of hugs are just a few of the ways she was easily the best Mamaw/Juju for Austin (MaKayla) and Hayden Knapp, Remy and Millie Graham; Charlie, Adley and Gus Rodman; Abe, Carver, Daniel, Daisy, Adelaide, and Grace Knapp; Bella and Seby Turner; and Kayla, Josh, Liam, Grayland, and Marlee Knapp.
Her tombstone is simply engraved with “For God, Country, Family, and Mater Dei.” Always wearing her signature red and gold, she dedicated her life to making sure everyone at Mater Dei had the most amazing experience by encouraging them to get involved and by being their biggest fan at every event. She also always made sure her 1960 classmates knew how much they were loved and needed for every class reunion. To continue her Mater Dei spirit, and in lieu of flowers, please share a gift in her memory to support Mater Dei’s Knapp Seibert Fund, 1300 Harmony Way, Evansville, IN 47720. www.materdeiwildcats.com
Visitation at Pierre Funeral Home is from 2 – 8 p.m. on Monday, February 17. A Celebration Mass in honor of a life lived to the fullest will be held at 11 a.m. at St. Philip Church.
Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. in the church.
Judy and her family were so grateful for the love and support they have received, especially in these last few weeks and months. She wanted everyone, who has been touched by her life, to always remember ‘Be bold, be kind, live hard, have fun, dance often.’

To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Judy Knapp please visit our Sympathy Store.

Barton Sets New School Record As Three Others Record Provisional Marks At GVSU

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The University of Southern Indiana men’s track & field team recorded four new NCAA II provisional marks as another school record fell at the GVSU Big Meet Friday and Saturday.

Day One (Friday): Freshman Zach Barton picked up right where he left off in Greencastle a week prior, with an even more impressive outing in the 60 meters. Barton took seventh place with an NCAA II provisional qualifying time of 6.77 seconds which also stands as the fastest in USI history currently. Barton’s 60m time also ranks 10th in all of NCAA II currently.

Sophomore Titus Winders was next in line for a great performance as he proved it in the 3000m. Winders won the event with a new NCAA II provisional qualifying time of 8:08.46. Winders’ run bumped himself up to eighth in the nation and fourth all-time in USI history. Junior Nathan Hall was the next Screaming Eagles’ runner to finish with a time of 8:24.19, narrowly missing the provisional mark threshold of 8:22.64.

Junior Austin Nolan kept the good times rolling for the Eagles in the 5000m. Nolan finished sixth in his respective heat with an NCAA II provisional qualifying time of 14:19.66. Nolan’s time ranks 23rd in the nation as well as eighth all-time in USI history. Junior Wyat Harmon also impressed Friday evening as he took third in his heat with an NCAA II provisional qualifying time of 14:31.39. Harmon’s performance was not only a new personal best by 27 seconds, but it also ranks 31st in the nation.

Freshman Kyle Crone closed out Friday with a sixth-place finish in the high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 2.75 inches.

Day Two (Saturday): Crone came back the next day with another top 10 finish this time in the triple jump with a mark of 41’ 9.25”, good for seventh in the event.

Junior Tyrell Nickelson also added a 10th place finish in the high jump with a leap of 6’ 3.25”.

Up Next: The Eagles will travel to Charleston, Illinois for the EIU Friday Night Special held on Feb. 21.

EPA Announces 2019 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results

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In Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continued to strengthen its collaborative partnership with state and tribal programs to assure compliance with federal environmental laws. EPA continued to focus its resources in areas that will have a major environmental or human health impact, support the integrity of our environmental regulatory programs, create a deterrent effect, or promote cleanups. In FY 2019, EPA also continued to encourage entities to self-disclose and correct violations, resulting in an increase of entities that used this option to return to compliance.

“EPA’s enforcement program is focused on achieving compliance with environmental laws using all tools available,” said EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine. “Our goal is to eliminate inefficient duplication with state programs, and to direct federal resources to help achieve the Agency’s core mission of improving air quality, providing for clean and safe water, revitalizing land and preventing contamination, and ensuring the safety of chemicals in the marketplace.”

Highlights of EPA’s FY 2019 enforcement and compliance achievements include:

  • Voluntary self-disclosed violations at over 1,900 facilities expediting return to compliance, an estimated 20% increase compared to FY 2018.
  • Investment of over $4.4 billion in actions and equipment that achieve compliance with the law and control pollution, an increase of over $400 million from FY 2018.
  • $471.8 million in combined Federal administrative and judicial civil penalties and criminal fines, the highest total of all but four of the past ten years.
  • Commitments to reduce, treat, or eliminate 347.2 million pounds of pollution (air, toxics, and water), the highest value in the past four years.
  • 7.56 million pounds of emissions prevented from mobile sources, an increase of nearly 6.9 million pounds from FY 2018.
  • 170 criminal cases opened, an increase from 128 in FY 2018, continuing to reverse the downward trend that began after 2011.
  • A total of 137 criminal defendants charged, an increase from 107 in FY 2018, reversing a downward trend that began after 2013.
  • Commitments for $570.4 million in new site cleanup work, $283 million in reimbursement of EPA’s costs, and more than $108 million in oversight billed, totaling $961 million, an increase of over $349 million from FY 2018.
  • Cleanups and redevelopment at over 160 sites through use of Superfund enforcement tools, an increase of 6 sites from 2018.

EPA focuses its enforcement and compliance resources on the most serious environmental violations by developing and implementing national program priorities, called National Compliance Initiatives (NCIs). EPA’s NCIs focus federal enforcement and compliance resources to advance the Agency Strategic Plan’s objectives to improve air quality, provide for clean and safe water, ensure chemical safety, and improve compliance with our nation’s environmental laws while enhancing shared accountability between the EPA and states and tribes with authorized environmental programs. Those initiatives are:

In addition to the NCIs, EPA has made reduction of children’s exposure to lead a priority. EPA’s lead paint enforcement activities in FY 2019 are summarized here. EPA completed 117 federal enforcement actions in FY 2019 to ensure that entities such as renovation contractors, landlords, realtors and others comply with rules that protect the public from exposure to lead from lead-based paint. More information on the Agency’s enforcement activities related to lead.

Lane Sets Two New School Records While Jones And Comastri Hit Provisional Marks At GVSU

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University of Southern Indiana women’s track & field team saw two school records fall as well as two new NCAA II provisional qualifying marks be recorded at the GVSU Big Invitational Friday and Saturday.

Day One (Friday): Freshman Kaylee Lane continues to amaze in her first year at USI. Lane first broke her previous school record in the 400m with a time of 57.32 seconds. Finishing 17th in the event. Then Lane proceeded to set a new school record in the 200m with a time of 25.87.

Junior Jennifer Comastri picked up another victory this season in the 3000m with a NCAA II provisional qualifying time of 9:34.25. Comastri’s 3000m time is now ranked fourth fastest in the nation. Comastri is also second fastest in the GLVC as well, only behind Lauren Bailey of University of Indianapolis.

Senior Hope Jones paced her way to a fifth place-finish in the 5000m with a NCAA II provisional qualifying time of 16:57.04. Jones’ 5000m time is currently ranked 16th fastest in the nation as well as moves her into sixth place all-time in USI history.

Day Two (Saturday):

Lane once again performed well in the 400m, this time placing sixth in the event with a time of 57.81.

Up Next: The Eagles will travel to Charleston, Illinois for the EIU Friday Night Special held on Feb. 21.

Cunliffe and Kuhlman set career scoring marks at Drake

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UE remains on the road at SIU on Thursday

A pair of University of Evansville men’s basketball players set their career scoring marks on Sunday with the Purple Aces losing an 85-80 contest against Drake inside the Knapp Center.

“We played as good of a first half as we have played over the recent stretch, I thought the passing and ball movement was better to start the game,” UE head coach Todd Lickliter said. “Sam (Cunliffe) did a great job today and was able to score in several different ways.  He is someone that has a lot of dimensions to his game.  We are going to just keep working and try to continue making progress.”

Sam Cunliffe finished the game with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting.  He drained three triples and all four free throw tries while adding six rebounds before fouling out in the final minute.  His previous scoring mark of 23 points came in 2016 against The Citadel when he played at Arizona State.  Evan Kuhlman surpassed his scoring high with 17 points.  Fifteen of those came from outside with five of his nine long range tries finding the bottom of the net.  Jawaun Newton and K.J. Riley finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Newton got Evansville (9-18, 0-14 MVC) on the board with a 4-point play.  The triple was his ninth make in his last 13 attempts over the last seven contests.  Evansville drilled three triples in a row with Sam Cunliffe and Evan Kuhlman adding two of their own to give UE a 10-2 lead.  With the Aces continuing to lead by a 12-4 margin, the Bulldogs (17-10, 7-7 MVC) countered with a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to one.

Artur Labinowicz knocked down his first outside shot of the day to push the lead to 17-11 eight minutes into the game before another spurt by the Bulldogs got them within a possession once again at 17-15.  That is when Evan Kuhlman took over, connecting on consecutive triples to extend the lead to 26-18 with 8:11 on the clock.

Evansville’s lead reached nine points at 37-28 on a Shamar Givance layup inside of two minutes remaining but was trimmed down to six at the break when an Anthony Murphy basket cut UE’s edge to 40-34 at the half.  Cunliffe led everyone with 13 points in the period with the Aces converting eight of their 16 3-point tries in the first 20 minutes.

Out of the break, Drake reeled off 13 points in a row over the first four minutes to go up by a 47-40 margin.  The Bulldogs hit their first five attempts while the Aces missed their first five tries and turned it over twice.  Cunliffe ended the stretch with a 3-point play.  His bucket helped UE get back within a pair at the 13-minute mark when Labinowicz found Riley streaking to the basket to make it a 51-49 game.  After missing their first five attempts of the second half, UE hit three out of four while Drake hit one of their next four attempts after making five in a row.

With 11:27 left in the game, Noah Frederking hit his first triple go make it a 54-52 deficit for UE.  That is when Drake slowly started to pull away.  Their advantage was pushed to double figures for the first time at 65-54 inside of seven minutes remaining.  The Bulldogs hit four out of five attempts in the run while UE was mired in a 1-for-8 shooting drought.

When his team needed him most, Frederking delivered.  Following a time out, the junior made it a 2-for-2 day from outside to end the drought.  With just over five minutes remaining, Kuhlman connected on his fourth triple of the day to cut the gap to 67-62, but over the next 100 seconds, the Bulldogs responded.  A 6-2 span made it a 9-point game.

The 15th point of the day for Kuhlman made it a 2-possession game before a pair of Riley free throws with 90 seconds remaining got the Aces within four.  Riley struck again with two more from the line to make it a 3-point game (77-74) with 48 ticks remaining, but the Bulldogs hung on with late free throws clinching the win.

Leading DU was Anthony Murphy, who tallied 20 points and 13 boards.  He was 10-of-13 from the free throw line.  As a team, Drake hit 32 out of 42 from the charity stripe; the last time UE allowed the opponent to shoot 40 or more free throws was at North Carolina in December of 2011.  For the game, DU shot 55.6% with the Aces finishing at 48.2%.

Thursday evening will see the Aces make the short trip to Carbondale, Ill. for a rematch against Southern Illinois.  Game time is 7 p.m. inside the Banterra Center.

 

USI Softball drops West Chester in extra frames

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Five games into the 2020 season and University of Southern Indiana Softball has already played in more extra-inning games than the previous two years combined, with the latest coming Sunday morning as the No. 21 Screaming Eagles defeated No. 8 West Chester University, 5-2, in eight innings to conclude their opening weekend at The Cottrell Foundation Loyal Blue Classic.

After falling to the Golden Rams (1-2) in an 11-inning marathon Saturday night, USI found itself in extra innings for the fourth time this weekend after the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie through seven innings of play.

Senior pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt, who drove in a run in the fourth inning to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead, hit a three-run bomb over the right field fence in the top half of the eighth inning to give the Eagles the 5-2 advantage; and sophomore pitcher/infielder Katie Back entered the circle in the last half of the inning to shut the door on any West Chester comeback.

Freshman pitcher/infielder Allie Goodin (2-0) picked up the win after allowing just two runs, one earned, off five hits in 7 1/3 innings of work. She also went 2-of-4 at the plate with a run scored.

The Eagles (3-2) began the scoring in the third inning as junior outfielder Alicia Webb’s RBI-single broke a scoreless tie. After Leonhardt’s RBI in the fourth frame put USI up, 2-0, the Rams took advantage of a Goodin error in the home half of the fourth inning to cut the Eagles’ cushion in half.

West Chester added a run in the fifth inning to tie the score at 2-2 and had the bases loaded in the last half of the seventh inning. Goodin, however, held firm in the circle to send the game into the extra frame.

USI returns to action Friday at 1:30 p.m. when it hosts Midwest Region foe Ferris State University in the Midwest Region Crossover at Deaconess Sports Park.

Jenna Lis named to All-Tournament Team

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Sunday finale cancelled due to weather

University of Evansville freshman Jenna Lis was named to the Jaguar Challenge All-Tournament Team on Sunday with the final day of action being cancelled due to weather conditions.

Lis led the Purple Aces with a .429 batting average over the weekend.  Seeing action in three games, Lis recorded three hits in seven at-bats.  The Newburgh, Ind. Native drew a pair of walks and had an RBI.

Her top effort came against Austin Peay as she went 2-4 with an RBI.  In Saturday’s game versus Louisiana Tech, Lis added two walks to her weekend tally.

Statesboro, Ga. is the scene of the next non-conference tournament for the Aces.  Running from Friday through Sunday of next week, the Eagle Round Robin will pit the Aces against Furman, Georgia Southern, Maryland and Monmouth.

OCU Faculty Member Partners with Faith-Based Media Organization

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OCU Faculty Member Partners with Faith-Based Media Organization

  Oakland City University faculty member, Ashley Elliott, along with her husband, Chuck Elliott, both of Elliott Life Coaching, have gained an international platform through their partnership with RightNow Media, host of the world’s largest library of faith-based on-demand video resources. There are over 3 million RightNow Media users at more than 20k organizations in nearly 100 countries. 

Elliott Life Coaching has entered into an agreement with RightNow Media for the video series, Love and Loss, which will be available via RightNow Media’s online library starting February 21. This original material created by the Elliotts is the first of its kind being produced in the tri-state area. 

In Love and Loss, Chuck and Ashley walk individuals through a process of self-reflection, exploring the journey of grief, examining unseen elements of loss, and ultimately through a process to build hope for the future.

Chuck and Ashley Elliott share a background in counseling and ministry. Chuck earned Masters Degrees in Organizational Leadership and in Education. Ashley completed a Master of Science Degree in Mental Health Counseling and holds an Indiana Associate License in Mental Health Counseling. Ashley oversees the Psychology and Addictions Counseling Program at OCU. 

With over a decade of experience, Chuck and Ashley have encouraged thousands of individuals and couples through speaking, teaching, and coaching.

One customer shared, “The

… has been so great for me since having my miscarriage. It has given me things to think about and things to write down that I would have never of thought of. Chuck and Ashley are amazing in the videos and you can really feel how much they care about your wellbeing and helping you to cope with loss. I love how I can relate to Ashley in this topic in particular, everything she has said was exactly how I felt! They are a really heartfelt and sweet couple! I absolutely recommend them!”

For RightNow Media, programs by Elliott Life Coaching are a natural fit for their platform, and they hope to partner on more content in the future. 

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