A proposed countywide public safety income tax will go into effect Oct. 1 after the Bloomington City Council unanimously passed the ordinance on June 1. The city council has a majority vote on the Monroe County Income Tax Council, which also includes the Ellettsville Town Council and the Monroe County Council as voting members.
The town council passed the ordinance, 3-2, on May 23, with council members Scott Thomas and Brian Mobley voting against.
“I think there’s money in the county, the city and Ellettsville’s budgets to pay for these things without putting an additional tax on the back of people in the county,” Thomas said as he cast his vote.
The county council delayed its vote until June 14, citing a desire to hear more from the public.
Cheryl Munson, county council president, told city councilors on June 1 the input she received from the public has been positive.
“Nobody really wants an additional tax, but when they understand what it is to be used for, they’re appreciative,” she said.
Munson explained that public safety departments in the county, even with a directive from the county council to present bare-bones budgets for 2016, were $451,000 above what the county could afford.
That figure does not “even touch on the unmet needs of the county,” she said.
Though the county has not voted, the city has the power to approve the tax on its own. This is because state law apportions the number of votes on the county income tax council by percentage of population of the county. With 59% of the county’s population, Bloomington gets 59 votes, the county gets 36, Ellettsville gets five, and Stinesville is not represented.
Thirty percent of the estimated $6.9 million generated by the 0.25% income tax will go toward funding the central dispatch center headquartered in Bloomington.
Of the remaining 70%, Ellettsville is estimated to receive $137,253 and Stinesville $839 per year.
As the ordinance moved from one vote to another, it was generally met with approval, but there were questions regarding how the funds would be allocated.
“To me, we should have taken some more time, had committees, and divided up where this money would go,” Mobley said at the Ellettsville Town Council’s May 23 meeting.
Marty Hawk, who represents Richland Township on the county council, expressed the same sentiment at the county council’s May 24 meeting.
“If we had had a meeting of the city council, the county council, and the Town of Ellettsville, and sat down and discussed our budgetary concerns, we might have had a presentation that we could’ve all understood,” Hawk said.
Though the exact amount of money the tax will raise for each part of the county remains a question, both Ellettsville Town Marshal Jimmie Durnil and Fire Chief Mike Cornman said the most critical need they hope to address with their departments’ share is personnel.
“I could really use a minimum of three more officers to make my schedule work properly,” Durnil said. “So many times, we have people working by themselves. That’s dangerous.”
The police department’s struggle with personnel is exacerbated by sick leave and paid time off.
“If we want to dream big, six more is what I really need,” Durnil said. “I know that’s going to be way outside the hope.”
A full-time firefighter or police officer costs $65,000 to $70,000 after benefits are included. For a police officer, additional costs are incurred for a vehicle and its equipment.
Since the price tag is so high, Durnil said he hopes to fill the police department’s needs between 3 p.m. and 6 a.m. with three part-time officers.
“Part-time personnel may be able to fill it a little better than full-time right now,” said Cornman for the Ellettsville and Curry Pike fire stations’ needs.
According to Cornman, the department responded to nearly 2,000 calls last year with five firefighters on duty at any given time, the same number of firefighters as when it fielded 750 calls 15 years ago.
Like the police department, staffing is disrupted by sick leave and paid time off, Cornman added, noting that about 40% of the time there are four, not five, firefighters on duty between two fire stations.
Both department heads also said, while they were in good shape with major equipment, they had significant maintenance needs.
“The thing that is always a hassle for us is personal protective equipment,” Cornman said.
Firefighters are required to have personal protective equipment to enter any burning structure, but it begins to break down when exposed to high heat and must be replaced every 10 years.
As for the police, Durnil said they need to replace vehicles at a rate of two per year, police vests every three to five years, and weapons every 10 years.
“It’s a continual struggle to keep all your equipment up to date,” Durnil said.
Of Indiana’s 92 counties, 47 have passed a public safety income tax at the maximum allowable rate of 0.25%.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2016. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.