The Ellettsville Town Council narrowly passed a resolution stating its support for a 0.25% county income tax at its May 23 meeting. All members were present, as were Ellettsville Clerk-Treasurer Sandra Hash, Ellettsville Town Manager Jim Davis, and Ellettsville Town Attorney Darla Brown.
The tax proposed by the Monroe County Central Emergency Dispatch Board is intended to replace what the town, city and county pay out of their general funds for public safety, with 30% of the revenue allocated for the county’s central dispatch center.
The resolution passed with a final vote of 3-2.
“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,” said Councilor Scott Thomas, who voted against the resolution.
Councilor Brian Mobley echoed Thomas’ belief that Ellettsville had the money already and said he was not in favor of levying an additional tax. Later, during council comment, Mobley added that he was in support of the central dispatch center but felt uncomfortable with the tax’s lack of definition.
“The problem is every time I went and asked people further in depth what the money was going to be used for, nobody could give me a direct answer,” he said. “To me, we should have taken some more time, had committees and divided up where this money would go.”
Council Vice President Dianna Bastin, who is also a county dispatcher, said she is usually not in favor of additional taxes, but she supports this one.
“I’m all for this,” she said. “I’ve always been for it since I read it. Regardless of what I do for a living, it’s a good law to have, and I think that people who use it will be glad to pay for it.”
Council President Scott Oldham and Councilor Kevin Farris were also in favor of the proposed tax.
“Those same people who we are asking to pay the tax may one day need a fire truck or an ambulance or a police officer, and there’s going to be a day, if we don’t do something, they’re not there or they’re there too late,” Oldham said. “This staves that off a little while longer.”
The tax must be approved by Bloomington City Council and the Monroe County Council before going to the Monroe County Income Tax Council for final approval. Tax council votes will be tallied for or against the measure as they occurred at each meeting. Ellettsville’s five votes will be recorded as three in favor of the tax and two against.
Elsewhere in the meeting, the council approved increased appropriations for the hire of a full-time staff person with benefits in the Ellettsville Police Department, the creation of a special distribution fund for the town, a bid from Umbaugh to conduct a rate study for wastewater treatment, a bid from Milestone for street paving, a request to make a budgeted purchase of a backhoe from Ellettsville Utilities, and a temporary road closure on June 18 for the Heritage Trail ribbon cutting ceremony and the Ellettsville Boys and Girls Club Sweet Treat Social, which will happen at the same time.
The next meeting of the Ellettsville Town Council will be held in the Ellettsville Fire Department conference and training room at 5080 W. State Road 46, Bloomington, on June 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2016. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.