Tax caps hit Jay County hard

The impact of circuit breakers hit Jay County hard in 2018.

Auditor Anna Culy presented Jay County Council with a circuit breaker report during Wednesday’s meeting, explaining that the hit could be even worse for 2019.

Council also got updates from county engineer Dan Watson on the Bitter Ridge Wind Farm project and paving and council president Jeanne Houchins on the most recent personnel committee meeting.

Culy presented council with the county’s 2019 circuit breaker report, which shows the total tax hit for the year to be at $128,210.13. That’s the second largest tax loss for Jay County in the last 10 years, trailing only $128,854.18 from 2013.

The circuit breaker losses this year jumped drastically from $79,299.21 in 2018.

Circuit breakers, which were made part of the state constitution in 2010, limit the amount of property taxes that can be collected. Property owners are limited to paying 1 percent of their assessed value for homestead properties, 2 percent for residential properties, agricultural land or long-term care facilities, and 3 percent for non-residential properties.

The county knew the caps were going to hit harder because of a change in the way  agricultural land is now being assessed. The change means lower taxes on farm ground — about 43 percent of Jay County’s assessed value is in agriculture — shifting the tax burden to other types of property. That has caused homeowners and businesses to hit their circuit breakers, resulting in fewer tax dollars for the county.

Projections show that additional circuit breaker hits are expected in 2020 and 2021. 

“It’s going to probably get worse,” said Culy, adding that it will be important for council to take into consideration as it prepares its budget for next year.

Watson told council members Jeanne Houchins, Ted Champ, Gary Theurer, Cindy Newton, Mike Rockwell, Amy Runyon Barrett and Faron Parr that Scout Clean Energy is expecting to move forward with its Bitter Ridge Wind Farm Project. He said representatives from the company are working on a contract for purchase of the energy the wind farm will produce and hope to have that complete by the end of the month.

The goal, he said, is to begin construction by the late summer or early fall, with completion in the first half of 2020.

Watson added that the paving of Boundary Pike from the south end of Portland to county road 300 East is complete. He expects work on county road 500 West between Indiana 26 and county road 200 South to be finished by the end of next week.

Houchins noted that the personnel committee met last week and is looking into the possibility of purchasing a time clock system for county employees.

The system would integrate with the county’s payroll system.

Currently, there is no uniform time card policy across county departments.

In other business, council:

•Approved additional appropriations, including $1.3 million for bituminous and $250,000 for stone, gravel and aggregates in the motor vehicle highway fund for road work; $21,942.56 for drug prevention programs; $14,200 for location of cornerstones by the surveyor’s office; $11,500 for the Portland Rockets mural on the south side of The Ritz Theatre; $10,000 for Fourth of July celebrations in Portland, Dunkirk and Redkey; and $9,000 for Jay County Solid Waste Management District’s grant to help remove tires from a property along U.S. 27, south of Bryant.

•Heard from Houchins that the county’s personnel committee will now meet at 3 p.m. on the first Monday of each month.

•Assigned council members to do the annual check on abatement compliance: Cindy Newton – Bluff Point Wind Energy Center; Mike Rockwell – Minnich Poultry; and Amy Runyon Barrett – Green Valley Ranch.

•OK’d the budget calendar, with the budget to be advertised by Aug. 15. The first budget review will be Sept. 4. First reading of the budget is set for Sept. 18, and second reading and approval are planned for Oct. 9. Council will take its first look at the budget in July.