5.
(a)This section applies to Fountain County.
(b)The county council may, by ordinance, determine that additional
local income tax revenue is needed in the county to do the following:
(1)Finance, construct, acquire, improve, renovate, and equip the
county jail and related buildings and parking facilities, including
costs related to the demolition of existing buildings, the
acquisition of land, and any other reasonably related costs.
(2)Repay bonds issued or leases entered into for the purposes
described in subdivision (1).
(c)If the county council makes the determination set forth in
subsection (b), the county council may adopt an ordinance to impose
a local income tax rate of not more than fifty-five hundredths percent
(0.55%). However, the tax rate may not be greater than the rate
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5. (a) This section applies to Fountain County.
(b) The county council may, by ordinance, determine that additional
local income tax revenue is needed in the county to do the following:
(1) Finance, construct, acquire, improve, renovate, and equip the
county jail and related buildings and parking facilities, including
costs related to the demolition of existing buildings, the
acquisition of land, and any other reasonably related costs.
(2) Repay bonds issued or leases entered into for the purposes
described in subdivision (1).
(c) If the county council makes the determination set forth in
subsection (b), the county council may adopt an ordinance to impose
a local income tax rate of not more than fifty-five hundredths percent
(0.55%). However, the tax rate may not be greater than the rate
necessary to pay for the purposes described in subsection (b).
(d) The tax rate may be imposed only until the later of the following
dates:
(1) The date on which the financing, construction, acquisition,
improvement, renovation, and equipping of the facilities as
described in subsection (b) are completed.
(2) The date on which the last of any bonds issued (including
refunding bonds) or leases entered into to finance the
construction, acquisition, improvement, renovation, and
equipping of the facilities described in subsection (b) are fully
paid.
(e) The term of a bond issued (including any refunding bond) or a
lease entered into under subsection (b) may not exceed twenty-five (25)
years.
(f) The county treasurer shall establish a county jail revenue fund to
be used only for the purposes described in this section. Local income
tax revenues derived from the tax rate imposed under this section shall
be deposited in the county jail revenue fund.
(g) Local income tax revenues derived from the tax rate imposed
under this section:
(1) may be used only for the purposes described in this section;
(2) may not be considered by the department of local government
finance in determining the county's maximum permissible
property tax levy limit under IC 6-1.1-18.5; and
(3) may be pledged to the repayment of bonds issued or leases
entered into for the purposes described in subsection (b).
(h) Subject to subsection (i), if the county council determines that
the county jail revenue fund established under subsection (f) contains
excess reserves, the county council may, before January 1, 2026, adopt
a resolution to make a one (1) time transfer from the county jail
revenue fund to the county general fund to be used only for emergency
management services within the county. The resolution must include
the following:
(1) A determination that the county jail revenue fund contains
excess reserves and that a transfer from the county jail revenue
fund to the county general fund is necessary.
(2) The total amount of excess reserves contained in the county
jail revenue fund as of the date the determination is made that the
county jail revenue fund contains excess reserves.
(3) The total amount to be transferred from the county jail
revenue fund to the county general fund.
(4) The date on which the transfer from the county jail revenue
fund to the county general fund will occur.
(i) Prior to adopting a resolution under subsection (h), the county
council must adopt a new ordinance under subsection (c) that adjusts
the local income tax rate to a rate that:
(1) complies with the limitations described in subsection (c); and
(2) is not greater than the rate necessary to pay for the
expenditures incurred for the purposes described in subsection
(b).
(j) Fountain County possesses unique governmental and economic
development challenges and opportunities related to:
(1) the current county jail; and
(2) a limited industrial and commercial assessed valuation in the
county.
The use of local income tax revenues as provided in this section is
necessary for the county to provide adequate jail capacity in the county
and to maintain low property tax rates essential to economic
development. The use of local income tax revenues as provided in this
section to pay any bonds issued or leases entered into to finance the
construction, acquisition, improvement, renovation, and equipping of
the facilities described in subsection (b), rather than the use of property
taxes, promotes those purposes.
(k) Money accumulated from the local income tax rate imposed
under this section after the termination of the tax under this section
shall be transferred to the county rainy day fund under IC 36-1-8-5.1.