Consideration of reestablishing a Crothersville Cumulative Capital Development Tax Rate met with a stumbling block last week and has resulted in a special meeting being called for next Thursday.
Reuben Cummings of GFC, the town’s financial consultant, explained to the town council that the Cumulative Capital Development fund already exists and when established had a rate of a nickel.
“But as the town’s assessed value grows the rate decreases and needs to, periodically, be re-established to maximize the amount of money the town can use to pay bills,” said Cummings.
Currently the rate is .0132 per $100 of assessed valuation. Re-establishing (raising) the rate back to 5¢ would generate about $25,000 a year to the town coffers, Cummings said. Raising the rate by a little over 3 1/2 cents back to 5¢ per $100 would mean about $12 a year tax increase to a property in town assessed at $100,000, Cummings said.
The money raised can be left to accumulate or can be spent on any general fund expenditure such as police or road, sidewalk repairs, he said.
However, one councilwoman wasn’t ready to sign off on the rate re-establishment. Terry Richey, the town’s former clerk-treasurer said, “I don’t have the answers I need to approve this tonight.”
The council is under a deadline to approve a resolution to re-establish the rate, publicly publish the resolution, and get it to the state by April 30. A special meeting on the matter has been set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, at town hall.