Monday morning members of the Marshall County Council conducted non-binding reviews of the budgets for the townships within the county, libraries and town boards. As part of that review they also looked at the budgets of the various schools in the county although they only approve the budget for Argos because it is the only school board left that is appointed rather that elected.
In reviewing the budgets, council members look at the proposed 2015 budget, check the tax rate and levy and determine if the taxing unit falls below, at or above the County Growth Quotient.
The growth quotient is essentially a “cost of living adjustment” for property taxes for all local units of government — the maximum amount by which local units of government are allowed to increase their controlled property tax levies by. For taxing units in Marshall County Government the growth quotient is 2.90% for 2015.
The growth quotient has nothing to do with assessed value, it is calculated as the 6-year moving average of nonfarm personal income growth. The theory behind it is that the costs of government should not be increasing at a greater rate than the taxpayers’ incomes are going up.
Looking at the ten townships in Marshall County you will find a wide range of budgets and tax rates:
Bourbon Township has a proposed budget of $227,000 with a proposed tax rate of $.1356 and a levy of $109.141.
Center Township has a proposed 2015 budget of $721.481 with a proposed tax rate of $.1307 with a levy of $318,140. Although their County Growth Quotient (CGQ) is quite a bit above the county’s their biggest increase was in the Cumulative Fire fund for the anticipation of the purchase of a pumper truck.
German Township has a proposed budget of $544,600 for next year with a proposed tax rate of $.1403 and a proposed levy of $290,370. The biggest increase in their budget for next year is in their rainy day fund.
The Green Township budget proposed for 2015 is at $99,152 with a proposed tax rate of $.1209 and a proposed levy of $54,723. The proposed budget is slightly more than $3,000 over this year’s budget.
North Township has proposed a budget of $290,000 for next year with a proposed tax rate of $.1630 with a proposed levy of $182,500. The total increase to the budget will be $4,200.
The Polk Township budget has a substantial increased proposed for 2015 but it all comes in the Fire Equipment Debt fund in the amount of $60,000. The proposed tax rate is $.2158 with a proposed levy of $205,420.
Tippecanoe Township is seeking a major reduction in their proposed 2015 budget. This year’s certified budget is $171,050 while the proposal for 2015 is $126,450. There are reductions in the rainy day fund, a substantial reduction in the general fund from $86,950 to $69,850 and reductions in township assistance and cumulative fire. The tax rate is proposed at $.1602 with a levy of $75,246.
The Union Township budget proposed for next year is $345,025 with a tax rate of $.0577 and a levy of $258,422. This budget too has a much lower proposed budget for next year because the cum fire fund was higher this year for the purchase of equipment and there is a reduction of $210,000 in the fund for next year.
Walnut Township’s proposed budget increased for 2015 is just about $2,000. The proposed budget is $120,000 with a tax rate of $.1595 and the proposed levy is $90,550.
West Townships proposed budget is $750,000 which is a$420,000 higher than the certified budget for 2014. The increase is in the Cum Fire fund for the purchase of a shared pumper truck with Center Township. The Trustee also has funds available for the new training tower. The proposed tax rate is $.1605 and the proposed levy is $258,200
