Center Grove residents keep tax dollars in township under merger proposal
If you are a resident of the unincorporated area of White River Township you are a “donor” to the county government’s revenue. In other words the county collects more money in taxes from township residents than it spends to provide services in the township. When an area becomes incorporated, through annexation, merger, or self-incorporation that money stays with the municipality. Capturing more tax dollars is a powerful reason for annexation or merger. However the White River Township/Greenwood Reorganization draft plan presented something surprising in Monday’s meeting a promise that the additional tax revenue that will not flow to the “new” Greenwood to be used as the council wishes, instead it will be put in a separate fund and 100% of the money will be spent the current unincorporated area of White River Township. The separation of taxes dollars will end after eight years, but eight years allows a lot of time to improve roads, infrastructure and provide services residents can use.
It is nice too see the committee being innovative in their thinking, and working to lessen the fear that Greenwood “just wants us for our money” and to assure current Greenwood residents that their tax dollars won’t subsidize the new portion of the city. I am still not sure meger is the best solution, but if we see some innovation in the way government services are provided (see article “Mosquitoes & Local Government) you might begin to see support for the merger grow.
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4 Responses to “Center Grove residents keep tax dollars in township under merger proposal”
Guys…good info and good points. I live in the county and have a Franklin address, but I have been following the merger debate. I just found your website, so you may have covered this point already. Greenwood, as a city, does not need White River’s tax base. Between the mall and the light industrial base, Greenwood’s revenue needs are met. Bringing on WR only adds to the expense burden. In general, the added tax revenue will be enough to cover costs, especially since there are some major infrastructure needs in WR which the county has ignored (due to lack of money).
This action is not about Greenwood taking over the township. It is about the township needing a better avenue to the future, one with a plan. The county cannot provide that, the township council knows that, so they asked Greenwood about a merger. Greenwood never approached the township.
Finally, I am glad you are out here. Hopefully, people know about your site and are reading. The Daily Journal seems to be…no is…quite biased. Great coverage of the few against this, no coverage on why it is good for the township.
Comment made on August 20th, 2009 at 7:00 amThat’s nice that they are concerned about keeping the tax dollars separate, though I don’t truly believe it or that it will stay that way since it is well known that Greenwood has its financial troubles.
However I don’t remember anyone talking about what is going to happen to the school districts. Is WRT going to have to loose its school district and board in favor of Greenwood’s? There are a lot more issues that need to come to the fore front before I and many I know would ever want to support mergering with Greenwood or any other city around.
Comment made on August 20th, 2009 at 7:54 amSchool districts are separate from any municipal area. There are residents of Greenwood who attend Center Grove schools and other residents attend Greenwood schools. School districts and fire districts are not part of the merger plan and won’t change no matter the outcome.
Comment made on August 20th, 2009 at 12:13 pmLiving close to Greenwood is enough. I want no part of actually being part of Greenwood. I would much prefer being part of Bargersville or being my own separate city – even if it meant an increase in taxes. Most people already view Center Grove as separate and distinct from Greenwood. Why throw all that away?
One thing CG certainly needs though is better land use planning. I would love to see more uniformity in building requirements. Not that I want to become another Carmel, but it is nice to see a consistency in their buildings and a plan in place for how they use the land. CG’s general land use plan looks to reward the developer with the most $$$. Look at 135 and Smith Valley – why wouldn’t the developer be made to fix the mess at that intersection from the Home Depot complex? He made all the money but doesn’t have to pay for any of the problems.
Comment made on August 20th, 2009 at 1:23 pmLeave a Comment