Published: October 06, 2008 10:23 pm            

Commissioners sign remonstrance petitions

With Howard County expected to lose $670,000 through a proposed annexation by the city of Kokomo, county commissioners voted to sign the two petitions seeking to block the city’s growth.

Commissioner Brad Bagwell and David Trine voted to sign the remonstrance petitions for the more than 100 properties listed in the proposed annexation area belonging to Howard County. Commissioner Paul Raver abstained from voting.

Bagwell said Monday the county was approached by the groups heading up the east and west annexation to sign the remonstrance petition.

It takes 65 percent of the property owners in both proposed annexation areas to sign the remonstrance petitions to keep the property from being moved into the city limits.

Bagwell said, on behalf of the commissioners, he signed the petition for more than 70 properties on the west-side petition and approximately 20 properties on the east-side petition and the vote was to ratify his action which was done with the approval of the other commissioners.

Dave Galvin, spokesman for the city of Kokomo, called the vote by the commissioner’s political with this being an election year. Bagwell, a Republican, is seeking re-election to a fifth term against Democrat Bill Thompson.

“There are a lot of questions that still have not been answered,” Trine said of his vote. “Not one person who contacted me is in favor of it.”

Bagwell said there are some areas surrounded by the Kokomo city limits where the annexation makes sense.

“There are areas that should be annexed,” he said. “The majority of people that talked to me are opposed to annexation.”

Bagwell said in the past annexation was not a concern because most of the revenue generated to operate local government came from property taxes.

“Income taxes are now the major portion of city and county budgets,” he said. “This will impact the county.”

Galvin said the remonstration restricts and restrains Kokomo’s growth and restricts economic development opportunities in the county.

“The Supreme Court ruled annexation changes the relationship between local government and the property owner,” he said. “There is no changing of property between the city and county.”

A study paid jointly by Howard County and Kokomo to determine the impact the annexation would have on county residents by the Indianapolis accounting firm of Crowe Chizek found the county would lose approximately $670,000.

The $670,000 tax shift from the county to the city would not occur until 2011, but if the annexation goes through, taxpayers in the annexed areas will begin paying the city property tax rate in 2010.

        

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