The Johnson County Council approved a tax hike Monday that will raise the money needed to pay for a new branch of the Johnson County Public Library, marking the third hike in a year for some local residents.
The property tax increase of 2.5 cents for every $100 of assessed value will affect everyone who owns property within the library’s district, including most Johnson County residents and business owners except those who live or conduct business in Edinburgh and Greenwood, both of which have separate library systems.
Council members Rob Henderson, Pete Ketchum and James Ison voted in favor of the tax hike, which will help pay for a new $8.8 million library to replace the current Clark-Pleasant branch on Tracy Road in New Whiteland. John Myers and Josh McCarty voted against the tax. Jonathan T. Myers and Joshua Turner were absent from Monday night’s council meeting.
Property owners within the library’s district will start paying increased taxes for the new library in 2021. The library’s property tax hike will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $8.19 more in property taxes each year over the course of eight years, but that is not the only tax increase homeowners will notice.
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For example, if that same homeowner lives in the Franklin Community Schools district, they will pay an additional $83.52 a year in property taxes for the library and the Franklin schools referendum which passed in May. A similar homeowner who lives in the Clark-Pleasant Community Schools district will pay $41.19 in additional property taxes for the library and the Clark-Pleasant schools referendum which passed last year.
Just two months ago, a separate tax to pay for a mandated jail expansion boosted local income taxes to 1.2 percent from 1 percent, meaning a Johnson County resident who earns $50,000 a year will pay about $100 more in income taxes.
The Johnson County Public Library has about $1.4 million saved for its new branch, but the remaining $7.4 million will come from taxpayer dollars, said Lisa Lintner, the library system’s executive director.
The library will now begin the design phase of the project. Next spring and summer, it will sell bonds and secure loans to cover the cost of the project. If all goes according to plan, library officials hope to break ground on the new library next fall, with an opening tentatively scheduled for fall 2021, Lintner said in an email.
If the county council decides to impose an additional income tax to fund both local road projects and a portion of this library project, the library will use that money and decrease the property tax burden on residents, per a resolution approved by the Johnson County Public Library Board, Lintner said.
In decisive votes in favor of the library project, board members Henderson and Ison said that resolution helped sway their decisions.
Overwhelming community support also played a role in the council’s decision.
Dozens of people attended the meeting Monday night, and that public support was key in swaying Ketchum’s vote in favor of the project. No members of the public came to oppose the project. Council members received numerous positive phone calls and emails, they said, and Lintner said library employees spoke with about 1,000 residents who supported the project.
Other board members discussed the timing of the project amid the other recently imposed taxes on Johnson County residents.
“Unfortunately for the library, the timing couldn’t be any worse,” McCarty said. “We have a responsibility to the taxpayers to be prudent, efficient and spread our resources accordingly. In the future, we can fund these improvements. But in December 2019, knowing what’s on the horizon, I cannot support this increase.”
Henderson argued timing shouldn’t factor into the decision, as the project is important to the community and tax burden will be a perpetual struggle.
“Timing is what I spent the most thought on and my conclusion is it’s never a good time. I see this as an investment well-spent,” Henderson said.
“Companies come to speak about quality of life, and access to libraries is usually on the list of questions being discussed. (The library) demonstrated a need to expand," he continued.
The current Clark-Pleasant branch, a 10,000-square-feet former office building the library has used since 2002, no longer meets the needs of the area’s growing population. Library officials have said events such as story times fill up fast, meaning not everybody who is interested can attend. The new branch could possibly double the size of the library at up to 20,000 square feet.
The library has looked at about 10 properties — mostly off U.S. 31 in Whiteland and New Whiteland — for the project, Lintner said during the meeting.
“We are extremely pleased,” Lintner said of the decision. “We have spent a year working on this project. There was strong community support during that whole time and we completely respect that the council had a tough decision to make and did not make the decision lightly.”
Other members of the public voiced their support for the new library during the meeting.
Alison Slatter said she goes to the Greenwood Public Library instead of the Clark-Pleasant branch because Clark-Pleasant’s layout requires her to separate from her children, and the Greenwood library has public study rooms.
Daily Journal reporter Magen Kritsch contributed to this report.
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Some Johnson County residents will pay three new taxes next year.
Library property tax hike: property owners in Johnson County except those who live in Edinburgh and Greenwood, which have separate library systems
$100,000 home; $8.19 increase per year
$175,000 home; $20.38 increase per year
$250,000 home; $32.56 increase per year
Franklin Community Schools property tax hike: property owners in Franklin, Needham and Union townships
$100,000 home; $75.33 increase per year
$128,500 home; $117.93 increase per year
$170,000 home; $179.98 increase per year
This tax was approved by voters in a referendum.
Clark-Pleasant Community Schools property tax hike: property owners in Clark and Pleasant townships
$100,000 home; $33 increase per year
$123,500 home; $48 increase per year
$170,000 home; $81 increase per year
This tax was approved by voters in a referendum.
Jail expansion income tax hike: Johnson County residents who work
$30,000: $60 ($2.30 less per bi-weekly paycheck)
$50,000: $100 ($3.85 less per bi-weekly paycheck)
$75,000: $150 ($5.77 less per bi-weekly paycheck)
$100,000: $200 ($7.69 less per bi-weekly paycheck)
$150,000: $300 ($11.54 less per bi-weekly paycheck)
$175,000: $350 ($13.46 less per bi-weekly paycheck)
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