Marshall County Auditor Julie Fox received petitions in her office that oppose the raise in the Cumulative Bridge Fund.
In order to file a successful petition, the document must have at least 10 certified signatures. Those signatures must be from property taxpayers.
The first petition had 10 signatures on it but a few signatures weren’t able to be verified. A second document presented four signatures that were certified so the petition is valid. The auditor will now send the documentation to the Department of Local Government Finance who will schedule a public hearing. Notice of that hearing will be advertised and it will be held in Marshall County to hear from the petitioners. Officials from the Department of Local Government Finance will take that information and formulate a decision which will be presented to the commissioners for further action.
A public hearing on the proposed increase to the Cumulative Bridge Fund was held on March 19 with no public comment heard. An ordinance was adopted at that time that would increase property taxes $.0524 per $100 of assessed valuation to reestablish the Cumulative Bridge Fund.
The increase will help keep the fund solvent. County officials are anticipating a deficit in that fund in 2019 which causes concern about funds to rebuild bridges for public safety.
