The Marshall County Commissioners and members of the Marshall County Council met in a special joint session Monday afternoon to discuss the future of the Special LIT Fund.
The Special Local Income Tax Fund was established to provide funding for the construction of the Marshall County Correctional Facility and since then some of the proceeds in excess of repayment of the bonds have been applied to the operations at the jail.
The current rate is set at .025.
In a meeting in February by the joint government bodies about the same topic, it was noted that the Special LIT Fund helps employ 11 people at the Marshall County Correctional Facility, the bond to pay for the construction of the jail at $1.13 million a year, inmate meals, wages-overtime, wages part-time, office supplies, prisoner supplies, janitorial supplies, maintenance and equipment contracts, and medical care for the inmates which is required by state statute.
As it currently stands, the tax is expected to sunset in 2027 and the government leaders are acting now to determine how to come up with the funding to continue operations at the jail. The fund supports about $1.1 million a year in jail operations.
There have been discussions about possibly paying off the jail bond early, but there were concerns with certain interest loss and revenue loss that would not support operations at the jail in a long-term solution. The earliest the bond could be paid off is August 2022. However, the commissioners and council members said they will hold of on a decision like that until a joint resolution can be approved that would extend the tax rate for an undetermined amount of time.
The extension of the tax would ensure the funds needed to continue operations at the jail without taking funds from the General Fund. The government leaders are concerned to have enough funds to cover general operations, supply costs, and upcoming maintenance projects.
Council President Tim Harman said he would support tax cuts, if possible, but the Special LIT Fund rate should stay the same to cover operational costs.
They all supported a decision that they would like to extend the tax at its current rate to continue to be able to capture funds to fund jail operations.
In the end, the commissioners and council members asked County Attorney Jim Clevenger to compose a resolution that both government bodies can review and sign in regular public meetings to give to local legislators to present to the 2022 General Assembly for consideration.
