When citizens speak up and complain about the Monroe County Council’s proposed income tax increase for a new prison, elected officials will listen.
The promise was made during a meeting Tuesday night, where the council voted 6-1 to enact a possible 0.2% corrections tax, also called a prison tax, that would take effect Jan. 1. The tax is an income tax paid by Monroe County residents, regardless of where they are employed.
The current rate is 0.01%. If the rate is increased to 0.2%, the maximum allowed by law, someone earning $50,000 a year would see a tax increase of $5 per $100.
Kate Wilz was the only member of the district council to vote against announcing the highest rate. One reason for this was that the advertised rate can be lowered, but not increased.
Such changes must be announced in the local newspaper in a so-called legal notice so that taxpayers are informed.
“I have a lot of feelings about this, the impact this has on people in our community … we have a lot of people who are struggling to make ends meet,” Wilz said. She said the possibility of approving the highest rate “hurts my heart.”
Wilz said the tax must reflect the wishes of the population. “I would be happier if we could achieve less than 0.2%,” she said of the possible 20-fold increase.
Other council members, including Marty Hawk, Cheryl Munson and Jennifer Crossley, said they wanted to hear taxpayers’ opinions on the proposed tax increase and its amount during a public hearing on Sept. 16.
They cited unanswered questions – how big the prison will be and where it will be built – as obstacles to deciding on the tax rate.
“I’m considering everything and I’m not very happy with the tax increase because I don’t have all the answers,” Crossley said. “Hopefully I’ll have enough to make a decision in the next few weeks.”
“I want to hear the public’s opinion officially. This is very important to all of us,” Munson said, adding that implementing the tax “is something that needs to be done so we can move on to the other decisions we need to make.”
The council also voted to reduce a tax used for juvenile justice and transfer the money to a fund that supports ongoing prison costs. This would free up the 0.01% prison tax already in place and the money would be used for the new prison project.
The juvenile justice fund has surplus money, the council stressed, and the tax rate could be increased if the surplus becomes too low.
Crossley and Hawk said they would like to learn more about the possibility of a work release center – possibly in the courthouse – that could help incarcerated people reintegrate into society while reducing the prison population.
Contact HT reporter Laura Lane at [email protected] or 812-318-5967.
