DAVIESS CO. — The Daviess County Council has voted to implement a new local income tax to offset a significant budget shortfall created by recent state-level property tax cuts, explicitly targeting the funding of the county’s essential, round-the-clock ambulance service.
The move comes after the Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1, which significantly reduced property taxes across the state. In Indiana, property taxes are the primary funding source for local government services, including county agencies and school systems.
Daviess County faces an estimated $1 million budget shortfall, directly resulting from the property tax cuts. To address revenue losses for critical services, the State of Indiana has actively encouraged counties, cities, and towns to impose designated Local Option Income Taxes (LOITs).
The most immediate and essential service impacted in Daviess County is the county-wide ambulance service.
On Tuesday, the Daviess County Council held a special informational meeting focused entirely on the financial strain on the service. Justin Harris, CEO of Daviess Community Hospital, presented a detailed review of the expenses and strict regulations required to provide the current 24-hour-per-day, seven-day-a-week service staffed by trained EMS personnel across the entire county.
Representatives from the county’s financial advisors, Baker Tilly, were also present to review the county’s legal and economic options for replacing the lost revenue.
At the regular Council meeting on Wednesday, the Council discussed the information and agreed that the county’s ambulance service is essential to public safety. The Council also emphasized that the service should be operated on a break-even basis and not as a profit generator.
Faced with a critical funding gap and the state’s recommendation to utilize local option income taxes, the Council voted to approve a 0.10 percent EMS income tax. This new designated local income tax is specifically structured to replace property tax revenue lost under Senate Bill 1. It will be dedicated solely to funding the county ambulance service, ensuring the uninterrupted continuation of emergency medical services.
