A public safety income tax would help Bartholomew County better fund its emergency operations center and balance the overall budget, but at a cost to taxpayers.

City, township and county officials heard a presentation on the tax hike from the Plainfield Clerk-Treasurer, Wes Bennett last week. Bennett said that for his community, the tax has simplified the funding for the emergency operations center. Instead of having to collect money from every taxing unit in the county, the tax covers the cost of operations of the dispatch center and frees up money in the budget of all of the other taxing units.

Ed Reuter, director of the Barhtolomew County center, said that he is working to put together a true picture of the total cost for operating the center. For example, the center draws on the county IT department and maintenance, but doesn’t pay for those services.

Barb Hackman, county auditor, estimated that the income tax would cost the earner of a median income in the county betweeen $54 and $136 a year, depending on the tax rate chosen. The tax could raise between $2 and $5 million for local public safety.

Only a minority of County Council members have said they are in favor of implementing such a tax. The County Council begins its budget hearings tomorrow.