After sounding the call last month to begin discussions on what is to be done with the interest accumulated on the Porter hospital sale, a few county council members gave their suggestions during Tuesday’s meeting.

Council member Robert Poparad, D-1st, who represents the majority of the Duneland area, presented his ideas in a written statement which he gave to his peers and members of the press.

In his statement, Poparad said when the hospital is built and operational, he would like to open discussion to (1) lower property taxes for all Porter County taxpayers, (2) create economic development that results in job creation, (3) and other funding that would improve the quality of life for Porter County residents.

“One of our great concerns is jobs,” he said.

Poparad also stated he would like to see 25 percent of interest proceeds be retained as an emergency cash reserve and that another 25 percent be retained to accrue additional interest.

A few of the council members shared some of Poparad’s views saying that tax relief for property owners and job creation would be two priorities for them. Council president Dan Whitten, D-at large, said that he would be open to possibility of giving tax relief and said that the funds from the hospital sale “truly belongs to the taxpayer,” not just the county.

The interest on the hospital sale premium has reached nearly $9 million since the site for the new facility in Liberty Twp. was purchased by Porter’s parent company, Community Health Systems, in 2007 for approximately $170 million.

According to the hospital sale agreement, the county cannot spend the principle for five years, about the time the facility is expected to complete construction in 2012, in which they would still need unanimous approval from both the council and the commissioners but the county does have rights to use the interest.

Whitten said he felt discussion on how to use the interest money would be appropriate now that Porter hospital has broken ground at the northwest corner of U.S. 6 and Ind. 49. He felt it would be wise to get an idea ahead of time on what is to be done once the money from the principle becomes available.

“We need to have clear criteria,” said Whitten. He said the council has not yet decided on how to bring about new jobs or economic development.

Council member Marilyn Johns, D-4th, said it would be better if the council could use the funds sooner rather than later as some of the older taxpayers may feel “jipped out” of the deal if they don’t receive benefit.

Another comment was made by council member Karen Conover, R-3rd, who said some of the interest money could be given to the taxing units who have had to borrow in the past because of late tax bills.

Whitten said the next step would be to hold a workshop session with the commissioners. “(This) needs to be pretty global,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, Conover told county assessor John Scott she has been getting phone calls from residents unhappy that they received a certified letter announcing their property has been put on the sales list for the county’s upcoming tax sale.

She said the complaints were from taxpayers who said they either have filed an appeal or have paid the required amount and therefore improperly placed on the list.

Conover brought up the concern during a discussion on whether to grant the assessor’s request for a $7,500 additional that would be given to deputies as overtime pay in organizing Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals meetings.

Scott and county treasurer Mike Bucko said properties that have filed an appeal are to be exempt from the tax sale list according to the state. The tax sale, which will be held on Oct. 20, will include only properties delinquent through 2008 tax bills.

The tax sale list was generated by the treasurer’s office, but Bucko said the county’s software had been changed since the last tax sale in 2006 and some things may not have been transferred with the county’s current system.

Bucko told the council the taxpayers can call his office if they believe they should be excluded from the tax sale list and the office would check their records.

The council ended up granting the assessor’s overtime request unanimously to cut down on the bottleneck of lingering appeals, some dating back to 2007. A deputy in the assessor’s office said they have been able to resolve 5,000 appeals in the past 18 months. The office has also increased the frequency of PTABOA meetings, but Scott said they will never fully catch up as the appeals keep coming in.

Whitten asked that the assessor’s office keep the council updated monthly on the progress of backlogged appeals.

In another matter, Bucko told the council he is dropping his proposal for a monthly payment plan in escrow-like accounts for taxpayers who currently are not using escrow, feeling that the cost and set up are not worth the result after looking further into the plan which had been adopted by Allen County.

The plan would have allowed users to spread out their payments for each month over a year instead of paying the amounts in spring and fall tax installments.

A little movin’ and shakin’ went on with tentative date schedules for the council’s 2011 county budget hearings. The council moved the Sept. 20 and the Sept. 23 scheduled hearings to Sept. 27 and Sept. 29 instead.

Sept. 29 will include both a regular council meeting and budget hearings. That particular meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. while the rest are planned for 5:30 p.m.

The first hearing will take place on Monday, Sept. 13 which will include a public hearing and first reading of all county budgets. Other budget hearing meetings are scheduled for Sept. 16, Oct. 4, Oct. 7, and final reading will be given on Oct. 18.

Also on Tuesday:

• At their next regular meeting on Sept. 29, the council will discuss making changes to county’s Worker’s Comp policy for Porter County Sheriff’s Police officers who are injured in the line of duty. Whitten asked council attorney Scott McClure to draft a resolution that would clearly state the policy would be for officers injured on the job to receive full pay instead of the current 66 percent. Earlier this year, Whitten asked for the county auditor’s office to give full comp to Officer Roger Bowles who sustained an injury during an arrest a year ago last August. PCSP officials told the council Bowles will be back on the job today. County auditor James Kopp said the resolution would also need to be approved by the county commissioners.

• The council split 4-2 in a discussion to give the county tourism bureau a policy that would pay the tab on work cell phones for staff. The council denied the request but Whitten asked the tourism bureau to make the request again at the next meeting saying he would like more information. Voting against the request were Whitten, Poparad, Johns, and Rita Stevenson, D-2nd. Council members in favor were Conover and Laura Blaney, D-at large. Council member Sylvia Graham, D-at large, was absent from the meeting.

• The council was also split but approved a request from the auditor’s office to transfer $7,000 from Training to cover part-time payroll. The vote was 5-1 with Stevenson voting against.

• The council approved additional funds for the county highway department for bridge maintenance and repairs in several county townships. Included was $61,917.32 total for Liberty Twp. and $48,330.41 for Pine Twp.

Posted 8/25/2010