As St. Joseph County department heads start working on their budget requests for next year, Republican county council members are urging freezing or even reducing spending in light of the property tax cuts that state lawmakers recently approved.
Property tax cuts in the new state budget signed by Gov. Mike Braun are projected to cost St. Joseph County $5 million next year, $6 million in 2027 and more than $12 million in 2028, according to the county’s financial consultant, Steve Dalton.
That had the county council’s four Republicans, other than Council President Dan Schaetzle, on Tuesday issuing a press release calling for fiscal restraint in the budget. They said the county has cash reserves that are needed to maintain a good credit rating, but that’s “not a slush fund and shouldn't be used for deficit spending that we can't afford or sustain.”
County Auditor John Murphy says the county has cash reserves of about $35.5 million, and about $5 million in its Rainy Day Fund.
Schaetzle declined WVPE’s interview request until he and Democratic leaders on the council send out a letter to county department heads outlining their budget expectations. But Schaetzle earlier this year said he and the Democrats want to start a 5- to 10-year plan to improve county roads, work that could be funded with cash reserves.
Here was Schaetzle speaking in a January interview:
"Some of my fellow council members want to give that back to the taxpayers in a refund," Schaetzle said. "I have talked to a lot of taxpayers and I've asked them, would you rather have a $300 refund check or have your road fixed, and nine out of 10 say, 'Fix my road.'"
