The 2017 fiscal year is upon us, but South Bend and St. Joseph County officials are looking even further down the road.
The property tax Circuit Breaker bill passed in 2008 under then-Governor Mitch Daniels fully kicks in in 2020. Property owners will see that as good news, as property taxes will be capped even lower. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg are among the officials looking ahead, as he told ABC 57.
“We need to begin preparing now, so we can avoid that kind of loss of revenue,” Buttigieg told ABC 57. “If we take the right steps in 2016 and 2017, we won’t be taken by surprise in 2019 and 2020.”
When the additional piece of state legislation kicks in in 2020, several million dollars in revenue will be kicked out of South Bend’s general fund, according to the city.
“The city’s preparing to take a hit that amounts to over $3 million,” Buttigieg told ABC 57. “It forces us to be disciplined and it forces us to squeeze every drop of those taxpayer dollars we do get.”
St. Joseph County lost $28.5 million when the circuit breaker property tax cap went into effect in 2010. This year, that number has grown to $76 million.
