The Bartholomew County Council will vote Tuesday night on an income tax increase that would pay for additional officers to help deal with overcrowding at the jail. The proposal would increase the income tax rate by 0.5 percent.
More than 100 beds in the old section of the county jail are sitting empty because there aren't enough officers to staff the area. Jail Commander John Martoccia says the tax increase would allow the county to hire five additional officers.
"We're still trying to get up to where we should be on the new part of the jail on staffing before even thinking about opening the old part up," Martoccia says.
The council voted 4-3 last month to advance the proposal. If approved, the new income tax rate will be 1.75 percent.