The Ellettsville Town Council is looking for an additional $314,137 in property taxes from residents. That would be on top of the 4 percent tax levy set by the state.
The council voted 4-1 Monday to petition the state for an excess levy.
Sandra Hash, the town’s clerk-treasurer, said Ellettsville’s population has grown quickly in the last few years and assessed value has jumped. And that’s forced Ellettsville’s property tax rate down from 0.8 to 0.4 percent.
“Last year, I did a little synopsis," Hash said. "And in the whole county, we were the only municipality that actually lost tax rate. So in other words, it doesn't allow you to take advantage of the growth."
Since January 2021, Ellettsville’s added more than 200 single family homes and 314 new apartment units. Hash said police calls increased 43 percent and fire department calls are up 62 percent.
She added the town’s hired a few new first responders but needs additional funds to keep up with growth.
“And we're locked into that four percent," she said. "So we're just saying we need more than the four as we're growing at a rapid rate. We're trying to keep up with everything we can, but we just can't do it with four percent."
To qualify for the excess levy, assessed value must increase faster than the state average for three years in a row- and Ellettsville has met that requirement.
The town council heard the idea last year. Town council member William Ellis said he wasn’t in support of the idea then. But without the additional money, Ellettsville won’t be able to keep pace with the growth it’s seen.
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“The average homeowner should not see that big of an increase because it's being spread out accross more people," he said. "And also we have more commercial spaces, which includes apartments, and less just pure residential growth and less just AV growth.”
The town has until October 19th to submit the appeal to the Department of Local Government Finance. Hash expects an answer in December, when towns get approval of their budgets.
