advertisement:
By JIM BARBIERI
It was a Merry Christmas all right for the schools and governments of Wells County.
Contrary to the two prior years of struggles and delays amid state changes and computer program adapting, the pre-year-end distributions including the fall tax collections were made in full on time -- even a few days ahead of schedule.
Early and prompt certification of collections by the office of County Treasurer Rinda Harnish-Vaughn was followed by early and prompt distribution action by the office of County Auditor Mary Towne.
Reported by the auditor to Wells County Council just before Christmas was that the distribution checks were going out or being picked up by the taxing units.
Cooperation between the two offices (treasurer and auditor) kept the tasks rolling all the way.
And the further revelation, as the News-Banner made a few spot checks Wednesday, was that the distributions lived up to expectations and in at least some cases exceeded them.
The city of Bluffton received a levy excess amount of $64,125.88, related Mayor Ted Ellis.
Heard indirectly was that the Bluffton-Harrison School Corporation also received a notable levy excess amount, although none of the officials was available that day to verify it.
Southern Wells Supt. Neil Potter said that his school corporation received within $3,000 or $4,000 of the anticipated amount for the levy -- very close to expectations.
Mayor Ellis said he did not know immediately why Bluffton received the excess amount but he guessed it was from some collections of back taxes.
The mayor made the point that while this is a good thing -- certainly better than a shortfall -- the city will not end up with more funds to spend because of it, nor will it make it up to the city coffers for shortfall distributions over prior unpaid taxes.
He explained that the state will require that the excess amount be applied against what the city needs in setting the city tax rate, which will be adjusted downward to reflect a lower need.
But the excess amounts in the distribution ARE a benefit, thus, for the taxpayers by the explanations.
Added to the Wells County $2 million “windfall” announced by the state just before Christmas because of overpaid PERF (Public Employees Retirement Fund) balances resulting from the impacts of the Wells Community Hospital sale five years ago, the taxpayers are getting a much welcome run of good news in the windup of a year with a number of strains.
Of the $64,125.88 excess amount to Bluffton, $45,553.54 was in the general fund, the city’s main account.
The city’s approved general fund property tax levy was $1,690,440.
Actually for 2005 property taxes, the city general fund was distributed a total of $1,735,993.54 -- an excess of $45,553.54.
Those distributions came in advance draws of $122,757.77 and $55,832.32, then the spring settlement on property tax collections etc. of $706,951.99; then two more advance draws of $512,792.01 and $242,945.50 -- and then the December settlement of $94,713.95.
Wells County Treasurer Harnish-Vaughn agrees with Mayor Ellis that the levy excess amounts for Bluffton and Bluffton-Harrison are probably from payments of back taxes, as she noted that there were major firms that caught up this year from some past delinquency or lateness in paying.
Known from prior public attention was that about $60,000 in real estate taxes from the former foundry interests were paid up this year in the dealings by which the properties were bought after their offering in a sheriff foreclosure sale several months ago.
Treasurer Harnish-Vaughn related a few weeks ago that she is working with an attorney toward getting the taxes settled from an industrial firm that is in a bankruptcy.
Governmental and school officials expressed appreciation for the promptness in the December settlement and distributions by the county offices this year.
Read this story in our E-Edition, Click Here