Last Wednesday, Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston informed city council members that the final payment for the general obligation bond of 2010 was made earlier that day.
Houston added that the bond was taken out to purchase a fire truck which is now officially owned by the city. Mayor Dennis Estok reminded members that paying off the bond contributed to the deficit of more than $30,000 in Knox’s CEDIT account for this year.
The mayor was referring to the Department of Local Government Finance figures which show that in 2017 the local income tax distribution for Knox was around $394,734 whereas the city is estimated to only get $359,826 in 2018, leading to a projected loss of revenue of $34,908.
Starke County Economic Development Executive Director Charlie Weaver previously told the council that county economic development income tax money is distributed to the three municipalities within Starke County based on tax levy. He said since Knox paid off a bond, their share went down in 2018. However, he assured members that the action would only temporarily affect the account and that things should return to normal next year.
