Knox City Council members considered a resolution related to the water and wastewater utilities and the splash pad in Wythogan Park when they met Tuesday night.
Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston told members that since the water and wastewater utilities are municipally owned, things are run a bit differently than if they were owned by a business.
He explained that a private company would be paying taxes to the City but since the city owns the utilities they’re able to take a payment in lieu of taxes in accordance with a particular Indiana Code (IC-36-2-10).
He noted, “We actually passed this for the water and sewer but we do not take money from those utilities right now.”
He said the reason they’re not collecting those payments is because it was resulting in too much of a financial strain and officials wanted to keep sewer and water rates as low as they could.
In order to address the fact that city officials are not taking that money, Houston created a resolution that explains what’s being done instead.
Houston shared, “I’m suggesting that we should forgo taking those payments in lieu of taxes and in return, those utilities will supply the water and wastewater for the splash pad in the park. That way one hand kind of washes the other.”
Houston added that he felt this was a solution that would benefit everyone involved.
He explained, “It’s good for the City, in that we’re getting the water and sewer services, and it’s good for the utilities that they are not having to pay this payment in lieu of taxes. That’s the whole idea and we’re allowed to do that in accordance with [IC] 36-2-10.”
Clerk-Treasurer Houston noted that this is the way the City has been operating, however, it’s beneficial to have a resolution on file for any future audits or if any questions are ever posed by the State Board of Accounts.
When it came time to vote, the resolution was passed by the council unanimously.
