A bill that would raise funds for the renovation of the Pulaski County Courthouse and the expansion of the Justice Center now heads to the Indiana Senate. The House of Representatives Thursday passed House Bill 1052 by a vote of 88 to four.
The bill’s author, Representative Doug Gutwein, said the measure would allow Pulaski County to continue imposing a special purpose income tax on its residents through 2035. “For 25 years, we’ve been paying a special tax, three-tenths of a percent, on the jail and Justice Center,” Gutwein told representatives. “It expires, and we are in dire need of continuing that and having another special purpose on the courthouse and the renovation of the Justice Center. So I appreciate your support.”
The bill would help the county raise money to restore the historic courthouse and create a security checkpoint at its north entrance, while Circuit Court would move out of the building and into an expanded Justice Center. That would eliminate the need for jail inmates to be taken across the street for court.
The project is estimated to cost about $7.7 million. A previous proposal to move all county operations out of the courthouse and demolish the historic structure drew considerable opposition.
Even if the bill is approved at the state level, the county council would still have to vote on extending the tax. With the county’s overall local income tax rate being the highest in the state, many council members want to look into ways to reduce it, instead. A tax restructuring ordinance aimed at starting that process was narrowly rejected by the county council in October.
