Zionsville Times Sentinel

Local News

September 26, 2012

Loss of county tax will pain parks

By Rod Rose/For the Times Sentinel CNHI

Park and recreation departments in Boone County have been stunned by a Boone County Council decision to revoke a county park tax.

“It’s cutting a big chunk out of our budget,” Lebanon Park Board President Laurie Gross said Monday. “I don’t think they understood the impact that money has on the parks; it has a huge impact on us.”

Advance, Jamestown, Lebanon, Thorntown and Zionsville all have parks, although Advance doesn’t collect a park and recreation department tax.

All depend, however, on distribution of the county park tax — and none knew until reading a newspaper story that the Boone County Council had decided to stop gathering the tax, which in 2009 raised about $110,000.

“When I talked to a couple of them, they weren’t even aware of it,” Gross said.

The money is distributed based on population; in 2010, Lebanon received 46 percent, and Zionsville 17 percent, of the money. That represented about $47,000 for Lebanon, and about $20,000 for Zionsville.

“All these parks are in Boone County,” Gross said. “Maybe they (the county council) need to rename the fund or the tax. I’m just upset they cut something that impacts us to that extent and didn’t meet with us.”

See Wednesday’s Times Sentinel for the full story.

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