Cut taxes, an acquaintance demanded when I mentioned Allen County had accumulated in the neighborhood of $4 million in reserves, mostly thanks to Enbridge pipeline company.
Enbridge laid a pipeline through the county to transport oil, and built a multi-million-dollar pumping station southeast of Humboldt. The result was a huge increase in local property tax revenue. Much of it has been squirreled away in reserve.
The windfall has given county commissioners opportunities to be more helpful with projects that benefit Allen Countians — annual support of $100,000 for the Bowlus Fine Arts Center and $180,000 to help with construction of G&W Food’s grocery store, to name two.
They also put together a committee to make recommendations on requests for funding assistance from businesses, industries and nonprofits.
This week Humboldt Administrator Cole Herder brought another financial consideration to the commissioners’ table, to help the town extend utilities to a 24.8-acre tract ripe for development. Waiting in the wings is one business, a heavy equipment service center. Others are likely.
Cost of the utilities extension is estimated at $672,000. That Humboldt’s budget cannot stand such an expenditure is no surprise. Few towns of 2,000 could.
Herder looked elsewhere, and is confident the U.S. Economic Development Administration will come across with a 50-50 matching grant. He has turned every stone hunting the other 50 percent and until Tuesday morning (when commissioners met) he had found no pot of gold, rainbows being unusual this time of year.
Commissioners listened. Chairman Jim Talkington then proposed the county provide the match, from the Enbridge-generated reserves.
Tuesday commissioners will decide.
They should be eager to give a hand, because the expenditure fits the age-old directive of government to provide for the public good. Having utilities available to the tract will lead to development there, and elsewhere in the area, making it a double — maybe triple — dip of inspired economic expansion.
CUT TAXES?
Sure, that would be nice, but a few mills would be cosmetic for practically all taxpayers. For example, savings for the owner of a $100,000 home, at 5 mills, is $4.79 a month — the cost of a fast-food hamburger that evaporates in minutes. The $330,000 at issue is less than what 3 mills would raise, and it already is on hand waiting to send more banners up Allen County’s economic flagpole.
It’s better by far to use revenue held in reserve for a good cause, rather than let it lie idle and a-mouldering like John Brown’s body.
