VALPARAISO | The Porter County Council followed in the footsteps of the Porter County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday evening in supporting a proposed amendment to the state constitution to lock in a 1 percent property tax cap for homeowners.
Council members then took a stand against another state proposal to change the rules for handling the proceeds from the sale of the former county hospital.
The resolution supporting the 1 percent tax cap was introduced by Councilman Dan Whitten, who said there is widespread public support for the proposal, which is being increasingly squeezed by the troubled economy.
"Everybody is hurting," he said. "We are in a crisis where people are losing jobs. Every penny counts."
The only council member who opposed the resolution was newcomer Sylvia Graham, who said she was concerned about changing the constitution.
Whitten, an attorney, said he has great respect for the protective powers of the constitution.
Graham, who made an unsuccessful run for state representative in 2006, argued the proposed cap is regressive in that it would provide greater savings to those with more expensive houses.
Whitten said that was not true.
The stand taken by the Democratic-controlled council and commissioners put both at odds with other local governments across the state and some of their fellow Democrats, who have sought to delay the vote on the tax cap. A favorable vote by lawmakers would put the issue before voters next year.
The council also went on record Tuesday opposing a proposal by state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, that would create a nonprofit community foundation made up of county council members to make final decisions on investments and expenditures of the hospital sale proceeds.
Soliday has said the bill is designed to protect the $161 million in principal and give more options for investments.
County officials, however, fear the bill will take control of the money away from elected officials and put it into the hands of a citizens advisory group.
The only support for the resolution came from council member Karen Conover, the lone Republican, who said the bill is designed to protect the money from future elected officials.
