By Sophie Pappas
At a special meeting of the Zionsville Town Council and the Perry Township Board of Trustees on April 29, the two groups completed a mandatory second reading of the resolution and plan to reorganize the town. Both groups voted in favor of sending the plan to the Indiana Dept. of Government Finance for review.
The plan recommends that Zionsville adopt Perry Township, which would expand the town by an estimated 40 percent in square footage and allow for a mayor to be elected.
The fiscal analysis, compiled by the accounting firm Crowe Horwath, of Indianapolis, breaks down the shift of expenses and revenues that will flow from Perry to the town after a merge is approved and after a full-time mayor is elected.
Services in the rural area of former Perry Township will be provided in the same manner as in the current rural areas of Zionsville. The Boone County Highway Dept. will continue to claim the road miles from the state and service the rural district, and the Sheriff of Boone County will provide primary law enforcement.
All planning and zoning matters will be the responsibility and jurisdiction of the Town of Zionsville. Trash pickup services will not be provided by the town in the rural district.
An estimated $900 will be added to the town’s park expenses. This is for the township’s cemetery maintenance contract.
The Zionsville Fire Dept. will coordinate the provision of fire and emergency services with the Perry Township Volunteer Fire Dept. $75,000 will be added to the town’s fire fund for the Perry Township Volunteer Fire Dept.
A mandatory public hearing must take place before members of the public can vote on the merge in the November elections. This public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 15 at Zionsville Town Hall.
Taxes
The estimated increase to residents in the Township is approximately $0.17 per $100 of NAV.
The impact to all four existing taxing districts is $0.0068 per $100 of NAV
Calculation:
Property Value ÷ (Net Assessed Value/100) = Tax Rate
Mayor salary
The plan currently states that the elected mayor will earn $120,000 per year.
What will happen with the schools?
Perry Township students currently attend Lebanon schools. This will not change after the merge, unless the Lebanon Community School Corp. and the Zionsville Community School Corp. approve a change. According to Zionsville Town Council President Jeff Papa, this will likely not happen because the Lebanon school district will want to keep those students.
Will Perry residents addresses change?
The only way for a Perry Township address to change to a Zionsville address is if the federal government approves a petition between the townships’ postmaster generals. This happens very rarely in the U.S.
