What Is The Source Of Funding For Indiana 911 Service

The supervisor's station at St. Joseph County's 911 center in Mishawaka.

The last time St. Joseph County officials considered carving out a chunk of income tax money to pay for the 911 dispatch center, the plan stalled after backlash from libraries, townships and other public agencies that would lose money.

Now, officials are once again moving forward with the plan, which would set up a dedicated funding stream for the 911 center by diverting income tax money that goes to a wide range of public bodies.

That would mean big savings for the county and Mishawaka city governments — but would require smaller government units to share the cost of the 911 center for the first time by giving up some of their income tax money.

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The latest plan would hit small public bodies harder than a version that was discussed in 2019, leaving even less money to pay for branch libraries, township fire departments and small-town police forces.

But some of the costs would be offset, at least short-term. A companion proposal floated by St. Joseph County officials would call for the county to kick money back to many of those agencies to offset a portion of their losses for the next three years.

The 911 center is now entirely funded by South Bend, Mishawaka and the county government. It handles emergency calls for most of St. Joseph County.

On Monday, the Mishawaka Common Council is set to vote on the proposed funding change — diverting $10.5 million of income tax money for the 911 center. The resolution would also need approval by either the St. Joseph County Council or South Bend Common Council to take effect next year.

Proponents of the plan say it would spread the costs of the 911 center more fairly, while also avoiding a tax increase for citizens.

"It provides a more equitable way of funding the dispatch center that serves all of St. Joe County," said Gregg Hixenbaugh, president of the Mishawaka Common Council. "The fact that it can be accomplished without asking individual taxpayers to pay more is also attractive to me."

Divertingthe money to the 911 center would reduce the income taxes distributed to most local government units, including towns, townships and libraries, as well as the South Bend International Airport and Transpo, by about 28%, according to county figures.

On the other hand, St. Joseph County and Mishawaka would see gains, and South Bend would almost break even.

Costs for 911 center run into the millions

Under the current funding plan, established in 2014, St. Joseph County, South Bend and Mishawaka each contribute money from their budgets, with the county bearing the heaviest share.

For 2021, those contributions were about $4 million for the county, $2.8 million for South Bend, and $1.5 million for Mishawaka.

County officials say those contributions have become unsustainable as costs rise.

The shift to a dedicated stream of income tax money, spreading the cost to other public bodies, is expected to give St. Joseph County a net gain of close to $1.4 million per year. Mishawaka would net about $611,000, and South Bend would see a net loss of just under $37,000.

But the smaller government bodies argue that the plan would take a chunk out of already lean budgets that provide public safety and services.

Clay Township, which provides fire and EMS service through Clay Fire Territory to an area that also includes German and Harris townships, would lose about $174,000 per year — equal to about three firefighters, according to township trustee Mike Dobson.

"It will be $174,000 that ultimately, down the road, we won't be able to put into our fire territory," Dobson said. "If I was using those dollars to give myself a palatial office at the township, I get it, but we put every one of those dollars into our fire territory to provide the quality of service that would rival the cities we abut."

Dobson said he found the situation even more frustrating because, unlike the larger governments, townships do not receive separate public safety income taxes, even though they provide fire protection throughout unincorporated parts of the county.

"We're just a small pawn on the chessboard," Dobson said, "so we get kicked around a little bit."

County Commissioners President Andy Kostielney pointed out the county uses its public safety income taxes to pay for facilities that serve towns and townships, such as the jail and Juvenile Justice Center.

The town of Walkerton stands to lose about $56,000 per year, amounting to the salary of one of the town's five police officers, said Gene Reese, the president of the town council.

"I don't know if the word is 'devastating,' but it's pretty impactful," Reese said. "It's hard when you're a small community and you're trying to do the best you can, and somebody decides they're going to take $56,000 away from you."

Transpo would lose about $189,000 that would go toward the costs of running its bus routes. The agency's general manager, Amy Hill, said Transpo would have to consider cutting a route.

Library stands to lose the most

The St. Joseph County Library system would lose the most revenue, about $610,000 a year. Library officials have said the amount is roughly the annual budget of an entire branch library.

In 2019, when county officials were considering a similar plan, supporters of the library led the opposition and closed early one evening to demonstrate the impact of a "night without libraries."

Jennifer Hennecke, a spokeswoman for the library system, said library officials are closely following the tax plan.

"It's definitely a significant amount for us," Hennecke said. "Any decrease in the revenue we receive calls for an evaluation of what we need to do to provide our services to the community."

Hennecke added that closing a branch was not an option, and that she was grateful the county is considering payments to help offset the losses.

The county has proposed using its own gains to pay back most of the other governments half of their losses in 2022, plus smaller percentages the next two years, as a form of "transition assistance." Even after those payments, totaling almost $787,000 in 2022, the county would come out ahead by at least $600,000.

County officials have made a verbal commitment to those payments, but Kostielney said he would like to see the commitment formalized in a legal agreement.

Some agencies, including Transpo, the airport and the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library, would not get any assistance from the county, according to county projections.

Local school districts, meanwhile, are exempt from the plan and would not lose any money.

Spending soars in recent years

Spending on the 911 center has ballooned over the past seven years, as officials try to catch up with costs they say were underestimated. The center's budget is expected to grow again in 2022, with officials hoping to raise wages and hire more dispatchers.

The 911 center has asked the County Council for a budget of almost $13.2 million next year, up from the 2021 budget of just over $11 million. Part of the budget is paid for by a distribution of state 911 fees, projected to be about $3.7 million next year.

Dispatch officials and front-line workers have long said the 911 center is understaffed and underpaid, leading to high turnover, overtime costs and longer response times. Cost overruns have forced the center to dip into cash reserves.

But how to "right-size" the budget has been up for debate, said South Bend Mayor James Mueller, who sits on the center's executive board.

Mueller said it's the wrong time to shift to a new stream of income taxes because officials are still trying to find the right amount for the 911 center's budget. He also said it's too early to know how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect income tax collections.

Mueller said he would have preferred that South Bend, Mishawaka and the county commit to sharing the costs for the 911 center for the time being, especially since the cities and county received substantial COVID relief payments from the federal government.

"South Bend is willing to pay its fair share," Mueller said, "and I hoped the three entities that are getting American Rescue Plan dollars could come to an agreement about what that is."

If Mishawaka's council approves the change on Monday, it would move to the St. Joseph County Council next. Mishawaka and the county could approve the change without support from South Bend or any of the smaller towns.

St. Joseph County Council President Rafael Morton suggested there is enough support on the county council to approve the change, saying he has a "level of confidence" that it would pass.

Two years ago, several County Council members said they favored a slight tax increase to fund the 911 center, or an option that would have used a lesser tax increase while carving out a smaller slice of the existing tax revenue, to minimize the impact on other governments' budgets.

Yet another option would have pulled some of the income tax revenue from school districts, in addition to the towns, townships and libraries.

In the end, Kostielney said, none of those options had enough support.