The Mail-Journal, Volume 29, Number 15, Milford, Kosciusko County, 23 May 1990 — Page 5

Under the . . . Courthouse Dome . Fw, By Ron Sharp J »

BAD NEWS ARRIVES — You already have the bad news on property taxes for 1990. On the average the piper is demanding 40 percent more money this year over last to operate local services (schools, county, townships, libraries, city and towns). This increase is the largest single property tax increase in county history. Os the $37,358,810 granted by the state tax board $25,552,505 will go to the schools, or 68 cents of every dollar collected. A breakdown of where your hard-earned money will go is listed below: State of Indiana $ 57,601 County $ 4,548,762 Township- * Libraries $ 1,586,554 Schools $25,552,505 Towns & Warsaw $ 5,613,388 Total $37,358,810 You have received a break in your 1990 tax burden due to an allowance (Homestead credit). However, this credit toward your property tax will be reduced and the larger amount of credit phased out during the next three years. Then you will pay more. Below is the breakdown that taxpayers will pay in each of the following taxing units: Taxpayers Residence Amount Warsaw $11,775,868 Wayne 3,920,279 . Turkey Creek 3,124,210 Plain 2,879,525 Tippecanoe 2,221,072 Syracuse 2,218,761 Winona Lake 1,136,155 Harrison 1,084,861 Van Buren 1,013,561 Milford 842,955 Prairie 804,867 Washington 618,852 Clay 489,869 Lake \ 479,976 North Webster ) 478,256 Franklin 465,387 Jackson 371,914 Etna 328,722 Pierceton 300,032 Scott 294,724 Monroe 266,982 Jefferson East 255,006 Mentone Harrison 227,575 Jefferson West 194,217 Leesburg 181,202 Silver Lake 171,022 Etna Green » 123,895 Nappanee Jefferson 104,618 Mentone Franklin 101,188 Claypool 71,322 Burket 52,688 Sidney 29,944 Warsaw Plain 8,138 Total $37,358,810 The above figures do not include the Local Option Tax which will cost local taxpayers another $4,746,327. Making the total tax load of more than $42,000,000 for local property taxpayers and wage earners. (The above figures do not reflect the Homestead Credit which will reduce each taxpayer’s bill.) WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP DESTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING? This is the question we are hearing on the Wawasee Community School board’s plans to destroy the old Syracuse High School. Several good ideas have come forward for the use of the building — Use it as a central office, and storage; use it for overflow classroom space, etc. As to how to stop this idiotic plan to raze the building with the excuse that the elementary school needs the space for more playground area. Court action apparently is the only recourse. An injunction against the school board’s plan should be filed in any Kosciusko County court. The board has in the past ignored many requests from Turkey Creek and Syracuse citizens. Unfortunately, past petitions have been received with a holier-than-though attitude on the part of school board members. The board members didn’t take the petitions to the john, but they might as well have for all the good it did those signing the petitions. A permanent organization needs to be formed by citizens of the school corporation to monitor board action and then act when the latter is not financially or educationally feasible. This type of organization is overdue. If it does not materialize, we of this school corporation are going to be stuck with a SSO-to-S7O-million debt to pay off — with nothing to show for it but a couple of glorified monuments. P.S. We’re sure the school board would welcome your comments. The board members are Curt Jordan, Dennis Mikel, William Troup, Phillip Payne, and Carolyn Anderson. —o— HAVE YOU NOTICED how price increases are passed off as doing you a favor? Remember when UTS did away with the telephone operators? This was going to cut costs and give better service. Next came Direct Dialing. If you haven’t noticed, your telephone bill each month has mushroomed into a several hundred percent increase. Then UTS came up another cost-saving venture (not to you!) of doing away with local telephone offices where you could register a complaint if you were overcharged on long distance calls. Remember when banks were pleased when you deposited money? Not now! The banks charge you up to $7 per month just for keeping your money — whether you withdraw any of it or not! Remember when you pulled into a service station and the attendant checked your tires and oil and washed your windows? All of this was done purchasing your gas at 30 cents per gallon. Not anymore! Remember when U.S. manufacturers made a product that worked when you got it home? Now they try to sell you a service contract before you get out the door of the sales room. All this under the guise of doing you a favor. So — beware of those who are doing you any favors! You don’t even have to sit down to get it in the end. NEW S LOCATION J 2003 UNCOLNWAY EAST X X (WAL-MART MAU) X # GOSHEN, IN 46526 X / Galaxy Travel, Inc. | I NEW I I HOURS I B 8:30 A.M. TO 5:30 P.M. I W SAT. 10 A.M. TO 1 RM. > V EVENINGS BY APPOINTMENT / 219-534-2078 UNLIMITED PARKING

Boat owners guide —

Know the steps to registering watercraft

By STACEY LESCH Staff Writer

It is being called one of the worst bills to ever pass through Legislation. House Enrolled Act No. 1579 became law during the first regular session of the 106th General Assembly, however most boat owners, township assessors, and IDNR officers simply know the new boat taxing law as confusing. The following is a simplified guide for boat owners and others trying to work with the state’s latest demands. Information for registering watercraft has been obtained by Indiana Department of Natural Resources officer in Kosciusko County, Mike Fodor, and Turkey Creek Township Assessor, Charlene Knispel. • All motorized watercraft stored or used in Indiana must display an HIN, or hull identification number. All boats manufactured after. 1972 should be complete with the 12-digit HIN and should already be listed with the State of Indiana. The HIN should then be located on the boat right hand sight of the stern. Boats built prior to 1972 must obtain a HIN through the state. To obtain the 12-digit HIN, boat owners must take any or all of the following information to the local license branch: the boat’s title, a valid or non-valid registration, the bill of sale, and documentation of a police inspection. From that information, license branch officials can issue a HIN for the boat. All boat owners must per-

SkK* Gai Ml 1 v # * MB » , ’•*'*■* - f ' LEGION COMMANDER RECEIVES OLD FLAGS — Robert Rassi, right, commander of the Kosciusko County Council of The American Legion, is shown receiving two old US flags from Marcia Baumgartner, Van Buren Township trustee. These worn US flags, along with many others, will be honorably disposed of at the annual Kosciusko County Legion Flag Retirement Ceremony. This year’s ceremony will be hosted by Herbert Kuhn Post No. 253, The American Legion, North Webster. The public ceremony will be held Sunday, June 10. at 1 p.m. in the post's parking lot. All county residents are encouraged to either take their old worn US flags to the ceremony or turn them in at any county Legion post for honorable disposal. Also shown are Mrs. Baumgartner's children, Simon, two: Margaret, eight; and Spencer, five. (Photo by Linda Musselman)

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manently attach the boat’s HIN number to the right side of the boat’s stern (near the motor). The HIN must be embossed into the boat or engraved on a metal plate. That plate must then be glued AND rivoted to the right stern. A DNR officer must inspect all county boats built prior to 1972 before they are put in the water. • Paying excise tax. All motorized boats and nonmotorized sailboats are subject to excise taxes. Nonmotorized sailboats

Minimum wage, maximum nuisance

By JOHN SLOAN

Although Congress couldn’t resist dictating terms to the marketplace by passing a minimum wage increase last year, it did not step too boldly. Business owners will not be shocked at new federal requirements and costs. In fact, some owners may be pleasantly surprised by a few provisions of the law. The new minimum wage, which went into effect April 1, is now $3.80 per hour. Next year the wage is scheduled to increase to $4.25 per hour. But the law also created a teen-age training wage, increased the tip credit and boosted the small-business exemption. During the negotiations in Congress last year, the National Federation of Independent Business convinced lawmakers to support a training wage. Un-

will be charged an excise tax of $25 while motorized sailboats will be charged in the same accord as other motorized boats. This year, boat owners will pay excise tax for the length of the boat. All nonmotorized boats — i.e. paddle boats, row boats, and canoes — will be taxed on person property taxes. • After a boat is registered in Indiana it will not require yearly renewal. Boat owners should register their boat again when the current expiration sticker re-

fortunately, they limited it to teens. Employers can pay workers age 16-19 a wage of $3.35 an hour for up to 90 days. Next year the rate will rise to $3.80 an hour. The training wage is set to expire, however, in 1993. Small businesses also secured a higher exemption from the federal minimum-wage law. Enterprises with gross annual sales of less than $500,000 are now exempt, up from $362,500 for most retail firms and $250,000 for other industries. There is some fine print. Businesses must earn 50 percent of their annual sales within the state in which they are located. And all firms — including retail firms previously exempt — must pay individual employees the minimum wage if their jobs involve interstate transactions, such as answering out-of-state phone calls. The legislation also provides for a higher tip credit. Now 45 percent of cash tips from customers may be put toward minimum wage payments. Next April, employers will be allowed to<count up to 50 percent of a worker’s tips toward wages. Unfortunately, new state requirements are canceling out the mild nature of the federal law. A few state legislatures boosted their wage levels past the federal

Area residents booked at jail

The following persons were booked in the Kosciusko County Jail recently: Oliver Delmar Magginnis, 34, 401 S. Main, Syracuse, was charged with forgery and theft and held on $3,000 bond. Charles Kenneth Coburn, 38, 518 S. Main St., Syracuse, was booked on charges of failure to appear and held on $3,000 bond. Chris Jay Whitehead, 19, 729 N. Huntington St., Syracuse, was booked on charged of driving a motor vehicle while under the in-

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quires it. After that, the boat registration will be entered in the state’s files and will not require a yearly registration fee. Rather, boat owners will only be subject to pay a $5 lake enhancement fee and $5 for a decal, along with their yearly excise taxes. Anyone wanting additional information should contact the Turkey Creek Township Assessor’s office, or the Tippecanoe Township Assessor’s office. Also, the IDNR can answer any questions concerning boat inspection and HIN placement.

rate. Other states kept wages down but installed complicated phase-in periods, practically forcing employers to track changes with a stop watch. For example, Vermont and New Hampshire chose a threetiered increase. Vermont law followed the federal statute for the first increase, but employers will have to keep their eyes on the calendar. In three months — just five paychecks later for most — the wage goes up another 15 cents an hour. Finally eight months later, the state settles on what will be the federal level. Alaska, lowa, and Oregon legislators went to the head of the class, boosting their minimum wages past Uncle Sam’s. lowa’s wage will top out at $4.65 an hour. In Oregon and Alaska, a $4.75 an hour minimum will be required by 1991 and 1992, respectively. These exceptions aside, smallbusiness owners will probably weather the new changes to minimum wage laws. But business would fare better if lawmakers would learn from our experience in the ’Bos and let the market do the work. John Sloan is president of the Na tional Federation of Independent Business, representing more than half a million small-business men and women.

fluence of alcohol. He was held on $450 bond. Kennel Lee Williams, 20, 72833 CR 29; Apt. 15, Syracuse, was charged with conversion and held on $250 bond. Thomas Allen “Butch” Sterling, 29, r 1 box 479A, North Webster, was booked on charges of contempt of court and held without bond. Angela Kay Gates, 19, r 2 box 373A, Syracuse, was sentenced to 10 days in jail on a charge of conversion.

Wed., May 23,1990 — THE MAIL-JOURNAL

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PROGRAM ON BELLS — On Monday, May 14, Program Chairman Arnie Karr, right, introduced Lakeland Kiwanis Club's special speaker, Randall Dewart, left, of Milford. His program was on bells and why bells were used as away of communicating. Dewart had two special bells with him. One was from an old horsedrawn firetruck and the other was from a railroad steam engine.

Northern Indiana platform committee schedules hearing

The 1990 Indiana Democratic Platform Committee will be holding its Northern Indiana Regional Public Hearing on Friday, May 25. The public is invited to attend and to testify. “The Democratic platform will encompass the ideals and convictions of the Indiana Democratic Party. Anyone in northern Indiana who would like to express their concerns or offer their suggestions is encouraged to attend this hearing,” said Indiana Democratic State Chairman Michael Pannos. Pannos had earlier announced the members of the 1990 Indiana Democratic Platform Committee which contains one representative from each Indiana congressional district and five atlarge members.

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The platform committee is holding forums around the state to get the public’s input before drafting the platform. “The group we have assembled to serve on the platform committee represents some of the finest people in the Indiana democratic party, and I know they will do a superb job of placing our political philosophies into this document,” said Pannos. Once the platform is drafted, it will be distributed, debated and voted on at the 1990 Indiana State Convention on June 4. The platform meeting will be held at 10 a.m. in the Anniversary Drawing Room at the Purdue Memorial Union Building in Lafayette. Those wishing to testify should call Chris Worden at State Democratic Headquarters (317) 231-71140 r (800) 223-3387.

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