Chapter 3.04
FISCAL PROVISIONS GENERALLY

Sections:

3.04.010    Service charge on unpaid or dishonored checks.

3.04.015    Dishonored drafts and checks for payment of taxes and special assessments.

3.04.020    Document recording fee.

3.04.030    Health care copayments for persons in county jail.

3.04.040    Pilot program for property tax reporting.

3.04.050    Homestead credit.

3.04.060    Homestead property tax (rebate) refund amount for 2006 pay 2007 taxes.

3.04.070    Sheriff’s Mortgage Foreclosure Sales Project.

3.04.080    Booking fee for county jail.

3.04.010 Service charge on unpaid or dishonored checks.

A.    The office of the county prosecuting attorney shall impose a service charge for each unpaid and dishonored check processed by and through the procedure established by the county prosecutor, to be paid by the payor of such unpaid or dishonored check for which notice is sent pursuant to IC 35-43-5-5.

B.    The service charge shall be in such an amount as the prosecuting attorney may stipulate and fix on a uniform basis (which charge may be a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of the value of the bad check, but which may not exceed the amount permitted under IC 35-43-5-5(e)) to cover the costs of providing such service which the charge shall be reasonably related to the costs associated with exercising such regulatory power.

C.    All service charges collected by the office of the county prosecuting attorney provided for by this section once collected, are considered county general fund miscellaneous revenue. The charges shall be remitted by the prosecuting attorney to the county auditor on a monthly basis, and the county auditor is authorized to establish and maintain a prosecutor’s service charge fund, and the charges collected by the prosecutor’s office shall be deposited into the fund. The county council may only appropriate moneys on deposit in the prosecutor’s service charge fund for purposes of the prosecutor’s office, although such appropriation may be made for any purpose for which county moneys lawfully may be appropriated to the prosecutor’s office and need not necessarily be limited to directly attributable costs of the functions and services from which the charges derive.

D.    When the prosecuting attorney has implemented a bad check collection service authorized by this section, he may establish and maintain a public funds checking account (trust account) into which he shall deposit the principal amount of any bad check which he collects from the issuer thereof on behalf of the payee or holder. Checks from such accounts may be written to the payee or holder of the bad check to whom the money is lawfully due without appropriation.

(Prior code § 38.02)

3.04.015 Dishonored drafts and checks for payment of taxes and special assessments.

A.    The county treasurer shall impose a fifteen dollar ($15.00) collection fee for any check or draft which is tendered for the payment of taxes or special assessments and which is dishonored on presentation for payment;

B.    Said fifteen dollar ($15.00) fee, along with any other collection costs incurred, shall be entered on the tax duplicate for the property for which the payment was tendered, unless immediate payment of the dishonored draft or check is received; and,

C.    If the amount of the fifteen dollar ($15.00) fee, plus other collection costs is entered on the tax duplicate, the total amount of liability is subject to interest, penalty and collection in the same manner as all other special assessments.

(06/03/1996, Added, 06/03/1996)

3.04.020 Document recording fee.

A.    Effective as of 8:00 a.m. on October 1, 1995, a supplemental fee for recording a document in the amount of three dollars per document shall be charged by the Vanderburgh County recorder’s office.

B.    All revenue received by the recorder pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Vanderburgh County recorder’s records perpetuation fund.

C.    The county recorder shall post the fee set forth in this section in a prominent place within the recorder’s office where the fee schedule is readily accessible to the public.

(Ord. dated 8/14/95)

3.04.030 Health care copayments for persons in county jail.

A.

1.    Except as provided in subsection B of this section, any person confined to the Vanderburgh County jail shall be required to make a copayment in the amount of fifteen dollars ($15.00) for each provision of any of the following services.

a.    Medical care;

b.    Dental care;

c.    Optometric (eye) care; or

d.    Any other health care related service.

2.    Said copayment may be withdrawn from the confined person’s commissary account or jail trust account at the time the health care related service is rendered, or within sixty (60) days after the service is rendered.

B.    A person confined to the Vanderburgh County jail is not required to make the copayment pursuant to subsection A of this section, if:

1.    The person does not have funds in a commissary or jail trust account at the time the service is provided or within sixty (60) days thereafter;

2.    The service is provided in an emergency;

3.    The service is provided as a result of an injury received in the Vanderburgh County jail;

4.    The service is provided at the request of the Vanderburgh County sheriff or his authorized agent or administrator;

5.    The confined person is willing and financially able to immediately pay for his or her own health care related services; or,

6.    The confined person is committed to the Indiana Department of Correction or other penal authority which is responsible for the payment of the confined person’s health care related treatment or services.

C.    The treasurer of Vanderburgh County is directed to establish a fund to be known as the county medical care for inmates fund. All money collected pursuant to this section shall be immediately deposited into said fund. All money accumulated in said fund shall be used to pay for Vanderburgh County expenses for medical care for persons confined to the Vanderburgh County jail.

D.    This section does not apply to a person confined to the Vanderburgh County jail who is insured under an accident and sickness insurance policy or is an enrollee under an accident and sickness insurance policy or is an enrollee under a health maintenance organization, as defined by IC 36-2-13-14.

(Ord. dated 11/28/94) (Section 3.04.030 Amended 3/18/2008)

3.04.040 Pilot program for property tax reporting.

A.    Pursuant to Indiana Code 6-1.1-22-8(d), as amended, the Vanderburgh County Council hereby requests that Vanderburgh County be designated as a county to participate in a pilot program to implement the requirements of Indiana Code 6-1.1-22-8(e).

B.    In the event that Vanderburgh County is not designated for participation in the pilot program pursuant to Indiana Code 6-1.1-22-8, the Vanderburgh County Council hereby adopts this ordinance to implement the requirements of Indiana Code 6-1.1-22-8(e) for property taxes first due and payable after December 31, 2003. Vanderburgh County, and its officers and departments, shall comply with the requirements set forth in Indiana Code 6-1.1-22-8, to-wit:

(e)    Subject to subsection (d), regardless of whether a county treasurer transmits a statement of current and delinquent taxes and special assessments to a person liable for the taxes under subsection (a)(1) or to a mortgagee under subsection (a)(2), the county treasurer shall mail the following information to the last known address of each person liable for the property taxes or special assessments or to the last known address of the most recent owner shown in the transfer book. The county treasurer shall mail the information not later than the date the county treasurer transmits a statement for the property under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2). The county treasurer, county auditor, and county assessor shall cooperate to generate the information to be included on the form. The information that must be provided is the following:

(1)    A breakdown showing the total property tax and special assessment liability and the amount of the taxpayer’s liability that will be distributed to each taxing unit in the county.

(2)    A comparison showing any change in the assessed valuation for the property as compared to the previous year.

(3)    A comparison showing any change in the property tax and special assessment liability for the property as compared to the previous year. The information required under this subdivision must identify:

(A)    the amount of the taxpayer’s liability distributable to each taxing unit in which the property is located in the current year and in the previous year; and

(B)    the percentage change, if any, in the amount of the taxpayer’s liability distributable to each taxing unit in which the property is located from the previous year to the current year.

(4)    An explanation of the following:

(A)    The homestead credit and all property tax deductions.

(B)    The procedure and deadline for filing for the homestead credit and each deduction.

(C)    The procedure that a taxpayer must follow to:

(i)    appeal a current assessment; or

(ii)    petition for the correction of an error related to the taxpayer’s property tax and special assessment liability.

(D)    The forms that must be filed for an appeal or petition described in clause (C).

The department of local government finance shall provide the explanation required by this subdivision to each county treasurer.

5.    A checklist that shows:

(A)    the homestead credit and all property tax deductions; and

(B)    whether the homestead credit and each property tax deduction applies in the current statement for the property transmitted under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2).

6.    The information required to be mailed under subsection (e) must be simply and clearly presented and understandable to the average individual.

7.    A county that incurs:

(A)    initial computer programming costs directly related to implementation of the requirements of subsection (e); or

(B)    printing costs directly related to mailing information under subsection (e); shall submit an itemized statement of the costs to the department of local government finance for reimbursement from the state.

C.    This ordinance shall continue in this form until amended or terminated by ordinance, legislation or operation of law.

D.    If any section, sentence or provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be declared invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any of the other sections, sentences, provisions or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.

(3.04.040, Added, 06/02/2004)

3.04.050 Homestead credit.

Now, therefore, be it ordained by the Vanderburgh County Income Tax Council, as follows: That the Homestead Credit Percentage is hereby amended to the maximum allowed by state law, not to exceed a net of 8%, to be funded out of local income taxes, pursuant to I.C. 6-3.5-6-13.

(3.04.050, Added, 05/05/2004)

3.04.060 Homestead property tax (rebate) refund amount for 2006 pay 2007 taxes.

Any homestead property tax (rebate) refund amount for 2006 pay 2007 taxes due shall first be applied to any delinquent property taxes owed in Vanderburgh County by any taxpayer entitled to such (rebate) refund.

(Section 3.04.060 Added 12/11/2007)

3.04.070 Sheriff’s Mortgage Foreclosure Sales Project

A.    The Sheriff of Vanderburgh County is hereby authorized to establish a Sheriff’s Mortgage Foreclosure Sales Project under which the Sheriff of Vanderburgh County shall be authorized to contract with a contractor (“Contractor”) to fulfill the duties of the Sheriff of Vanderburgh County under I.C. 32-29-7-3 and I.C. 32-29-7-4, subject to a proviso in such contract that the Sheriff of Vanderburgh County remains fully liable for the performance of all statutory duties of the Sheriff of Vanderburgh County in connection with the conduct of mortgage foreclosure sales.

B.    The contract negotiated by the Sheriff of Vanderburgh County with the Contractor shall be subject to approval and execution by the Board of Commissioners of Vanderburgh County.

C.    The contract shall provide for payment to the contractor of a fee in the amount of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each sale of mortgaged property under a certified judgment and decree as provided for in Subsection (b) of I.C. 32-29-7-3, which shall constitute a portion of the administrative fee of the Sheriff as provided for under Subsection (h) of I.C. 32-29-7-3 (“Sheriff’s Mortgage Foreclosure Sales Project Fee”).

D.    The Sheriff of Vanderburgh County is authorized to charge an additional fee of Twenty Five Dollars ($25.00) per certified judgment and decree for sale of mortgaged property, also constituting a portion of the administrative fee of the Sheriff as provided for under Section (h) of I.C. 32-29-7-3 (“Foreclosure Costs Fee”) and to deposit such Foreclosure Costs Fee collected by the Sheriff or Contractor as costs in the County General Fund for appropriation for the operating expenses of the Sheriff’s Office.

E.    The Sheriff’s Mortgage Foreclosure Sales Project Fee and the Sheriff’s Foreclosure Costs Fee shall be payable to the Sheriff and must be paid before the order of sale will be processed and scheduled for sale. These fees are payable by the person or entity seeking to enforce the certified judgment and decree.

F.    The Sheriff’s Mortgage Foreclosure Sales Project contract shall provide for a complete and accurate accounting of all sale proceeds and be compliant with any reporting or record keeping requirements set forth by the Indiana State Board of Accounts.

G.    This ordinance does not apply to sales of time-share interests.

(Section 3.04.070 Added 3/18/2008)

3.04.080 Booking fee for county jail.

A.    A need exists to establish a booking fee by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff for those persons lodged in the Vanderburgh County Jail who have been convicted of a crime by the Vanderburgh County Circuit or Vanderburgh County Superior Court of a crime for which the person was incarcerated or held in the Vanderburgh County Jail.

B.    A Fifty Dollar ($50.00) booking fee shall be collected by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office from every person lodged in the Vanderburgh County Jail who was convicted of a crime for which the person was incarcerated in the Vanderburgh County Jail. This booking fee is in addition to any fine and costs imposed by the Vanderburgh County Circuit or Vanderburgh County Superior Court.

C.    The booking fee collected by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office shall be deposited into a separate nonreverting prisoner reimbursement fund established for the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office. Monies from such fund shall be appropriated by the Vanderburgh County Council and may be used by the County Sheriff’s Office to purchase County Jail supplies and equipment, and may also be used for County Jail training purposes.

(Ord. 06-16-008 §§ 1 – 3, added, 6/21/2016)