The Jennings County Council approved an income tax increase intended to fund a new county jail.
About 90 residents attended the two-and-a-half-hour meeting Tuesday at the Government Center in Vernon, which culminated with a 4-3 vote in favor of the tax.
Council members Mike Kelley and David Woodall, both Republicans, and Tony Eder and Larry Maschino, both Democrats, voted in favor of the new tax. Howard Malcomb, Josh Yaeger and Paul Belding, all Republicans, voted against the new tax.
The new tax begins Jan. 1, and will increase local income taxes on adjusted gross incomes by .65 percent.
The meeting began with a series of speakers explaining the process used to determine Jennings County needed a new jail. The meeting was opened to the public for questions and comments before the final vote.
The new tax rate of 3.5 percent will give Jennings County one of the highest tax rates in the state, according to financial adviser Jeff Peters.
Kelley said the vote doesn’t mean there will be a new jail , it just means there will be funding if the plan to build a new jail goes forward.
