The dispute between Carmel and Fishers over the state formula distributing County Option Income Tax (COIT) funds appears to be settled.
House Speaker Todd Huston tells LarryInFishers.com that a conference committee report with the language agreed-to by officials of both cities has now passed both the House and the Senate and is headed to the desk of Governor Eric Holcomb. The governor is expected to sign the measure.
Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has said that despite the fact that Fishers and Carmel have roughly the same population numbers, Carmel has been receiving significantly more COIT funds the past several years, and the gap has been widening.
Mayor Fadness recently told LarryInFishers.com the deal reached with Carmel calls for a revised COIT distribution formula that will add $15 million to $18 million in additional COIT funds to Fishers over three years, but that increase is tied to a rise in COIT tax collections of 2.5 percent each year. In other words, presuming a strong economy continues locally, Fishers will receive the extra funds.
According to Fadness, after that initial three-year period, Fishers would receive $4 million to $6 million in additional money per year from COIT, but that would once again rely on continued COIT tax collection growth in the coming years.
According to Speaker Huston, all the provisions described to me by the mayor are included in the final version of the legislation.