In the midst of efforts to cap property taxes permanently in Indiana, a small northeast Allen County community is talking about raising taxes.
Harlan is once again talking about becoming an incorporated town with taxing authority about 10 years after community members had a similar debate.
Supporters say they want, among other controls, a greater say in the town’s future, local representation and better services like streetlights and garbage collection. Although organizers have collected enough signatures to petition a hearing with the county commissioners, many in the community are torn about Harlan’s fate.
The rural community, 6 miles northeast of Fort Wayne along Indiana 37, is ringed by farms and farm-related businesses. Farm fields and farm buildings can be seen in the distance behind most of the stores and homes that line the highway.
Commissioner Linda Bloom said Harlan’s efforts to incorporate started after the proposed East Allen Communities – an umbrella government that would have served all of the towns and townships in the eastern half of the county – fell apart. “They’re fearful,” Bloom said of annexation.
What started as a protectionist reaction to talk of consolidation of Fort Wayne and Allen County government has morphed into a proactive attitude, said organizer and resident Sharon Gustin.
Organizers submitted 219 signatures to the Allen County auditor in December, petitioning the commissioners to adopt an ordinance allowing the incorporation. Of those names, 179 were verified property owners – well more than the 50 names needed, Auditor Lisa Blosser said.
Reasons aplenty
Organizers want to incorporate Harlan to ensure local representation in town matters, proponent and resident Kris Miller said. Currently, the community relies on Allen County government to make decisions.
“We just want some town improvements that are not going to come our way unless we stand up and say this is what we want,” Gustin said.
Residents want greater control over which businesses build in the farm fields behind their houses, how close to town confined animal feeding operations locate, and to be better informed about decisions other government entities make that affect the town, Gustin said.
For example, improvements to Indiana 37 shut down the town last fall and forced Antwerp Road to become a one-way street – all without input from residents. And the Allen County Public Library sold its former Harlan branch instead of giving or selling it to the town because no entity existed to accept the property, she said.
Bloom said being a town wouldn’t diminish the requirements the Indiana Department of Transportation places on communities during work on state roads.
Losing the Harlan library branch was painful because it was part of the town’s identity and community members raised money to build the branch in the 1920s. “We had no way of getting our building back,” Gustin said.
Library spokeswoman Cheryl Ferverda said the library had no choice but to sell the Harlan branch building to a private individual because no town existed to buy it or accept it. The branch moved to nearby Grabill.
Garbage and street-lighting issues could be resolved by a town council. Currently, residents individually hire a garbage hauler. A townwide contract would be cheaper and more convenient, Gustin said.
Keeping the few streetlights in town lit is becoming more difficult. The Lions Club collects donations to pay the bill each spring, but contributions are dwindling and the cost continues to rise, she said.
Proposals to eliminate township government and the county commissioners left residents wondering who would represent them in the future and whether their voices would be heard above the din of Fort Wayne’s many residents, Gustin said.
Debating the cost
Organizers have proposed providing police, fire, parks, street maintenance and lighting, planning and health and sanitation, said Mitch Thompson, a Harlan attorney who is serving as legal counsel for proponents.
“The downside to this, it’s going to cost all the residents quite a bit more money to do this,” Thompson said.
A proposed levy of $1.49 for every $100 of assessed value would cost the owner of a $150,000 home $686 per year, he said.
In 2008, the owner of a $100,000 home paid $539 in total property taxes – money that went to the East Allen school district, the county, airport and library.
The town could have a budget of about $610,000 for the first year. Taxes would likely increase about 20 percent, said Bruce Amstutz, Springfield Township trustee and Harlan resident.
Community members seem torn over whether becoming a town would be good for Harlan and whether they want to pay for it.
“There’s pros and cons,” said Tamara Clark, 43, who’s lived in the town for 30 years. “We have to grow. I’m worried we’ll get too big and we won’t know our neighbors.”
Despite the worries, she acknowledged incorporating would bring more money to Harlan, money that could repair streets and create more opportunities for small businesses.
However, the idea of higher property taxes concerns Clark and others. “People are having a hard enough time making it now,” she said.
Max Moss wants to keep his taxes down and hopes Harlan doesn’t become a town. “The less government, the better,” he said.
But resident Linda Lewis disagrees. “I’d love to have Harlan become incorporated,” she said. As a town, Harlan could help attract more businesses and services so she doesn’t have to drive 10 minutes to Chapel Ridge in Fort Wayne for groceries.
Lewis owns several rental properties in Harlan and other areas of the county. Paying more in property taxes might be worth the convenience, she said.
A lengthy process
Organizers hope for public hearings with the Allen County plan commission and the county commissioners this summer, Thompson said.
The plan commission would make a recommendation to the commissioners, who would ultimately decide the town’s fate.
That meeting with the plan commission has delayed the town’s efforts. The Department of Planning Services required additional technical information that organizers hadn’t anticipated, Thompson said.
If the commissioners approve the move, the incorporation would take effect in January 2010, he said.
