Town mulls hiring adviser

BROWNSTOWN — A local financial consultant already working for the city of Seymour and Jackson County may soon be plying his trade for the county seat.

“The town needs to look at all of its funds and what they can be used for,” Eric Reedy told town council members during their meeting Monday night at town hall.

Reedy, a certified public accountant and owner of Reedy Financial Group PC, Seymour, already is helping the town try to recoup the $105,000 it stands to lose next year because of an error in the 2010 budget.

Reedy said it is a common error made by many other communities in the state this year because of a new supplement homestead tax deduction, which led to lower new assessed valuation. The deduction led governing units to seek lower tax rates than they were eligible to seek. Revenues collected through property tax rates fund government operations.

“I have filed an appeal on your behalf,” Reedy said. That appeal had to be filed by Oct. 19, and Reedy and a couple of council representatives will later be called to a hearing before the state Department of Local Government Finance to justify the appeal, he said.

After discussing the appeal process, Reedy read some of the highlights of an engagement letter he submitted to the council for its consideration.

Councilwoman Margo Brewer said she would like to study Reedy’s proposal before making a decision.

“I think it’s probably a good idea,” Brewer said.

Reedy outlined a number of areas where he said his firm could help the town, including reviewing or preparing the annual budget, identifying opportunities for tax levy appeals or increasing revenues and attending appeal hearings as appropriate.

That work generally falls under the responsibilities of elected officials in Indiana, the clerk-treasurer for cities and towns and the auditor for counties.

Reedy said his firm also could monitor the accounting for local option income taxes at the state and county levels to assure distributions are made to the town and utility billings and could help with a variety of other issues, including utility rate setting and annexation.

Councilman Bill Sweeney asked Reedy about how much it would cost the town.

Reedy said his fees range from $45 an hour to $150 an hour plus out-of-pocket expenses.

He estimated it might cost the town $10,000 to $15,000 annually, depending upon what services were used.
Council President Leroy Warren told Reedy the council would probably not be ready to make a decision before its Nov. 16 meeting.