The Allen County Board of Commissioners this evening presented its legislative platform for the 2012 session of the Indiana General Assembly to state senators and representatives from the area.

The legislative priorities were developed by Commissioners and Governmental Affairs Director Beth Garber-Lock following discussions with County Council members and other County elected officials.

At tonight’s meeting, the Commissioners highlighted these major issues they would like to see addressed when lawmakers gather in Indianapolis next year.

Emergency 9-1-1 Fees

Allen County is currently facing a $4.6 million shortfall in its 9-1-1 budget, even after agreeing to consolidate service with the City of Fort Wayne.  The County is encouraging the state to consider increasing user fees of wireless phones to reduce the operation’s dependence on general fund revenues.  Allen County also supports combining landline and wireless 9-1-1 fees and allowing counties to adopt the fees at the local level.

Criminal Sentencing Reform

Allen County is concerned that changes in the state’s criminal sentencing structure could place a major funding burden on counties as persons convicted of low-level felonies are moved from prisons to local correctional facilities to serve their sentences.  To minimize the impact on county budgets, Allen County favors local jurisdictions receiving state funds proportionate to the number of inmates who will serve their sentences in county jails.  The County also supports state-funded development of programs at the local level to aid in rehabilitating low-level felony offenders.

Other Initiatives

In order to keep Allen County competitive with other areas when vying for manufacturing jobs, the County advocates passage of Right-to-Work legislation. And Allen County supports moving to a cyclical reassessment process of real property for taxation purposes.  Under this process, the County Assessor’s office would physically inspect 20 percent of each property classification annually, rather than a general reassessment every five years.