Goshen Dam Pond taxing district to be phased out

Nov. 28—GOSHEN — A special taxing district created nearly a decade ago to raise money to dredge the Goshen Dam Pond is being phased out.

During their meeting Monday morning, the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance amending the Goshen Dam Pond Economic Improvement District established by the commissioners back in 2014 for properties surrounding the Goshen Dam Pond.

With its creation, the idea was to use the EID to raise funds to support the dredging of the pond with the goal of improving water quality and access. Assessments for properties surrounding the pond ranged from $200 to $500 annually, depending on the amount of frontage owned.

However, in the years that followed, several attempts to get the pond dredged ultimately ended in failure, leaving the project dead in the water.

Even so, assessments for the properties within the EID have continued to be collected, leading to Monday's ordinance amendment request essentially calling for the phasing out of the EID by allowing the EID Board to use the monies already collected through the EID to benefit the district, while halting any future collection of funds through the EID.

"The concept is that although no more funds will be coming in, there still remains an outstanding balance in the account for the EID," said Steven Olsen, an attorney for the county. "The EID Board will still be in place and able to utilize those funds, but they can only utilize them according to the petition originally established. So, we're working with the EID Board to find projects that fit within that category so that those funds can be used appropriately."

Olsen said the plan is for the ordinance amendment to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and will apply to assessments that would otherwise have been issued and due in 2023 or thereafter.

"The importance of that last detail is, if an assessment has not yet been paid that was due in 2022, that amount still remains owed," Olsen added. "It's just for assessments for 2023 and thereafter."

In explaining why the county has decided to go with the EID phase-out as described, Olsen noted that the county could potentially use the EID's outstanding balance for other county projects, though the intent with the EID has always been to benefit those properties paying into it.

"The alternative would be to take those funds and put them into other projects for the county, but I know this board specifically, the commissioners, have desired to make sure funds brought in by this group of individuals, who intended for it to be used for purposes near their homes, allows it to still be used for those purposes, and therefore it would remain there to allow the EID Board to use it for purposes within the petition," Olsen said. "And then once those funds are spent, I note it is the intention of the Board of Commissioners for me to then present an ordinance to formally terminate the EID Board. But this allows, again, those funds to be used for the neighborhood, intended for the area, intended for its benefit."

The commissioners agreed, and the requested ordinance amendment was approved unanimously.

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.