Allen County Income Tax Increase Delayed

Following a packed to capacity Room 35 in Citizens Square on Wednesday, 7 June, whereby the Allen County Council was unyieldingly excoriated by residents from across the county as it pertains to the proposed income tax increase to fund the new jail, said council has opted to delay the vote for an additional month until July 20, 2023.

Several mainstream media outlets across the Summit City incorrectly reported that U.S. District Court Judge Damon Leichty mandated the construction of a new jail. However, the actual order simply requires Allen County officials to address overcrowding & understaffing to wit has led to inhumane conditions at the current facility. To the Journal Gazette’s credit, following an influx of telephone calls to their newsroom, the newspaper issued a retraction & clarification both in print & to their article posted online.

Perhaps most interesting in providing context as to the ‘necessity’ of a new jail presented at the public hearing came via a statistical crime analysis for Allen County between the years 1980 through to 2018. The finding thereof demonstrated that while per capita, crime has remained steady, the incarceration rate hereto has increased approximately 500 percent.

“Facta non verba”