County received more than $400,000 due a glitch at state level

Greene County taxing units recently received nearly $423,000 in a lump sum payment thanks to a glitch at the State Department of Revenue that mistakenly put more than $200 million of local option income tax revenues, into the state's coffers -- instead of giving it to local governments.

Greene County government was the benefactor of $80,103.50 with lesser amounts going to every city, town, township and four library districts.

"It (the distribution) was from 2011 and the first four months of this year. Since the discovery of the statewide problem with the LOIT (Local Option Income Tax) distribution, the remaining monthly COIT distributions will reflect the difference, giving each taxing unit a little more each month. The amount received by Greene County and its taxing units totaled $422,993.08," said Greene County Auditor Matt Baker.

The actual lump sum amount received totaled $120,336.8, which included interest. An additional $302,656.10 will be distributed to the taxing units along with their regular monthly COIT distributions.

Baker further explained, "The added COIT distribution for Greene County itself was $280,446.64 with $171,072.45 going to the County General Fund and $109,374.19 going to the Greene County Building Fund."

Baker pointed out that this is really not "new money" but money the counties were entitled to over the last year and a half.

The state's computer mistake started in January 2011 and continued through April of this year.

"It's actually what you would call an oops," Baker said.

In the lump sum distribution, the city of Linton received $11,203.85 followed by Jasonville $4,102.72; Bloomfield $3,641.77; Worthington $2,456.65; Lyons, $1,148.95; Switz City $304.18; Newberry $247.99.

Among the libraries, Bloomfield-Eastern Greene received $4,453.50; Linton $2,350.39; Worthington $960.92; and Jasonville $401.86.

In the townships, Stockton received the largest check totaling $1,900.49 followed by Wright $1,347.35, Richland $801.53 and Center $785.72.

Last December, the state announced that a software error in the Department of Revenue had kept around $320 million out of the state's General Fund. Using that money, the legislature allocated funds for full-day kindergarten and additional relief for victims of the State Fair stage collapse, and padded the state's budget surplus.

Four months later, state budget director Adam Horst announced a similar programming error in the county statistics report involving LOIT monies that should have been distributed over the last year and a half.

As a remedy, the state is hiring an outside firm to conduct an independent audit of state accounts and root out any more problems.

That audit is expected to be completed in September.