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March 17, 2008
Dear Valued Customer:
In 2007, the
Indiana General Assembly gave certain communities the authority to
institute a new fee on document recording in order to fund
affordable housing programs.
Under
Indiana Code 36-2-7-10, if this affordable housing fee were to
be implemented, the Allen County Recorder’s Office would be required
to begin charging $2.50 for the first page and $1 for each
additional page of every document recorded, in addition to all other
current fees.
The City of Fort
Wayne has expressed an interest in implementing this fee and has
begun discussions with interested parties. The local share of this
fee would go to the City of Fort Wayne, as it is the only unit of
government in Allen County with an Affordable Housing Fund.
Our calculations
show that the total amount of additional fees our customers would be
required to pay would total approximately $500,000 per year.
Before this fee
comes up for consideration, I would like to get your input. As the
customers who will have to pay this fee if it is implemented, I
believe your opinion should be heard. With the housing market
already under intense economic pressure, I do not believe this fee
should be implemented without our customers first having a chance to
comment.
If you would
take a few minutes
to answer our downloadable questionnaire, it would be very
helpful in our upcoming deliberations regarding this fee. You may
return this form by fax (260-449-8969), by e-mail (john.mcgauley@allencounty.us)
or by mail at the address below.
Please consider
returning this form by April 7 to ensure that we have your
input before this discussion progresses much further.
I would of
course welcome any input you would like to offer on this issue
beyond the questions included on this form. Thank you in advance
for providing your input on this important question.
Sincerely,
John McGauley
Allen County
Recorder |
