Resident asks commissioners to restore civil‑rights language to tax‑abatement amendment

An online commenter identified as Cheryl asked St. Joseph County commissioners to follow up on an amendment to the county's tax‑abatement ordinance that she said would add civil‑rights language to replace affirmative‑action/minority language that had been removed.

"I watched the county council committee meeting recently ... and there was no discussion about the amendment to the tax abatement ordinance to include civil rights language," Cheryl told the commissioners. She said she had watched the Board of Commissioners video from the previous week and recalled Commissioner Baxmayer referencing that the County Council was working on replacement language; she asked whether the board or staff had been in communication with the council and said she would reach out as well.

A county official responded that the item was scheduled for a first reading at tonight's County Council meeting, which would move it to next month's committee and then to a fall public hearing, and that a final draft had not yet been circulated so the official could not say what language would replace the removed text. Cheryl said she appreciated the clarification and would follow up with the County Council.

The exchange was recorded during the meeting’s public‑comment period; commissioners did not take further action on the tax‑abatement language during this session.