HB 1507 Summary

• Establishes a Floyd County park district as a separate municipal corporation effective January 1, 2012, with boundaries coterminous with Floyd County, unless blocked by resolutions from either the city of New Albany or Floyd County fiscal bodies adopted before July 1, 2011.

• Creates a nine-member park commission (appointed by county and city officials) with no salary or per diem for members; abolishes all existing parks departments in the county and transfers their property, funds, and obligations to the new district on January 1, 2012.

• Allows the district to levy up to $1,000,000 annually in ad valorem property taxes for park purposes in 2012, with tax levy limits reduced for Floyd County and New Albany by a combined amount equal to $150,000 plus the district's tax levy to avoid increasing total taxpayer burden.

• Transfers all park employees to the district with continued participation in the public employees' retirement fund; ensures pre-existing indebtedness and pension obligations remain the responsibility of the taxing units that incurred them.

• Prevents the district from conveying transferred real property before January 1, 2022, without distributing proceeds to the original county or city owner (exceptions apply for property returned or leased for the same park/recreation purposes).