City of New Albany Appeals to Indiana Supreme Court to Resolve Former Floyd County Commissioners’ Breach of Longstanding Property Agreement

The Indiana Supreme Court will hear New Albany’s case challenging former Floyd County Commissioners’ attempts to strip ownership of the Criminal Justice Center from New Albany residents on February 20, 2020 in Indianapolis at 9am.

Former Floyd County Government Commissioners have a long history of entering into financial agreements with the city and then refusing to pay for services, passing the tab to the citizens of New Albany. The latest conflict involves similar action from former Floyd County commissioners regarding property and standing agreements within the Building Authority. The building agreements between the City of New Albany and Floyd County date back to the 1950s.

The dispute stems from former Floyd County Commissioners’ attempts to divest New Albany residents of millions of dollars of their equity in the criminal justice building. Mayor Gahan has been actively fighting this case in an attempt to protect New Albany residents’ investment. The Floyd County Commissioners who initiated the case are no longer in office.

A lower trial court and the Indiana Court of Appeals differed in their interpretation of the law. This motivated Mayor Gahan’s decision to pursue further examination of the dispute by the Indiana Supreme Court.

“Only legitimate controversies, areas of unsettled law, and matters of public interest make it to the Indiana Supreme Court,” stated City Attorney Shane Gibson. “This case involved the divesting of jointly owned property, paid for by the taxpayers of the City of New Albany, and giving it to Floyd County officials without compensation.”

The original criminal justice center was jointly funded by both the City of New Albany and Floyd County through a lease with the New Albany-Floyd County Building Authority. The citizens of New Albany paid tens of millions of dollars in construction bonds and maintenance costs to build, renovate, and operate the jail facility. In 2018, Floyd County Government Commissioners passed a Jail Tax and demanded that the Building Authority immediately transfer the title of the jail to them at no cost. Not only was this action by Floyd County officials not consistent with proper statutory requirements, but it ultimately would cost the citizens of New Albany the millions of dollars that they invested into the facility.

“We will continue to protect public investments made by the people of New Albany and resist County officials encroachment on the citizens of New Albany,” stated Mayor Gahan. “As always, we are ready to help Floyd County when feasible, and welcome the chance to help Floyd County prosper. I am excited about working with their new leadership in 2020 and beyond.”

The ultimate decision will have an impact on the financial health of the city of New Albany and many other cities and counties with shared ownership agreements in Indiana.