TERRE HAUTE, Ind – Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett talked about the COVID-19 Pandemic and how it is affecting the city during a special event sponsored by the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce and WTHI TV.

The mayor discussed how please he is with hour our community is pulling together to address the pandemic.

The Mayor said that he expects the city to whether the storm, but the city will see a significant drop in tax revenue.  Property taxes that normally are due in May are not due until July.  He said that the city would normally receive over $10 million dollars in revenue by June but now the city is expecting that to drop to about $3.5 million.

Bennett said to cover that shortfall, the city council would be asked at their meeting next week to approve the city seeking a $5 million low interest loan from the state to cover cash-flow needs.

He added that the city won’t be the only one affected. He said all taxing bodies, like the library, schools, volunteer fire departments and more will feel the pinch.

Bennett said that the motor vehicle fund and the street fund will feel hits from a significant drop in tax revenue. Those funds come from gas taxes. He said there was a small drop of about $50,000 but they are expecting a drop over $150,000 next month.

The Mayor said that the convention center and casino, and new police headquarter projects are still on and still going to happen even though somethings have slowed due to meeting restriction and other minor issues.

To see the complete discussion, just click this link.