ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) — On Thursday, Allen County officials looked at the possibility of raising local income taxes as a way to pay for the new county jail.

At Thursday’s Allen County Council (ACC) meeting, ACC President Tom Harris told WANE 15 that the Allen County Board of Commissioners (ACBC) has essentially passed the torch to ACC to figure out how to pay for the jail.

“That responsibility lies with County Council to determine how do we fund the jail for the next 20 years,” Harris said.

Commissioner Nelson Peters told WANE 15 that a request has been made for ACC to hold a public hearing to consider a local income tax increase of up to .2% in order to help fund the jail.

A spokesperson for the ACBC told WANE 15 on Tuesday that if the tax increase were to be approved, it would not be able to last for more than 25 years.

Harris said he expects to have the public hearing in either June or July.