It's official. At the start of the new year, Fulton County residents will see an increase in their local option income taxes (LOIT). The Fulton County Council made that decision in a vote on Tuesday night. It's a decision that left Fulton County taxpayers with some mixed opinions.

In a 5 to 1 vote, the Fulton County Council approved a .5% increase in their local option income tax. The council raised two separate taxes, each an increase of .25%. Each tax is expected to raise about $800-thousand dollars for the county.

The first tax increase of .25% will be used to off-set property taxes.

The second tax increase of .25% will fund public safety. The tax will be distributed to the county and its four municipalities, including Akron, Fulton, Kewanna, and Rochester. Much of the public safety money will be used to fund the county’s ambulance service.

Fulton County officials say they didn't want to support the tax increase, but with less property tax revenue coming in, they felt they had no other choice. Council member Judy DeVries was the only member to vote against the tax increase.

Before the vote, several Fulton County residents spoke out against the tax increase. They explained that they're strapped for cash themselves and now isn't a good economic time to raise taxes.

“I realize the county is tight on their money, but the taxing has got to stop. Times are tough and going to get a lot worse, the answer is not to keep taxing, you can't do it,” says Fonscene Craft, a Fulton County resident who spoke out against the tax increase.

The LOIT increase in Fulton County takes effect on this January 1, 2009.

Right now, Fulton County's total LOIT is 1.43%. After January 1st, it will be at 1.93%

Fulton County may not be alone in this tax increase. St. Joseph and LaPorte Counties are also looking at raising their local option income taxes.