CROWN POINT | A committee of Lake County Council members hopes to craft a compromise that eventually would clear the way for a 1 percent county income tax, but a vote remains a long way off and a long shot at best.

Councilman Will Smith, D-Gary, said Friday that he, Councilman Ernie Dillon, D-Hammond, and Councilwoman Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, are discussing ways to overcome opposition to the state-mandated tax among suburban leaders.

Smith said it would take at least four of the seven County Council members to pass the personal income tax on the pay of county residents and workers, and five votes to override a promised veto of any such tax by the three-member Lake County Board of Commissioners.

Smith said the votes aren't there yet to make the tax a reality.

"I wish I could say that we had them, but we will work with our lobbyists, our mayors and legislators to put together a package that would be palatable to all."

Council President Elsie Franklin said a vote on the tax this year seems unlikely.

She said she doesn't oppose an income tax if it can be used to offer job training for the county's disadvantaged youth.

Lake is the only county in the state that hasn't passed a local income tax.

The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation that gave the Lake County Council an ultimatum -- pass a 1 percent personal income tax on all county residents or face a freeze on property tax levies, denying county, township and municipal officials millions of dollars.

Many Lake County city and town councils have passed referendums opposing an income tax because its distribution formula means wealthier suburban homeowners would see the bulk of their income taxes flow to East Chicago, Gary and Whiting.

Lake County Councilman Tom O'Donnell, D-Dyer, said talk among his peers of reviving an income tax proposal is a surprise because no one has included him in such discussion. He said he remains opposed to the tax.

Councilman Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said, "The tax -- in its present form -- is a bad deal for Lake Station, New Chicago, Hobart, Merrillville and north Crown Point."

Councilman Larry Blanchard, R-Crown Point, has been a consistent opponent of an income tax for the same reason.

Commissioners Fran DuPey, D-Hammond, and Gerry Scheub, D-Schererville, said Friday they remain opposed to an income tax and would veto it.