Archive for October, 2007

Republican Scott Keller has raised $57,000 in recent campaign contributions, more than twice as much as any other City-County Council candidates in either party.

Keller, a moderate who barely won a heavily Democratic district in 2003, has raised nearly half as much money over the course of the year as mayoral candidate Greg Ballard. Council districts have about 35,000 voters, compared to more than 800,000 in Marion County.

Keller faces Brian Mahern, a Democrat challenger with family name recognition but a much smaller campaign chest. Mahern reported raising nearly $7,300 from April 14 to Oct. 12. Keller said many Republicans, and even some Democrats, have responded to his moderate approach and willingness to work with Democrats on initiatives ranging from a police merger to equal rights protection.

Council finance reports from the latest reporting period give an indication of which districts are heavily contested and which new candidates need to be taken seriously.

Carey Hamilton, a Democrat aiming for the 4th District seat vacated by Republican Scott Schneider, reported the second-largest totals. She raised nearly $25,000

Source: IndyStar

For those of you who have attended the property tax protests here in Indy since July, have noticed one person there who is running for office who is there on a regular basis. That would the Republican candidate for Mayor of Indy, Greg Ballard. He has made his approval of full elimination for property taxes well known to the irate voters of Marion County.

As Greg has been pressed about this issue in the debates, he has recalled his support for repeal, but since the Mayor can only do so much to affect property taxes by controlling spending and can only act as an advocate on behalf of a plan to the legislature, he has promised to back a plan that would work best for the citizens of Indy if elected. Here’s what he had to say about Governor Daniel’s plan that was announced last night:

(Hat tip - Digital Farmers Blog)

Governor Daniels continues to show leadership when it comes to local property tax problems that have hit Marion County homeowners especially hard. But let’s be clear, high property taxes are the result of too much local spending. Indianapolis needs a mayor who is committed to aggressive cost cutting. Bart Peterson is not that mayor.

My plan, with or without action by the state legislature, is to cut spending. I plan to cut ten percent in the non-public safety budget. Bart Peterson’s plan is to wait for the state to bail him out. How many times have we heard Mayor Peterson blame state government for his fiscal problems?

The vast majority of all property taxes are used to fund local government entities. The Governor is right to advocate for bold changes. But taxpayers also need mayors and local officials who are committed to cutting the costs if we are to deliver on our promise to provide real relief for homeowners. Mayor Peterson has been more concerned about the public spenders, not the taxpayers.

Bart Peterson’s had eight years to solve our city’s fiscal problems. For too long, Mayor Peterson, President Monroe Gray and the majority Democrats on the Council have failed to address our city’s growing fiscal problems. Peterson and Gray’s 65% income tax increase was the ultimate slap in the face to taxpayers who are suffering from skyrocketing property taxes.

It doesn’t look like their was internet access at the Kelty v. Henry debate last night for Fort Wayne News to cover the debate, but he was able to post a wrap-up of the debate.

Warning: Lengthy post ahead.

Your humble correspondent intended to go to Indiana University Southeast last night to see the Jeffersonville mayoral candidates debate.

That was before Mitch Daniels decided to announce his property tax plan, and before I saw in the paper that property tax abolitionist (and social conservative activist) Eric Miller was going to be in New Albany at about the same time for a property tax rally.

It was a hard decision.

Listen to two politicians pontificate, or listen to one politician pontificate in the hopes of seeing him make statewide news by attacking Daniels’ plan (or perhaps even disliking it so much that he might announce a primary challenge).

The sacrifices I make and the hardships I endure for the reader, let me tell you, but I digress.

Read more after the leap.

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The executive summary?

Professional assessors, capped taxes, cuts in current taxes, and a shift in the local-state spending mix.

His remarks:

Good evening.

For the last few months, no subject has been on my mind, or the mind of most Hoosiers, as much as property taxes. In almost every county, some homeowners were hit with huge increases; in some counties, it seemed almost everyone got a big jump. Assessments were inconsistent and often grossly unfair. It is not acceptable that any citizen cannot afford to keep the home they may have worked all their lives to buy. The status quo is not tolerable and we must act to fix it.

Several causes combined to produce this situation. Back in the ‘90s, courts ordered a change to assessments based on market prices. In 2002, the legislature repealed the inventory property tax on business, and switched from reassessment once a decade to once a year, or “trending”. And, the biggest factor of all, total local spending on schools, libraries, school construction, and other services has continued growing faster than taxpayers’ incomes. When that happens, property taxes can only go up.

We’ve been here before. Repeatedly over the last 35 years, state government has tried to help out. State taxes have been raised and the money used to subsidize local budgets and reduce property taxes. By now, 85% of school operating costs are paid for by our state taxes, not our property taxes. Half the sales tax, 3 cents out of 6, is sent back to support local government, or your property taxes would be far higher than they already are.

What we do next must learn from this history, because the old approach has not worked. In every case, a few years later our state taxes were higher and our property taxes were, too. It only took 5 years this time.

I have looked at every option for change. I have talked with Hoosiers all over the state. I have studied Indiana’s past approaches to this issue and the attempts of other states to deal with their own problems. When Indiana acts this time, and act we must, our steps must be fair, far-reaching, and final.

I have prepared and will recommend to the legislature a proposal to cut every homeowner’s property taxes sharply and cap them forever, at no more than one per cent of a home’s true value. This last provision must be added to the state’s constitution to ensure its permanence, and guarantee that no Hoosier ever again pays more than a penny on the dollar of their home’s value.

We can lower the average Hoosier property tax bill by more than a third by removing forever the rest of school operating costs, and the cost of protecting abused and neglected children, from the local to the state level. Immediate relief should be provided to every homeowner on the May ’08 bills, and the full 1% ceiling protection put in place by 2009.

We can fund this reform through a one-cent increase in the sales tax, and by using a small share of the surplus we have restored to the state budget these last three years.

Before settling on the cut and cap approach, I looked hard at the idea of totally eliminating property taxes in our state. Much as I would like to have taken that route, the risks to our schools, to small business, and to our economy generally, dissuaded me. In particular, I could not support the large increase in personal income taxes, paid by every Hoosier worker and most small businesses, which would be necessary for total elimination.

Any plan that makes a real difference in property taxation will have to go to its root cause, and that is excessive spending. Total local spending on school construction, libraries, fire departments, and all other local services simply cannot keep rising faster than Hoosier incomes.

To achieve better discipline while preserving local control, we must have single-point accountability for spending. Today, no one is responsible; each local taxing district sets its budget and sends you its part of the bill, which is only added up when it hits your mailbox. The County Tax Board in each county must accept the duty of reviewing the total of local spending plans and trimming those budgets as needed to keep our taxes down.

As further protection against overspending, we should strengthen taxpayers’ direct say in local decisions, especially the borrowing for new schools and other construction which has been the biggest driver of property tax increases. I will propose that any significant new capital project, or any spending in excess of the growth in local income, must be approved by voter referendum.

Next, we must protect other property taxpayers from being exploited. I will propose hard ceilings, with no exceptions and no loopholes, of 2% for rental properties and 3% for other businesses, also written into our constitution.

Finally, our unfair and unfixable assessment system must go. I will propose the elimination of all political assessors and the appointment by each County Council of a single, qualified and certified assessor to oversee trained professionals in conducting future appraisals.

Immediate relief for every homeowner; a one per cent permanent cap on every homeowner’s taxes; an end to unfair and inaccurate assessments; real limits on local spending. As bold as these changes would be, I am very optimistic of achieving them, especially if you will help.

In the last 3 years, we have already solved problems like the state government deficit and the state highway shortfall that people said would take years or were simply impossible. We can solve this one, too, and open a new era of opportunity in which Indiana is the nation’s leader in defending and promoting the American dream of home ownership.

Thank you and good night.

Now the fireworks can begin.

UPDATE: The Indy Star has the nitty gritty details, as does the Courier-Journal.
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Here are some pictures from the Bart Lies Collection. Pretty funny, if you ask me.

Check out the rest of this spooooooky gallery here.

Fort Wayne News (formerly the Angry White Boy) will be live blogging tonights Ft. Wayne mayoral debate.  Debates may be the only way Matt Kelty is able to salvage his campaign from all the scandal that surrounds it.  Here’s hoping he can!  The Fort needs real leadership.

Make sure to check it out.

So, the Governor is going to announce this evening his plan for property taxes that is “fair, far-reaching and final”.  With the Luke Kenley led Tax Commission coming up with nothing conclusive, and so far, no news from the “blue-ribbon” commission led by former Governor, Democrat Joe Kernan and Chief Justice Randal Shepard, there is a lot of hype leading up to this announcement.  Now, the blue-ribbon panel could be the ones who came up with the ideas that Governor Daniels will announce tonight.  We’ll just have to wait and see.  I know I’m interested to see what his constitutional amendment will be.

What are your thoughts?  Leave ‘em here after tonights announcement!

Here’s a funny commentary on the state of Indianapolis according to Gary Varvel.

Click the picture to see the animation.

I want to thank Sir Hailstone of the Digital Farmers Blog for live blogging the Indy Mayoral debate this past Sunday on behalf of Hoosier Access.  We were unable to do it ourselves, but he was able to step up to the plate and pinch-hit a great performance while keeping our loyal readers in the loop and updated at all times during the debate.  Thanks again Sir Hailstone!

-Josh Gillespie on behalf of the Directors

Lesley Stedman’s Sunday column this week muses about the governor’s likely property tax reform plan, and what shape his package might take.

From the Courier-Journal:

INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to unveil his plan for dealing with the property-tax situation as early as this week, although little has leaked out about what he might offer.

Daniels has said the plan likely will propose changing the Indiana Constitution, but whether he’ll be looking to remove the requirement for property taxes completely, eliminate a layer of government or offer some other amendment is unclear.

Whatever his ideas, they will likely serve at least as a starting point for legislative action next year.

For a while, it seemed that the legislative Tax and Financing Policy Commission, headed by Sen. Luke Kenley, would provide the road map for property-tax changes.

But last week, Kenley, R-Noblesville, said that he doesn’t expect his group to craft specific recommendations. Rather, members likely will try to agree on concepts and goals for the next session — such as an overhaul of the property-assessment system.

Kenley said last week that he expects Daniels will put out a plan that is far more detailed than anything the commission produces. And even House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, said that’s OK.

None of this is to say that whatever the governor proposes will pass the General Assembly easily. In fact, there are so many ideas floating around there — some offered by the Realtors, the Indiana Farm Bureau and individual legislators — that whatever plan emerges (if a plan emerges) likely will be a mishmash of proposals.

But often it takes a governor to really get things rolling.

I don’t expect the Governor to say anything about his property tax plan until after the municipal elections; it would probably be politically imprudent for him to make the plan public or make a speech before then.

Moreover, Daniels has historically announced his major policy initiatives for forthcoming legislative sessions–from Major Moves to his cigarette-tax-for-health-care plan–in November and December, after elections but before Christmas.

He has never waited to make such announcements during the State of the State speech, for example, nor has he done it earlier than the first week or so of November of the prior year (when elections tend to be held).

That doesn’t mean that he won’t announce it soon; Mitch Daniels has utterly no sense of political timing whatsoever.

This being said, the governor has been supposedly going to announce his property tax plan “next week” since around Labor Day.

Daniels’ staff has been tight-lipped about his intentions thus far, and there have been few leaks (only often-contradictory rumors).

It’s probably a safe bet, however, that the governor does not intend to push for anything close to the complete repeal of property taxes.

Eric Miller, and his Advance America network of social conservative activists, is pushing hard for a program to completely abolish property taxes.

Yet the governor has asked the social conservative Indiana Family Institute to evaluate his plan, probably as a play to get them on board (assuming Eric Miller decides to go against the governor’s plan, whatever it is, IFI would be a very helpful ally).
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