Loading ...A Couple Items of Interest
Brother Can You Spare $2 or $3?
In an effort to help pay for public safety in Marion County, Republican City-County Council member Ike Randolph is proposing a $2-$3 fee on ticket sales in Marion County. The fee would apply to sales of sporting and other commercial events in the County, raising $4-$6 million per year. Randolph says the money can be used to pay for a new jail and criminal justice infrastructure. He also adds that up to $50 million could be generated in bonds towards public safety.
Townships and Taxes
If you seen an increase in your tax bill lately you may want to thank your township government. A provision was slipped into some legislation last session that gave township trustees the authority to raise taxes without County Council approval. Already some trustees have taken advantage of this and jacked up tax bills. Indiana lawmakers say they plan to fix this in January. It may be too late from some taxpayers by then. Yet another reason to eliminate township government.
August 22nd, 2006 at 11:36 am
Township government shouldn’t be eliminated simply because unethical state legislation gives authority to unethical trustees.
This is clearly an opportunity for township residents to identify those trustees with ethics issues and vote them out of office. And it’s an opportunity for citizens to recognize that if they can’t keep government local, they’ll end up under the control of a larger system where their voices are less relevant and their best interests are no longer met.
All government starts at the local level. Once you reduce that and begin to centralize, you also begin to take away the impact of self-determination. That is the core of liberty. Once we start placing dollars ahead of political common sense, we have sold out to the notion that cost is more important than our voice.
This is a perfect example for those who have fallen for that lie.
I like the way you think, Abdul. But on this issue, I think you’ve placed cost ahead of the reason for government. I’d love to see smaller governments and a reduced role of government, but not by taking away local representation. Go back to the basics of security/safety and necessary community infrastructure needs and eliminate the rest. I’m a big beleiver in charity. But cutting off local representation doesn’t solve anything. It only transfers the problems further from the people who can change it.
August 23rd, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Ike Randolph wants to raise a tax, I say consolidate the Fire Departments, eliminate township assessors save 20+ million a year before you raise taxes. Abdul you are correct on this issue.