Time for Truth in Taxation
I’m not really quite sure of what to make of the tax revolt taking place in Marion County. The people are mad about their taxes and their elected officials are going to raise their taxes. So I figure if taxes are going up, maybe a little truth is necessary here.
CLAIM: City officials have consistently pointed at increases in their child welfare payments and a loss of the inventory tax as the reason for the massive increases in property taxes.
TRUTH: According to their own sample data, and using Center and Washington Townships as examples, child welfare payments were only seven and six percent of the increase. When it comes to the inventory tax, the loss was responsible for 22 percent of the increase in Center Township and 9 percent in Washington. This could have been offset by applying the County Economic Development Tax; which the City-County Council failed to do and is now paying the price.
One big reason for the tax increase is trending (assessments); it was responsible for 50 percent of the increase in Washington Township and almost 19 percent of the increase in Center.
CLAIM: City officials say they have cut $83,000,000 from the budget over the past three years.
TRUTH: They may have cut spending in some places but it was added in others. For example, over the past three years Marion County spending went from $170 million in 2003 to $250 million in 2007. There is some good news here, the levy for Indianapolis Consolidated City did go from $26 million in 2003 to $22 million in 2007.
CLAIM: Indianapolis Public Schools say the current tax crisis outcry made them pull their $475 million building project off the table.
TRUTH: According to state officials, Governor Mitch Daniels made it clear that he was not going to allow school building projects to go forward in “problem” counties and IPS knew this before they made their “decision” to pull the spending off the table. So IPS is trying to take credit for something it wasn’t going to be allowed to do anyway.
CLAIM: There has not been an early release from the Marion County Jail since August 2006.
TRUTH: There hasn’t been an early release because the County stopped calling them early release. The County now does Operational Releases. That means if you commit certain crimes, you never get to jail you just go home. You can’t early release someone from jail if they never get to jail in the first place.
These are just a few examples of the truth being the first casualty of taxation. There are more outrages out there, such as the County Salary Recommendation Panel is formally recommending raises for all county elected officials like the clerk, assessor and coroner. There are people who also want to use what little surplus the state has left to provide property tax relief by giving money to local governments. Why don’t we just give more crack cocaine to Whitney Houston and that will solve her addiction problems?
July 17th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Trending is just the technical term for appreciation right? I think it’s odd that trending in assessments went up so much at a time when real estate appreciation is the lowest it’s been in the past 10 or 15 years.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Posted on Indy Undercover:
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Gary did you see the man removed from the meeting tonight?
The gentleman who was escorted out was a very clear and to the point with his comments.
He had just moved downtown a couple of years after retiring. His property tax went fron $2200.00 a year to $15,000.00. He was critical of the state and local government but his comments were not rude or insulting. His manner of speaking kept the entire room at attention. After delivering his comments, which took only two minutes, he returned to his seat without encouraging anyone in attendance. However his comments were so concise and to the point that the crowd displayed their approval by applauding.
At this time Aaron Haith stood at told a deputy in the room to “GET HIM” the deputy escorted the gentleman out. Media followed the gentleman along with about twenty of us who heard the order.
After the meeting was adjourned I approached Mr. Haith and Monroe Gray. I asked Mr. Haith why he ejected the man. His response, ”it was a mistake, they took the wrong man”. I then asked him why he didn’t correct the mistake when he saw them escorting the wrong man. Haith’s response, he stood shuffled his paper and turned his back on me.
I then asked Monroe Gray why he let these things happen. His response, “because people were applauding” I then brought it to Gray’s attention that the gentleman didn’t applaud and Gray ordered the deputies to remove me. The deputies told me that they were told to escort me out, Vern Brown approached at my request and talked to me about the issue, the deputies were called off before I left.
What happened to freedom of speech in Indianapolis? We citizens listened to the talking heads tonight none of them were thrown out. Why is it that a citizen of Indianapolis who is invited to speak his mind and who does it eloquently is ejected from a committee meeting? Can we not attend a city meeting and express our opinions without fear of reprisal. I want to know.
9:40 PM EST
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Obviously, our Tax-Masters will tolerate no back-talk from the Tax-Serfs
July 17th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Thanks! Our elected representatives are acting more and more like Chinese officials. They keep lying, but don’t seem to realize that us peasants now have access to the internet and other resources to find the truth on our own.
July 17th, 2007 at 9:57 am
The behavior of politicians like those on the CCC is absolutely infuriating. What a mess.
Because the entire tax system is fubared and the taxing authorities and who’s responsible for what is so obfuscated, the best conclusion I can come to is to vote against every single incumbent next time around. That’s not as accurate or precise as I would like. But I’d rather wipe clean the whole slate than try to figure out who should stay and who should go.
Here’s to hoping the frustration levels continue to be high and we get some sort of real change.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Citizens removed by armed gaurds as a result of peacably voicing an opinion at a meeting of his government?
I call it tyranny. And I call it a failure of certain law enforce,ment officers to serve the citizens whom they’ve sworn to protect. Who were these cops? Defenders of the public, or mercenaries loyal to the paymaster?
I expect to see more about this. If it doesn’t get stopped immediately it will only grow worse.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Bravo! The truth will eventually prevail and set U FREE. Also, the truth hurts those that choose to be liars. How can you trust a politician or leader to care about you, when they can’t be truthful? They are SELF SERVING. They need to GO!
July 17th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
WTHR POLL: (granted it is very unscientific)
What do you think about the proposal to increase the income tax in Marion County to help offset property taxes and pay for crime fighting?
Thank you for participating in our poll. Here are the results so far.
I agree. 9%
I don’t agree. 40%
I’m glad I don’t live in Marion County. 51%
July 17th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Do you think there is a possibility that assessments were higher in predominantly republican voting districts? A lot of Meridian Kessler residents are fuming over their exhorbitant increases.
If so, could this be a move to encourage certain voters to sell and move out of Marion County? Gerrymandering by taxation?
July 17th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
I’m hearing reports here and there that people are starting to do assessment comparisons of Democratic elected officials and Republican elected officials. It seems people are starting to find trends that favor low assessments for democratic officials.
Hopefully someone out there with some time and know-how can look more carefully into this and complile an indepth analysis.
HOOSIERS FOR FAIR TAXATION is beginning to identify the lawyers in our ranks. We just may need them.
July 17th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Gary–
I think it’s odd that a Repub-controlled DLGF did not order a reassessment before this debacle, even though the DLGF plainly knew there were problems in Marion County before the reassessment was completed. I think it’s odd that the DLGF’s commissioner quietly resigned for “personal” reasons a month before the assessment sh** hit the fan. I think it’s odd the Republican John Price is only suing Marion County officials over the assessment, not state officials.
Other than that, I think it’s business as usual in Marion Co.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
A poster at Advance Indiana stated that IUPUI conducted a poll last week that showed Peterson with an approval rating of 29%.
Can anyone verify this?
July 17th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Abdul – Yeoman’s work, as usual. What an asset to the community you and your show are.
It would be nice to know more about the breakdown of child welfare costs. Increases/decreases from year to year, fraud, and a breakdown by race/ legal status of parents/ family status (father in the house?), possibly by neighborhood/township/county/city. It still is frustrating that the idea is being “floated” that the rest of the State’s taxpayers may be asked (by virtue of the State surplus) to pick up the slack for counties, and their respective child welfare situations, that can’t stick to a reasonable budget.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
WCC
What difference does it make if the “father is in the home”?
I bitterly resent it when people say that there must be a two parent home to raise a responsible, educated and well adjusted child. Bitterly.
Had my child and I stayed in the home with her father, she would NOT be happy nor was I. He is still involved in her life but it is significantly better that we are not together for all involved. Not all single mothers are on welfare and food stamps (although I do qualify for both, I would be MORTIFIED!) and let thier children run the streets behaving any way they want with thier pants sagging off thier butts listening to loud music that rattles the house windows.
I am a single mother but that is not all that I am. I am college educated, I am employed full time, I save for things I want/need, I pay for my own insurance, I send my child to extra fine art classes because of the correlation shown between math and music, we do homework every day-including in the summer, we read, we discuss current events, I am a tax payor, volunteer, home owner and voter. I read/post here nearly every day and I’m VERY informed about politics and economics…it’s part of my job as a parent and an employee. I am trying to set an example for my child about how we live, how we behave and what things we get involved in.
GET OVER THE TWO PARENT HOUSEHOLD ISSUES! You are perpetuating a stero-type that is offensive and sexist.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
“Whatever”,
I am not sorry if you are offended, although I cannot say I’m surprised. Thin skin and shouting seem to be all the rage at the moment.
Anyone paying attention knows that fatherless homes are one of the largest blights on society at this point – that’s a fact, not a stereotype.
You are very informed you say, and yet in the same breath you ask what does fatherhood have to do with child welfare payments?
Here’s a big hint, care of the Indiana Civil Rights Council
[http://www.indianacrc.org/stats-info.html]
Children from fatherless homes account for:
63% of youth suicides.
71% of pregnant teenagers.
90% of all homeless and runaway children.
70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions
85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders.
80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger.
71% of all high school dropouts.
75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers.
85% of all youths sitting in prisons.
Children from fatherless homes are:
11 times more likely to exhibit violent behavior than children from intact “married” homes.
5 times more likely to commit suicide.
32 times more likely to runaway.
20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders.
14 times more likely to commit rape.
9 times more likely to drop out of high school.
10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances.
9 times more likely to end up in state-operated institutions.
20 times more likely to end up in prison.
Of course, it is possible for a child to succeed without a father, but one of the biggest obstacles facing any child in society is this predicament. It is also a FACT that blacks have AN inordinate proportion of single parent households.
Grow up, stop screaming and face the facts. Single-parenthood, in general, is a huge problem that has a deleterious impact on society in many ways. I’m curious to see to what extent it’s impacting the present property tax debacle.
Here is some suggested reading: [Indiana State Report on the Social Status of Black Males]
You might start with this excerpt:
Problem Statement: One tragic symptom to the plight of the Black male is the disintegration of the Black family. The current impoverished social realities faced by Black families are a direct consequence of non-traditionalism, or single-parent households. Unfortunately, in most cases, the single parent is a woman.
Percentage of Population who were Living in Poverty in 2004
Black Males – 26.50%
White Males – 10.19%
Total Population – 11.64%
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2005
http://www.in.gov/fssa/family/icssbm/pubs/2004-5annual.html
July 18th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
WCC,
I see. Well, first you are assuming that I am black…I’m not, but if I were what would be the difference? Cannot a person, no make that mother of another ethnicity raise a well educated, properly behaved child without a father in the home? What if he beats them or abuses drugs? Should he then be allowed to stay simply because to have a fatherless household renders one a statistic in capable of being any different than your “reports”? In light of your “statistical” mentality apparently not. By your logic, I can say that all white American males are not only racist but elitist and sexist as well based on 200+ years of experience by other ethnicities and women in this country.
The trouble with people who make generalizations based upon statistics is that they fail to climb out of the statistical information and realize that behind the numbers are PEOPLE who are capable of being responsible and raising responsible children in spite of what other people may do in thier same situation.
People like you never say they are sorry because you are never wrong. If someone doesn’t fit into your idea of a religious, married, mom stays home with the kids while dad works, two car owning, salary at the mean statistical level with 2.4 children, they can’t possibly be good or decent people who are simply trying to pay thier taxes, feed thier family (whatever it looks like) and raise thier children to be good adults.
In addition, I am not single by choice. My devotedly Catholic, senior partner in a law firm ex first decided to have unprotected, pre-marital sex with a heathen (non- Catholic) and when she turned up pregnant, refused to marry her. At the first chance he had, he traded her (and the little girl) in on a younger model and also impregnated her but has since married that one. He refuses to go to court and refuses to pay a pre-calculated amount of child support based upon the law and I cannot pay my f-ing taxes AND sue him too. So put that in your Christian, statistical pipe and smoke it. The next time you go insulting someone and accusing them of being a sterotypical statistic, you should THINK about the fact that we are PEOPLE behind these screen names and stick to the issue (which was property taxes) and not insult and entire group of people about whom you know nothing. I’m sure that you aren’t the person I think YOU are right now either.
I wouldn’t have acceptaed an appology from you even had you offered one.
July 18th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Whatever,
You choose to attempt to put words in my mouth yet do not argue with any of the points made. It’s the difference between a propensity and an absolute. At no point did I ever say that “all” single kids/parents are bad/ a drain on society. Just that the odds are stacked against them, and that, in general, children of single parents are going to consume more social benefits – which is indisputably true. My singular point and inquiry from the beginning, if you read the comments, was merely an inquiry into the role that single-parenthood plays in poverty/taxation locally. It’s a legitimate question. No one is saying that you are a bad person for being a single/unmarried parent – my sister is for god’s sake. Now, you may be a bad person for other reasons, I don’t know. You certainly are angry. The point is that children of single parents start out in the hole and that society, as recommended by the State Report, needs to focus on solving this problem by doing more than just “diversity training.”