I’m hearing conflicting signals this afternoon over whether House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Crawford will hear SB 280, Marion County Government Consolidation. A House Democratic spokesman says it is on the calender for a hearing tomorrow at 9 a.m. However, I’m hearing that Crawford is mad as hell over Mayor Greg Ballard’s testimony yesterday […]

By a vote of 21-8, a bi-partisan group of City-County Councilors gave Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard the first major victory of his administration, control of the police department. Five Democrats joined 16 Republicans in voting to give the Mayor control of IMPD from the Marion County Sheriff. The Mayor has operational control of the department, […]

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is testifying this morning before the House Ways & Means Committee on the Governor’s Circuit breaker plan which would put hard caps on property tax assessments. Ballard told the committee he supports the caps in the wake of eliminating property taxes.  However, he also said the best thing the state could […]

City-County Council Minority Leader Joanne Sanders has penned an editorial in today’s Indianapolis Star calling on fellow Councilors Ben Hunter and Lincoln Plowman to abstain from voting on tonight’s proposal to transfer IMPD from the Sheriff to the Mayor.  She says the vote will be a test of integrity because the Republicans pledged not to […]

A number of Mayors from across Indiana are going to testify this morning before the House Ways and Means Committee about the impact of Governor Mitch Daniels’ proposed caps on property tax assessments.  Most of them will complain that the caps will hurt their budgets and they will have to cut police and fire.  As much […]

I was out last night and picked up quite a few tidbits of information that I think are worth sharing so here they are. There may be an issue in Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson serving on the Merit Board as part of the deal to turn over IMPD to the Mayor. The word is […]

This just in.  Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has accepted an invitation by House Democrats to testify Monday before the House Ways and Means Committee on the impact of Senate Joint Resolution One about the potential impact of property tax reform on the city.   The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Room 404.

Indiana House Democrats have invited Mayor Greg Ballard to come testify before the Ways and Means Committee about how the Governor’s plan would impact the city of Indianapolis.   Many municipalities say they will lose millions under the Governor’s circuit breakers and property tax caps, and Democrats would expect the Mayor to say the same. I […]

I’ve been running some scenarios on the 7th Congressional District and it will be interesting how the vote will split.   If there is an anti-incumbent mood Andre Carson wins because the other candidates split the anti-establishment vote.  David Orenlichter can also score a victory if Carson, Carolene Mays, and Woody Myers split the African-American vote.  I think […]

The anti-gambling people are up in arms because the Legislature is moving forward with a plan to legalize pull tabs in bars, taverns and resteraunts.  When it comes to gambling, the Libertarian in me takes a seat at the front of the bus.  I don’t have a problem with it as long as it’s regulated […]