That didn’t take long.  Those tax protestors are making a comeback.  Outraged by reconciliation bills, they are planning a 4th of July protest in front of the Governor’s residence on North Meridian.  The rally is being led by Andy Horning, Libertarian candidate for Governor. 

In an e-mail to supporters Horning writes “…this time, we’re not going to be distracted by the tax policy sub-issue. We’ll no longer nibble at the branches of the problem of lawbreaking lawmakers. We’re not going to fuss over symptoms – we aim to cure the disease of ungoverned government!”

Do you hear the people sing?  This is going to be fun to watch.

Republican State Senator John Waterman of Shelburn is announcing his third-rate, (uh third-party) bid for Governor.  I can’t say I’m too familiar with Waterman except for the fact that he reminds me of a character from “SOAP” especially with his sideburns and jackets.

I do want to offer him this little bit of advice.  Waterman has reportedly chosen Glenna Jehl of Ft. Wayne to be his running mate.  If my memory serves me correctly, Jehl was the campaign manager for Matt “May be going to jail” Kelty.

In fact, Jehl and her husband loaned Kelty the cash which was the basis for his nine-count indictment.  If pciking Jehl as his Lt. Gov was his first act, what else could we expect from this guy should he get elected Governor?

If anything, he should have picked a running mate who owns a clothing store or has a pair of clippers.

There are a couple polls worth talking about this morning in the Indiana Governor’s race.

The Jill Long Thompson camp has just released a poll showing Mitch Daniels with an overall 7-point lead in the Governor’s race. The poll shows Daniels leading 43-36, with 21 percent undecided. The poll also shows Hoosiers are split 43-43 on whether the state is on the right track, with 14 percent undecided.

I think what is telling about the JLT poll is that it reveals what a lot of us already knew, outside of Northern Indiana she has her work cut out for her.

For example, while JLT beats Daniels in Northern Indiana 48-36, Daniels wins in Indianapolis 54-32 and Southern Indiana 48-41. That regionalism is also reflected when voters were asked about Daniels’ approval rating (85 percent fair or better, Indianapolis/ 73 percent fair or better, Southern Indiana) and whether the state is on the right track (50-36, Indianapolis/45-41 Southern Indiana).

JLT’s poll was taken 5/20-5/22. It sampled 765 likely voters and had a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

A poll cited by Indiana Insight showed Daniels with a bigger lead over JLT.

Daniels beats JLT 51-35. His favorable ratings are 60-33. Hers are 33-17. The poll also shows Daniels beating JLT in Marion County 59-29.

That poll surveyd 601 registered voters (95 percent were certain to vote) and had a margin of error of 3.5 percent. The audience identified itself as 36 percent Democrat, 35 percent Republican and 24 percent Independent. It was taken from 5/27-6/1.

I’ve got some more details to report on the property tax reconciliation bills that you are getting in the mail this week. 

Marion County Treasurer Mike Rodman says while 90 percent of taxpayers will see a lower bill, it won’t be by much.  In Washington Township some tax bills only dropped by $7, while others went up $991.

County wide, Rodman says the average decrease is $200, and that’s a rough estimate.  Most of the increases though occurred in Center and Washington Townships.

Although tax bills are due July 10, Marion County did get a waiver to send out rebate checks before that date, which Rodman says will ease some of the pain.  But out of the 300,000 tax bills sent out, 85,000 homeowners will not get a rebate.

Rodman also worries that many taxpayers may think the reconciliation bill is their Spring 2008 tax bill and they will forget that the tax relief provided by the General Assembly only applies to next year’s bills.

The irony of all of this has not been lost on Franklin Township Assessor Becky Williams.  Williams says the assessors tried to warn the public that their bills would not change much and now they’ll get to see it for themselves.

She also says there are a number of appeals coming and claims apartments were over-assessed by millions of dollars.

I’ve also been told there are a number of tax protests coming and at least one is scheduled to take place in front of the Governor’s mansion. 

If you thought the floods and rains that hit south central Indiana were bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Marion County lawmakers got a briefing tonight on the property reconciliation bills that are going out this week and when it’s all said and done homeowners will wish their property was under 10 feet of water.

According to one lawmaker, “this is not going to be pretty.”

The briefing was conducted by Marion County Treasurer Mike Rodman. Residents will see very little, if any relief in most cases.

The lawmaker, who asked not to be identified said, “the people who were the most vocal last summer will be the ones who see the least amount of relief.”

And to add insult to injury, only one-third of Marion County residents pay their property taxes through escrow, the rest just pay their bills as they get them in the mail.

200,000 reconciliation bills went out today. The rest will go out later in the week. And because of state lawmakers, you won’t get your rebate check until AFTER you get your bill.

One section of Marion County that saw 90 percent increases in their bills will now see 70 percent.

It also appears the two largest culprits for the tax increases are schools and the failure of local lawmakers to phase in a replacement of the inventory tax.

And just to add insult to injury, I’m told the township assessors did not fully comply with the Department of Local Government and Finance Rules so the property tax bills which are slated to come out in October and December will also be estimates so there will be another reconciliation bill waiting for you next year.

More details are yet to come, but from I understand this going to get real ugly real quick.

Someone may want to declare Marion County a disaster area now because the tax relief that came out of the 2008 General Assembly won’t show up until the next bill.

As Indiana deals with some of the worst flooding in nearly 100 years, here are some things to ponder.

1.  Hoosiers who don’t have flood insurance; some who didn’t live on a flood plain and others who tried to get flood insurance, but it wasn’t offered in their area.

2.  As waters recede, the potential for mosquitoes and West Nile virus increase.

3.  The possibility of more rain.

Just some things to think about in the wake of the worst flood in 100 years.

As Indiana deals with some of the worst flooding in decades, I have to give credit to state and local responders for “keeping their heads above water” in all this. There is a lot of good coordination taking place across the state and last I checked there was only one fatality and one person missing (keep checking your local news for updates). To be honest, I am surprised there were not more.

On Saturday there was report after report of people who drove around barricades on flooded streets who later had to be rescued from standing water. I honestly don’t know what part of “don’t drive through standing water” that some people not understand. I had a state trooper tell me a story about an idiot who tried to make it by a viaduct on Emerson Avenue in Indianapolis and ended up getting stuck under the viaduct and nearly drowning. The problem with natural disasters is usually the civilians who don’t pay attention to the news and tread where wise men refuse to follow.

Maybe the state and local governments should start sending these people bills. I’m not talking about someone caught in a set of circumstances beyond their control, but if you through your own folly end up somewhere you have no business being and then state and local officials have to come bail you out, the least the government can do is send you a bill. Maybe that you will make you think twice next time, but at least because of first responders, you will get to have a next time.

A lot of water, no casualties so far as parts of Indiana continue to deal with flooding after heavy rains over the past 24 hours. Governor Mitch Daniels has declared a state of emergency in Johnson and Morgan Counties. He says both state police and the National Guard have been responding to assistance. And even the U.S. Coast Guard has lent the state two helicopters in the event they are needed for search and rescue operations.

State officials say sections of Terre Haute and West Terre Haute have also been hit hard and with the possibility of rain in the north, more problems could be expected. The floods have also threatened private dams in Johnson County. Daniels also said that state agencies are working well together and it has the logistics and financial resources to deal with this natural disaster.

To date the National Guard has opened shelters for flood victims in Bloomington, Danville and Martinsville.

The Governor reiterated the call for motorists to stay off the roads in flooded areas.

As Hillary Clinton formally exits (stage left) the Presidential race today, John McCain is scheduled to come to Indiana next month. I’m told McCain will be here for a lunchtime fundraiser on July 1. It will be at the Marriott in downtown Indianapolis. McCain was last here in February for a town hall meeting and fundraising event. Ironically it was on the 22nd, which is George Washington’s birthday.

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch used to have a catch phrase, “How am I doin’?”   He would ask that question to New Yorkers in just about any venue in an effort to gauge public reaction to his job as Mayor.  

I bring this up because June is the sixth month of Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s time in office.  So I figured it would be nice to give the Mayor an evaluation.

For now, I give the Mayor a “B+”. 

He gets high marks for getting back control of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, getting the state to pick up a number of levies (pre-1977 police pension, child welfare, indigent health care), he also got the 2012 Super Bowl and we are seeing serious decreases in crime.  For all that, I give Mr. Ballard an “A.”

Where I think the Mayor falls short is when it comes to being political.  The Mayor is not a political guy and doesn’t like to play politics.  He is about getting things done and doing the right thing.  Admirable qualities, of course.  But the curse of being a big city mayor is knowing how to play the game and building the political infrastructure necessary to govern. 

I’m not saying you fill city hall with unqualified hacks.  That doesn’t do anyone any good.  What I am saying is that all things being equal, you hire your friends and allies, because they have as much to lose as you do.  So for not using his vast political arsenal, but still putting good people in city hall, he gets a “B-”

So if you take the “A” for accomplishments, which is 70 percent of the job and combine it with the “B-” for the political side of the job which is 30 percent, Greg Ballard gets a “B+”.