I have some work to do this morning so I’m taking off from the show.   My fill-in host will be Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.  See you tomorrow.

Marion County Coroner Ken Ackles with have to go without pay for a while. The City-County Council voted tonight to suspend his pay until he passes his state certification test, as mandated by state law.

Ackles did not appear before the Council, which irritated a number of members on both sides of the aisle. The vote was 20-8.

Some councilors questioned the constitutionality of the law, saying state law prohibited changing the compensation of an elected official during their term. They wanted to get an opinion from the Indiana Attorney General before passing the ordinance, but that measure failed.  Others stated the law was clear and that they were required to suspend the coroner’s pay until he passed his state certification.

To date, the coroner has completed seven out of 10 exams needed for his certification.  According to the state, as of three weeks ago 84 of Indiana’s 92 coroners had passed their certification exam, six were in the process of completing it and only two had not finished; one of them being Dr. Ackles.

Some folks in this town are trying to make a little political hay about the solicitation arrest of Olgen M. Williams, the 28-year old son of Deputy Mayor Olgen Williams.   The younger Williams was arrested the day before Mayor Greg Ballard announced the “Peace in the Streets” campaign at the Christamore House where the older Williams was the former director and his son Aaron is overseeing the “Peace in the Streets” program.

The “piece in the streets” line has already been used ad nauseum, so there’s no need to go down that route.  But need I remind my friends who want to take a shot at Olgen Williams for the actions of his son, need I remind you of the 2006 DUI arrest of the son of another public figure and there was not a peep heard from those who would shoot off their mouths today. 

Luckily neither parent tried to excuse the bad behavior of their child.  But it is funny how these things can escape us sometimes.

It’s Easter Sunday so a lot of you are out going to church and spending time with your families, so we’ll keep this morning’s entries rather brief.

Wouldn’t It Be Hillary

In Presidential politics there is a very interesting piece worth reading in Politico. It basically says with Florida and Michigan re-votes out of the question, it is virtually mathematically impossible for Hilary Clinton to win the Presidential nomination. The only way she can win is with Super delegates which would tear the party apart and guarantee a John McCain victory in November. So you have to ask, if you are a Hilary supporter is voting for her on May 6 really in the best interests of your party?

Indiana; Making the Grade

Believe it or not, things are improving in Indiana. The Pew Center on the States grades states on their performance in the areas of money, people, infrastructure and information. Overall, Indiana got a “B”, up from a “C+” in 2005. The Pew Center gave the state a “B+” in handling its money and its infrastructure, up from a “C” and “B-“, respectively in 2005. The Pew Center commented the state is taking long-term steps to solve its financial and infrastructure problems. The state went from a “C” to a “B” in managing people. And a “C” to a “B-” in its use of technology to evaluate the performance of its agencies and programs.

Does this seem PC?

I think I have officially seen it all now. Advance Indiana author (and the rather irate President of the get “Abdul out of town club”) Gary Welsh has filed for Republican precinct committee man in Center Township Ward 11, Precinct 5 in the Lockerbie area of Indianapolis. It’s funny because Welsh is a frequent critic of all things GOP in Marion County and makes it known on his blog. He has a challenger, Andrea Impicciche, a local attorney. Normally I wouldn’t even think of writing about a race this small, but sometimes the best gifts show up in the most obscure places.

Happy Easter. And always look on the bright side of life.

The Capital Improvement Board has formally addressed a controversial deal that would have given the proceeds of taxpayer-purchased property to a local not-for-profit organization. That decision resulted in a lawsuit.

The Board voted unanimously this afternoon to pay the Indiana Sports Corporation $200,000 to auction off public property from the RCA Dome. Under the agreement the Sports Corporation will sell the property which includes chairs and urinals, oddly enough, and will get to keep the first $200,000 of the proceeds, the CIB will keep the rest.

Under the original deal tentatively approved by the former Board the Sports Corporation would have kept the entire proceeds, however CIB chairman Bob Grand says this is a better deal.  News of the original deal sparked taxpayer outrage on broadcast airwaves and the Internet.

When asked about using the proceeds to pay off the debt of the RCA Dome, attorneys for the CIB said that debt had already been incorporated into the financing of the new Stadium, so the money, if any, will go toward the CIB’s operation costs.

Hilary Clinton is in Indiana today.  She’s making stops in Evansville, Terre Haute and Anderson.  Her visit here today and Barack Obama’s on Saturday got me to thinking, which would America elect first a Black President or a woman President?

I think a Black would get elected first.

History is my best indicator for making this statement.  If you look at this country’s past Blacks have always been “accepted” before women. 

The 15th Amendment which gave Blacks the right to vote was ratified  in 1870.  The 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote wasn’t ratified until 1920.

The Civil Rights movement was the hallmark of the 1960s.  The women’s rights movement came in the 1970s.

There’s also that theory that it’s easier to bridge differences of race rather than gender because we all know that men and women are wired differently. So while a black man and white man may come from different backgorunds, they’re both men so they have a similar thought process. 

And if you still don’t believe me think about this, who would you prefer not to get into an argument with, your wife or your best bud?

Your thoughts.

Governor Mitch Daniels today signed a bill that he says will give Hoosiers permanent property tax relief.  Daniels, along with House Speaker Pat Bauer, Senate Pro Temp David Long and Lt. Governor Becky Skillman, signed House Bill 1001 which would cut property taxes by an average of 30 percent across the state.

Property taxes were the issue of this legislative session.  The bill has the state assuming a number of levies such as child welfare and the pre-1977 police pension. It would also increase the sales tax by a penny in order to pay for tax relief. Daniels said the next step is for lawmakers to pass the recommendations suggested in the Kernan-Shepard Government Reform Commission.

House Speaker Pat Bauer said the bill would cut property taxes, but he also cautioned that it could harm local governments so he said the next eight months would be necessary to monitor the impact of the sweeping legislation.

Both men agreed that the November 2007 election loss by incumbent Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson to Greg Ballard probably gave lawmakers some “incentive” to pass lasting property reform.

The controversy over the auction of RCA Dome items just got a “little” bigger.  Paul Ogden, the attorney who filed the suit to keep the proceeds from the auction in the hands of the taxpayers, told me this morning there is an issue of whether the Capital Improvement Board even took a formal vote to dispose of the memorabilia?  The Indianapolis Colts Foundation and the Indiana Sports Corporation are keeping the proceeds from the auction.

The Ballard administration says the decision was made by the Peterson administration to give the charities the proceeds.  Former Peterson administration officials say the decision was made by the Ballard administration.  If you take both sides at their word, then neither approved the sale, which means taxpayer property is being sold and the profits are going to private entities and no formal vote was taken.  That can’t be good and it’s probably illegal.

The Governor and legislative leaders will hold a joint news conference this afternoon over property tax reform.  The Governor will sign HB 1001.    The bill does a lot but it does not directly affect the assessment process, except to the extent it eliminates township assessors in townships with less than 15,000 parcels and calls for a referendum for the rest and requires all have the highest level of certification.

This is important because I’ve gotten a lot of e-mail from people worried that while the plan may cut and cap their property taxes, it doesn’t do anything to prevent the government from raising your taxes by artificially inflating your assessments and get around the caps.

This is where you come in.  You as the homeowner are the first line of defense.  When you get your property tax bill you should check your assessment and compare it to the sales of comparable properties in your neighborhood.  If something smells rotten in the state of Denmark you should appeal.  If enough people do this you can affect some real change.

Everyone has a part to play in keeping property taxes down, make sure you do yours.

I made a call to the Indiana Department of Revenue this morning on sales tax figures for the state.  I did this because the sales tax will be increased by one penny from 6 to 7 cents in order to provide Hoosiers with property tax relief.  Here’s a rundown of 2007 filings…

Total Sales Tax Collected – $3.6 billion.

Marion County – $825 million

Hamilton County – $155 million

Hancock County – $27 million

Shelby County – $13 million

Boone County – $77 million

Hendricks County – $146 million

Johnson County – $77 million

Morgan County – $25 million

It’s important to note that because of the way Indiana law works, a business only has to file sales taxes in one county, even though they may have businesses in multiple counties.  The tax collected from those businesses would fall under the consolidated filing in the one county.