There’s more news this morning about taxes and special sessions. State Budget Director Chris Rule says about 10 percent of the property in Marion County might be subject to reassessment, as opposed to all property owners.

Also, one big hang up to a special session might be a lack of trust between House Speake Pat Bauer and Minority Leader Brian Bosma. Both sides think the other might try to use a special session to bring up issues un-related to property taxes.

Meanwhile, there is no word on whether Mayor Bart Peterson will take advantage of the Governor’s extension of the deadline for governments to pass a local option income tax to help offset the increase in property taxes. The Governor’s office says a one percent increase in the income tax would cut Marion County property taxes increases in half.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels may order a reassessment of property in Marion County. State law gives the Governor the authority to do so. Budget Director Ryan Kitchell says the Administration just received, after weeks of waiting, information concerning land parcel level data concerning Marion County properties. Kitchell says depending on what it shows, the Governor may order the reaassessment. The Governor is expected to make an announcement concerning property taxes this afternoon. Property taxes have risen on average 34 percent in the County which has led to numerous protests and a class action lawsuit.

I’m a betting man and I am not betting on a special session of the Indiana General Assembly anytime soon. House Speaker Pat Bauer doesn’t want one, unless there’s a plan already worked out. Bauer also wonders where was the concern and taxpayer outrage when Lake and Allen County voters were going through tax pains? In addition, there’s no money to provide tax relief because the $550 million from gambling is already spent. Also, a special session would be nore more likely to produce a permanent solution to the current problem and we’d be at the exact same point down the road. So not only is there unlikely to be a special session to solve Marion County’s tax problems, I wonder out loud, what would be the point? You tell me?

I never thought I’d ever thought I’d write this, but I actually have compliments for two Marion County Township Trustees. Both Lawrence Township Trustee Mike Hobbes and Perry Township Trustee Gary Koons have seen the property tax increase handwriting on the wall and want to explore fire consolidation. Both are running up against old-entrenched obstacles in their townships, but these guys deserve credit for moving the discussion forward. I really don’t see how anyone could oppose less government in this climate.

I’m working on some “behind the scenes” information about what happened to make your taxes go through the roof. I’m still sorting out the details but there appears to be a lot questions concerning local officials.

For example, did the County Assessor do his job by using all the tools at his disposal to deal with the disparity between residential and commercial and industrial property? And did the County Auditor do her job by providing all the necessary county parcel data before bills went out? Did some township assessors drop the ball and not do their jobs correctly? Those are just a few questions, trust me, there’s more.

Meanwhile, the Mayor has sent out a news release thanking the Governor for looking into a special session. And while he reiterates his call for the state to pick up child welfare costs, give Marion County more property tax replacement credit money and pass fire consolidation, I wish he would call for consolidation of all township offices, including the Trustees and stand up to Bill Crawford. And while he’s at it he can call for the legislature to pass his Fiscal Policy Council that would reign in local spending by the 67 taxing districts in Marion County.

And not to be outdone, City-County Council President Monroe Gray is getting into the act by not only supporting a special session, but calling on lawmakers to give governments the authority to apply 2008 refund checks to 2007 property tax bills and to use surplus gas tax revenue to lower property taxes.

You know it would be nice if someone would put out a news release saying “we’re going to spend less money so Hoosiers can pay less in taxes!” That would be news.

Some Indiana residents are filing a class action lawsuit this morning to stop the increases in property taxes. The group called Stop Taxing Our Property is suing Marion County Government saying its system of tax assessments violate the state’s constitution because it did not properly assess commercial and industrial property and led to the large increases in residential taxes. The group wants the court to declare the current assessments unconstitutional and order new ones.

What’s the difference between Baghdad and Indianapolis? If you lose your home in Baghdad, it’s because an ineffective government couldn’t stop a car bomber. Indianapolis they just mail you a property tax bill. This may sound harsh but I am now officially fed with the government in Marion County, while citizens are losing their homes and having to move because of high taxes, there are actually discussions about giving elected county officials raises.

The County Salary Recommendation panel met yesterday and began laying the groundwork for increases in the pay of offices like the Coroner, Assessor, Auditor, Surveyor, Treasurer, etc. So while someone like Dr. Ken Ackles gets a raise, Hoosiers like Judith Sturges are being forced to move from their homes.

Maybe Indianapolis needs an insurgency, at least they kept their government from raising taxes.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels issued a statement tonight on the Marion County’s property tax debacle. Here it is.

“I kept in close touch with events during my week of family vacation, and like everyone am dismayed about the size of residential property tax increases in Marion and some other Indiana counties. Obviously, increases of the magnitude some homeowners are facing are unacceptable and we must look for immediate help and long-term reform.

Let’s start with the basics: property taxes pay for local spending and local borrowing. They are collected by and for local government, schools and libraries. When, as in Marion County, local spending goes up 10 percent per year, taxes are going up with it. Local assessment that claims Marion County home values grew 19 percent faster than commercial property is another obvious factor in Indianapolis’ acute problem.

Although the cause of the problem is local, state government has tried repeatedly over 35 years to relieve the property tax burden on Hoosier citizens. Through sales and income taxes, the state already provides more than $2 billion annually — a quarter of total property taxes — to subsidize local government spending. The recent legislature dedicated another half billion dollars to this purpose, and also gave localities major new flexibilities to reduce property taxes and replace them with income taxes. This new power to reduce property taxes has not yet been used in Marion or any other county.

As governor, I will take every step I have authority to take to help Hoosier homeowners. First, I have directed the Department of Local Government Finance to approve any county’s application to permit homeowners to pay their property taxes in installments and to extend bill due dates. I have ordered the Indiana Bond Bank to facilitate short-term financing by local governments that need cash while awaiting these installments.

I am also exploring some ideas with legislative leaders about how a special session might provide immediate relief directly to property taxpayers who have been especially hard hit. I have instructed DLGF to probe the unexplained disparity between residential and commercial reassessment in many counties, taking follow-on action if warranted. The state will not approve pending budget orders until commercial and industrial real estate assessments have been further analyzed. DLGF also will notify localities that upcoming budgets that spend above the rate of inflation will be rejected until spending is under control. Pending and future bond issuances also will be held in problem counties.

Looking ahead, some costs now borne locally, such as the child welfare levy, can be shifted to state government, never forgetting that the money all comes from the same taxpayers. The bottom line is there can be no solution without greater control of local spending and borrowing.

That means greater scrutiny by taxpayers and by state government, and it means fundamental reform for the long term. We have far too many layers, elected offices, geographic units, school districts and overhead. I will have more to say on this subject in a week or so.”

I told a group tonight, the problem with taxes is local governments. They spend too much, therefore taking a lot of your money along the way. If you want to pay less taxes, you need to have less government. Who can’t grasp this concept?

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson will likely get his increase in income taxes to pay for public safety. Republican City-County Councilors Scott Keller and Lance Langford say they both plan to vote to raise the income tax when it comes up for a vote later this month. That would give the Mayor at least 16 votes for the tax increase. Democrat Councilor Sherron Franklin is cool to the idea of raising taxes in the wake of recent property tax increases.

Both Keller and Langford say the despite the increase in property taxes, the city still needs to pay for public safety.
The two agree the state’s property tax system is broken and needs to be fixed, however the city still needs to meet its public safety commitments.

Should the city pass the $90 million tax increase, Keller says it will likely float tax anticipation loans to pay for more police, prosecutors and public defenders.

I’m playing around on the computer today and thought I’d take a few minutes to write down a couple thoughts on Saturday. I’m in the middle of a friendly debate with Jen Wagner at Taking Down Words about property taxes, government, why Mitch is good for Indiana and more government services should privatized, etc.

Jen and I don’t agree on a lot, but I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I say we do like and respect each other. We both have jobs to do and we never take things personally or too seriously. I really think more people in this field should be like that. Disagreements don’t mean being disagreebale.

Good, healthy and robust debate is always necessary if we’re truly going to have the free flow and exchange of ideas. And at the end of the day, we should all be able to sit down and drink together. That’s just my thought today. Now I have to go back over to Taking Down Words and explain to Jen why I’m right, as usual.

Enjoy your weekend.