Friday, July 31, 2009

Long Live the Tax Caps

Without the property tax caps coming on line this year and next, Decatur residents would be in disastrous straits trying to pay their pay-2009 tax bills. That is because of the irresponsible non-oversight of the MSD Decatur School District by the School Board which has allowed the school property tax rate to more than double in two years; even though the State is taking over all operating costs for the Schools during this time.

For the pay-2008 property taxes, which were recently due, the Decatur Schools had the highest rate of any School District in the County at $2.75 per one hundred dollars of assessed value. Not only that, they were the highest of any of the other 270 school districts (out of 316 total districts) whose numbers are currently being reported on the Indiana Department of Education's website. Hey great ! Last year we might very well have been number one in the State !!! Unfortunately it wasn't in the graduation rate or ISTEP passage rate. Just the property tax rate.

In Marion County, the next highest pay-2008 rate was Franklin School District which charged $2.13 per one hundred dollars of assessed value. The hyperinflated School tax rate made Decatur the highest taxed Township with a total rate of $4.31; a full 20% higher than Franklin and 80% higher that Washington Township.

But wait ! There's more !

For our pay-2009 property taxes, Decatur Schools are charging MORE this year for the schools alone, than the TOTAL property tax rate for all government units combined last year. According to the legal notice published in yesterday's Indianapolis Star, they are charging $5.28 per one hundred dollars of assessed value; 75% higher than last year and two and a half times higher than the year before that. This is twice that of our new competitor, Beech Grove School District who weighed in at a paltry $2.62. This makes Decaturite's total property tax rate, including all governmental units, an astounding $7.04; a full 75% higher than the next highest Township, Wayne, and a staggering 263% higher than Washington Township.

Thanks to the School District's irresponsible debt accumulation, we will be extremely hard pressed to keep the few businesses we have, much less attract any new ones. Let me repeat this new tax rate, thanks to the Schools -- $7.04. Businesses do look at these things before deciding where to locate. So, if you want more for Decatur, vote the School Board out of office in the next election, which will be held in the Spring of 2010.

More later on all of the extraneous property owned by MSD Decatur Township that can be sold to make at least modest reductions in our appalling property tax situation.

Property Tax Rates - What it Means to You

Property Tax Rates are complicated this year and next with the tax cap limits that are working into the final tax bills. For residential homestead use, where you live in the home you pay property taxes on, the cap for pay-2009 is 1.5% of the assessed value.

The bill will show your total assessed value, then subtract deductions and credits for a net assessed value. The net assessed value times your tax rate percentage is the property tax you owe -- only if that number is less than your total assessed value before deductions and credits times 1.5 percent.

For example, if your house has an assessed value of $100,000 and a net assessed value after deductions and credits of $50,000, and you live in Decatur Township with a tax rate of 7.0354, your property taxes would be $3652.70 before the cap and $1,500 after the cap. So, this theoretical house would be charged $1,500 in property taxes. The same house in Lawrence Township which has a tax rate of 2.7210, would be $1360.50 before the cap, and $1,500 after the cap. This theoretical house would be charged $1360.50 in property taxes because it is below the cap.

Property Tax Rates by Major Taxing District

This is the fifth in a string of blog entries reporting the property tax rates for your pay-2009 property tax bill. That bill is expected to be finalized and mailed in October/November of this year. Below I report the total property tax rate by the largest size taxing districts in each Township as well as the excluded Cities. The previous rate for each is also reported for comparison (published in the Star on June 17, 2009). The rate is what you would owe, after deductions and credits, per one hundred dollars of assessed value.


Taxing Districtpay-2009pay-2008
Center Township (101)3.39653.5490
Decatur Township (200)7.03544.3067
Franklin Township (300)3.98343.5790
Lawrence Township (400)2.72102.7271
Perry Township (500)3.03242.9933
Pike Township (600)3.13952.8607
Warren Township (700)3.10493.2983
Washington Township (800)2.67392.3909
Washington Township (801)3.33853.5055
Wayne Township (900)4.02383.6931
Wayne Township (901)3.35663.5191
Beech Grove (502)5.88553.9345
Lawrence (407)2.93722.9336
Speedway (914)3.13383.0253

Property Tax Rates by Township or Excluded City

This is the fourth in a string of blog entries reporting the property tax rates for your pay-2009 property tax bill. That bill is expected to be finalized and mailed in October/November of this year. Below I report the total property tax rate for Township and Excluded City functions. For comparisons, you will have to add the IFD District rate to that of Center, Washington, or Warren Townships as IFD now serves those areas. The Perry consolidation with IFD will be reflected in the pay-2010 rates. The previous rate for each is also reported for comparison (published in the Star on June 17, 2009). The rate is what you would owe, after deductions and credits, per one hundred dollars of assessed value.



Taxing Districtpay-2009pay-2008
Center Township0.06800.0510
Decatur Township0.65060.4863
Franklin Township0.54240.3876
Lawrence Township0.34770.2551
Perry Township0.33670.2973
Pike Township0.43680.2672
Warren Township0.00930.0070
Washington Township0.01000.0075
Wayne Township0.83720.5925
IFD District0.29470.3070
Beech Grove1.52261.0377
Lawrence0.76580.5719
Speedway1.38090.0000

Propety Tax Rates for County-wide Government

This is the third in a string of blog entries reporting the property tax rates for your pay-2009 property tax bill. That bill is expected to be finalized and mailed in October/November of this year. Below I report the total property tax rate for some of those taxing units in Marion County for which we all pay the same rates. The previous rate for each is also reported for comparison (published in the Star on June 17, 2009). The rate is what you would owe, after deductions and credits, per one hundred dollars of assessed value.


Taxing Districtpay-2009pay-2008
Total Welfare0.01740.1585
Total County0.39190.3262
Total Co. H&H0.17650.2114
Total Library0.12830.0903
Total Public Trans.0.07130.0504
Total Muni Corps0.37610.3521

Property Tax Rates for School Districts

This is the second in a string of blog entries reporting the property tax rates for your pay-2009 property tax bill. That bill is expected to be finalized and mailed in October/November of this year. Below I report the total property tax rate for each school district in Marion County. The previous rate for each is also reported for comparison (published in the Star on June 17, 2009). The rate is what you would owe, after deductions and credits, per one hundred dollars of assessed value.


School Districtpay-2009pay-2008
IPS1.55651.7668
Beech Grove2.61621.8168
Decatur5.27622.7544
Franklin2.33242.1254
Lawrence1.26471.4060
Perry 1.58711.5275
Pike1.59411.5275
Warren1.98701.9388
Washington1.26061.1291
Wayne 2.07802.0346
Speedway0.74661.1197


Now I know you are wondering 'How do I get the luxury of a school board as irresponsible as Decatur has?'. Well boys and girls, you must have a board that is handpicked by the Superintendent and attends regular and rigorous 'how to rubber stamp any outrageous expenditure of funds' seminars. While it is an option whether or not their sole interest is who is the best relative to make football coach, it can be an asset in keeping them quietly occupied in the corner while the important decisions are made out of earshot.

Property Tax Rates Published

For those who do not get a printed copy of the Star, you likely missed the publication, as required by law, of the property tax rates proposed for your pay-2009 property tax bill. Since these budgets have already been crafted and are being used as we speak, these rates should be the final rates. Because Governor Mitch Daniels called for a redo of the property value assessments a couple of years ago, we have been behind schedule with our property assessments and the tax rates and tax bills. Hopefully by 2010, we will get back on the usual schedule.

I will separate into individual blog entries the rates for schools, the city/county, and the totals so that the numbers are a bit more digestible. Also, I am reporting only the rates for the largest one or two taxing district in each Township, just to keep things as simple as possible. A map of the districts is shown on this IU webpage for your reference. Should you live in one of the minor taxing districts, sizewise, you'll have to contact the Star for a paper copy. Their website publication of the notice is gibberish. As an alternative, you could contact David Reynolds, City Controller, as he submitted the table to the Star for publication. ( dreynold@indygov.org )

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Council Committee Votes 5-1 Do Pass on Prop 285

Warning: Rant ahead

Last night, the City-County Council Rules & Public Policy Committee voted 5-1 to move Proposal 285, 2009, to the full Council with a do pass recommendation. Aye votes were from Councillors Lutz, Cockrum, Plowman, Malone, and Pfisterer -- all Republicans. The lone nay vote was from Councillor Mansfield, the only Democrat Committee member present.

The meeting, Chaired by Councillor Bob Lutz of Wayne Township, was a grueling 4-ish hour affair that was an orchestrated parade of 'invited witnesses' with unlimited time to disgorge all of their thoughts, followed by a brief public comment period where speakers were limited to 2 minutes (more on that below) but who were 'graciously' allowed to dribble over that time limit in 5 second increments. Of the parade of maybe two dozen 'invited witnesses', all save three had a personal financial interest in more money being thrown at the Capital Improvement Board and all save two were in favor of the Proposal.

At the conclusion of the public testimony, Councillor Lutz feigned a let's get this over with and let the chips fall where they may attitude, fully knowing he had the votes to get this out of committee. Why did he know he could accomplish his goal? Because two Democratic Councillors, Sanders and Gray, were no-shows. Lutz had indicated he would likely not take a vote last night, but re-convene in a week to give the Committee members time to mull over the testimony they had heard. This probably was because the Committee is composed of 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats; certainly the Committee most likely to produce a positive outcome for the Proposal. Even so, Lutz could not count on Councillor Malone to vote do pass. With all three Democrats present, that could have caused a tie vote which would leave the Proposal in Committee. But, with the two MIAs, the math moved in his favor and he was guaranteed that his reliable 4 votes would serve his needs.

Some random thoughts:

The public deserves an explanation from Councillors Joanne Sanders and Monroe Gray for their absence on this critical Committee meeting and vote. I see that the blog, Indianapolis Times, which is the mouthpiece of the County Party, remains silent on the hearing, in contrast to their seeming interest leading up to last night (see here, here, and here). This makes me to wonder if Sanders and Gray are holding their aye votes in the wings for a last minute save of Prop 285 at the full Council. Politics as usual - play 'smart' at the public's detriment. But, I don't know why they were not there and maybe there is an explanation - we deserve one. [edited to add: I have received word that Sanders has been out of town on business and was unable to attend.]

The public was done a disservice, as is usual when more than two people show up, in the public comment period. Chairman Lutz' should have given the public the same time limit as his parade of invited witnesses. His handling of comment time may have been generous by Council Committee standards, but that bar is set very low. In all of these committees it is as though the public point of view is not as worthy as that of proponents of a proposal. From my perch in the cheap seats it often seems as if the attitude of the Chairmen is that the problem with the public comments is that they drag the meeting out too long. While the Council does the public's business, I believe they need to be much more accommodating of the time in which they give the public to express its views. As I mentioned in a comment to Paul Ogden's blog, I challenge Committee Chairs to try to speak to an issue for 2 minutes with buzzers going off every 5 seconds thereafter.

The proponents of Prop 285, save one or two, hid behind the skirts and aprons of the service workers in order to shill for more tax money for the CIB. As I mentioned earlier, these folks have a personal financial interest in the ever increasing investment of more and more tax money into the sports/convention business. Folks like Tamara Zahn of IDI, Susan Williams of ISC, Barney Levengood of the CIB, and Bob Welsh of ICVA are even more outrageous, as they haul down fat salaries derived almost exclusively from tax revenues. As reported by Paul Ogden, Zahn makes around $200,000 a year while IDI has squirrelled away over $7M in savings living lavishly off the public dole, and Welsh makes about $350,000 in salary and benefits while the ICVA had 'only' $4M in assets in 2007. Meanwhile Williams makes over $130,000 (poor thing) with ISC holding assets of nearly $7M in 2007, and Levengood makes $221,000 per year while the CIB takes in over $100M in taxes each year. These folks are pulling down the more than generous salaries from the public trough and have little real accountability for how well they do their jobs. Compare that to the maids who average a mere $15,000 a year in Indianapolis. To pretend that this CIB bailout is for the little guy, is bold faced lying. Its to keep the good times rolling for a select few living large off taxpayer largess.

There has been and will be NO examination of how the CIB got into this mess. Each Councillor is apparently quite content to believe it is the Mayor of the opposite political party, or the Governor, who caused this supposed catastrophe. This attitude will never identify the problems with the CIB in its fiscal and policy structure that will continue to bleed the taxpayer. The Councillors all acknowledged last night that this is only a two year 'fix' and ignored the obvious conclusion that it is therefore not a real fix of the real problems. Only Councillor Malone expressed an opinion that indicated that a real fix was important to her - enough to influence her vote at the full Council.

There is no interest in doing the public a service and creating a plan to make the sports/convention/tourist/hospitality industry self-sufficient. Speaker after speaker tossed around numbers in the range of hundreds of thousands to billions of dollars. I kept thinking - so why aren't we rich already and why are these guys back begging for more tax revenues?

Passage of the hotel tax and acceptance of the state loan, if successful at the full Council meeting on August 10, will trigger the necessity to increase two more taxes, car rental and ticket, in 2013. This is putting the onus on the next Council. Quite irresponsible in my view and it smacks of politics. The public good should count for something and it never seems to be weighted very high when elites have their hands out for the public dole. The public good is all the rage as a foil when the discussion is more money to help those who struggle to put a meal on the table or clothe their children or what to do about those pesky panhandlers who inconvenience us at stoplights. It takes the EPA to force Indianapolis to fix the sewer overflows that push human feces into our river and streams like some third world cesspool. But, all it takes for the wealthy overseers of our sports empire to get more, is to claim a need for an additional $47M on top of the $100M they already get and the only topic for discussion among our elected officials becomes how to land that money for them. Again, no request for an examination of what the CIB did wrong to put it in the position it is in now. That is the only way you can determine what to fix.

Blame decisions past and push problems forward seems to be the name of the game. But, make sure you get the CIB all the money it wants.

I hope the significance of the August 10th Council meeting is not lost on the Councillors. Mayor Ballard will present the 2010 budget proposal with something like $30M in cuts. Proposal 285 will be voted upon with its increase of $12M of tax revenues and a $27M loan from the State to add to the $100M in tax revenues the CIB already gets. Contrasting what City services are to be cut with the bailout of our sports empire, will shed a clear white light on what is really important.

Friday, July 24, 2009

You Are Invited To Speak Your Mind About the CIB Bailout Plan

Proposal 285 will be heard by the Rules & Public Policy Committee of the City County Council. Public comments will be taken.

Where: Room 260, City-County Building
When: 5:30 pm, Tuesday, July 28, 2009
What: Presentations and Public Comments on Council Proposal 285, 2009 followed by a vote by the Committee on whether to pass it to the full Council for a final vote -- expect public comments to be limited to 2 minutes per person
Who: all members of the public are invited and urged to come speak your minds - otherwise only those people who have a financial interest in the outcome of this vote will attend


FAQS

Proposal 285 would do three things: increase the hotel tax by 1%, increase the Professional Sports Development Area (PSDA) to include hotels abutting the convention center, and accept a $9M per year loan from the State to the CIB for years 2009, 2010, and 2011

Increasing the hotel tax would likely generate an additional $4M per year that would be directed to CIB operating expenses.

Income and sales taxes (up to a maximum of $8M per year) from the expanded PSDA would also be directed to CIB operating expenses.

The loan and the money from the expanded PSDA are blackmail -- if the Council does not increase the hotel tax, the state will not pass any money to the CIB from either a loan or the expanded PSDA.

The loan is PROHIBITED from being repaid until 2013.

In January through March, 2013, the City-County Council is authorized to increase two other taxes - car rental and admission tax. It is not allowed do so until then. These two taxes will likely have to be increased, if only to repay the State for its loan plus interest.

The Indiana Convention and Visitor's Association, which will likely appear at the hearing with a full presentation to the Committee, wants another $3 - $5 M per year from the CIB to advertise for more Convention business and to book discounted rooms through its website. The ICVA currently gets about $7M of its $11M annual budget from the CIB.

The CIB currently gets about $100M per year in tax revenues alone. It wants another $47M. For comparison, the entire City-County budget for 2009 is $1.1 B, including all tax revenues, grants, fees, etc.

The CIB still owes $70M for the Hoosier Dome -- which cost $55M to build and which has already been imploded. This is the type of fiscal impropriety that has caused us to be in this situation. The CIB has not been good stewards of the taxpayer's money.

Mayor Ballard says that even if Proposal 285 passes - it is not enough. He pledges he will be back to the Legislature next year, asking for even more money for the CIB.

The CIB wants $15M to take over the operating costs of the Conseco Fieldhouse - even though negotiations with the Pacers have not been reopened, the Pacers get all revenue from all events held at the Fieldhouse, and it would cost the team a penalty over $50M to break the deal. Bob Grand's position as the President of the CIB while also representing the Simons, owners of the Pacers, is a conflict of interest that is apparent to everyone except Bob Grand and Mayor Ballard.

The Councillors will find it difficult to turn away from ready cash offered by the hotel tax increase and the subsequent cash flowing from the State. But, the easy cash will only put the taxpayers in a bigger hole. They should, instead, move forward on a plan to identify the policy and fiscal decisions of the CIB that led us to this problem and change those policies and prohibit a repeat of the bad fiscal decisions; they should not pass one tax increase that leads directly to the need to raise two more in three and a half years; they should create a plan to make the hospitality-sports-tourist-convention industry self-sufficient within a decade; AND they should bar the CIB from taking over the $15M in annual operating expense of the Conseco Fieldhouse.

The members of the Committee are:

(R) Robert Lutz, Chair rlutz@indy.gov 241-4020
(R) Bob Cockrum (no published email address) 856-5549
(D) Monroe Gray mgray@indy.gov 327-4242
(R) Barbara Malone barbara_malone@sbcglobal.net 291-4359
(D) Angela Mansfield angelamansfield@aol.com 872-3306
(R) Marilyn Pfisterer cpfist1061@aol.com 244-7156
(R) Lincoln Plowman lincolnplowman@comcast.net 557-7594
(D) Joanne Sanders jmsanders@msn.com 283-6040

Plan on attending the hearing -- contact your Councillor, too -- Tell them to do what is right for the taxpayers of Marion County and fix the problems of the CIB, not just throw more money at them.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

You MUST See This !

Required viewing by all citizen activists and those who say you can't fight City Hall. Yes you can, you just have to be smarter than they are !


Friday, July 17, 2009

Proposal 285 Now Posted Online

The Council Proposal 285, which would increase the hotel tax by 1% is now posted on the Council website.

Here is the meat of the proposal:


A PROPOSAL FOR A GENERAL ORDINANCE amending the Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County to adopt the operational financing plan authorized for the Capital Improvements Board of Marion County by House Enrolled Act 1001, of the 2009 Special Session of the Indiana General Assembly, by approving the expansion of the Professional Sports Development Area, approving operational borrowings from the State of Indiana, and adopting an increase in the county innkeeper’s tax.

WHEREAS, House Enrolled Act 1001 of the 2009 Special Session of the Indiana General Assembly authorized an operational financing plan for the Capital Improvements Board of Marion County that required certain actions be taken by the City-County Council, and

WHEREAS, the City-County Council finds that such plan should be approved and adopted, and

WHEREAS, on July 15, 2009, the Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County, Indiana, acting as the Redevelopment Commission of the City of Indianapolis, Indiana (the Commission”), adopted its Resolution No. 09-R-009, entitled “Resolution of the Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County, Indiana, Acting as the Redevelopment Commission of the City of Indianapolis, Indiana, Supplementing and Amending Resolution No. 97-D-052 and Resolution No. 05-B-018, Declaring an Area in Marion County, Indiana as a Professional Sports Development Area and Approving a Development Area Plan” (the “Declaratory Resolution), declaring a certain geographical area located within the City of Indianapolis, Indiana, as an expansion to the existing Marion County Professional Sports Development Area (the “Prior Tax Area” and, as expanded, the “Expanded Tax Area”), pursuant to the provisions of Indiana Code 36-7-31, as amended (the “Act’), and approving a supplement to the existing Marion County Professional Sports Development Area Plan prepared in connection with the Original Tax Area; and

WHEREAS, on August 5, 2009, it is anticipated that the Commission, following a public hearing thereon upon notice as required by law, will adopt its Resolution entitled “Resolution of the Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County, Indiana, Acting as the Redevelopment Commission of the City of Indianapolis, Indiana, Confirming Resolution No. 09-R-010, Declaring an Area in Marion County, Indiana, as an Expansion to the Marion County Professional Sports Development Area and Approving a Supplement to the Marion County Professional Sports Development Area Plan” (the “Confirmatory Resolution”), confirming in all respects the Declaratory Resolution; and

WHEREAS, on ________, 2009, the Capital Improvement Board of Managers of Marion County, Indiana (“Board”) is anticipated to adopt a resolution to issue notes to borrow up to Nine Million Dollars ($9,000,000) in 2009 from the State of Indiana pursuant to IC 5-13-10.5-18 to meet and fund the operational requirements of the Board (“Operational Borrowings”), which use was anticipated in the Board’s 2009 approved budget; and

WHEREAS, the Board has requested the approval of such borrowing by the City-County Council; and

WHEREAS, House Enrolled Act 1001 of the 2009 Special Session of the Indiana General Assembly authorizes the city-county council to increase the county innkeeper’s tax rate by not more than one percent (1%); and

WHEREAS, the city-county council finds that such increase is both advisable and necessary; now, therefore:

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY-COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS AND OF MARION COUNTY, INDIANA:

SECTION 1. The Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County, be and is hereby amended by adopting a new Article I of Chapter 116, to read as follows:

ARTICLE I – CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS BOARD OF MARION COUNTY
Sec. 161-101. Marion County Professional Sports Development Area. Pursuant to the provisions of IC 36-7-31 for purposes of financing the Capital Improvements Board of Marion County, the Marion County Professional Sports Development Area is approved as determined and confirmed by the Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County acting as the Redevelopment Commission of Indianapolis as set forth in the Declaratory Resolution No. 09-R-009 and confirmed by the Confirmatory Resolution No. 09-R-010, as described therein, to wit:

Sec. 161-102. Operational Barrowings Approved. The City-County Council hereby approves the Operational Borrowings from the State of Indiana, pursuant to IC 5-13-10.5-18 in an amount not to exceed Nine Million Dollars ($9,000,000) in 2009 as approved by the Capital Improvements Board of Marion County.

SECTION 2. Section 121-204 of the "Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County," regarding the county innkeeper’s tax, hereby is amended by the deletion of the language that is stricken-through and by the addition of the language that is underscored, to read as follows :

(a) After June 30, 2005, tThe county innkeeper's tax imposed by section 2 of IC 6-9-8 (as amended by H.E.A. 1120 1001 of the 2005 Regular 2009 Special Session of the Indiana General Assembly) is hereby increased from six (6) nine (9) percent to nine (9) ten (10) percent.

(b) The increase in the tax rate authorized by this section expires on: continues in effect unless the increase is rescinded.

(1) January 1, 2041;

(2) January 1, 2010, if on that date there are no obligations owed by the CIB to the Authority created by IC 5-1-17 or to any state agency under IC 5-1-17-26; or

(3) October 1, 2005, if on that date there are no obligations owed by the CIB to the authority or to any state agency under a lease or a sublease of an existing capital improvement entered into under IC 5-1-17, unless waived by the director of the state budget agency.


The Proposal is to be assigned to the Rules & Public Policy Committee which next meets on Tuesday, July 28, beginning at 5:30 pm in room 260 of the City-County Building. Council President Bob Cockrum is listed as the sole sponsor of the proposal thus far.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Tax Increase for CIB Bailout Moves To Council

Thanks to Advance Indiana for the word that Proposal 2009, 285, will be introduced at the July 20 City-Council meeting. Prop 285 will ask that the Marion County hotel tax be increased by one percentage point and that the proceeds of the increase be directed to the CIB for its operating expenses. The exact language is being embargoed by the Council office until noon tomorrow, in accordance with Council rules that do not allow the release of proposals until the agenda is posted.

The proposal will be sent to the Rules and Public Policy committee instead of the Municipal Corporations committee that oversees the CIB's budget and took testimony about the perceived need for a bailout a couple of months ago.

The Rules committee is chaired by Councillor Bob Lutz whose district is in Wayne Township. The committee is composed of 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats.

(R) Robert Lutz, Chair rlutz@indy.gov 241-4020
(R) Bob Cockrum (no published email address) 856-5549
(D) Monroe Gray mgray@indy.gov 327-4242
(R) Barbara Malone barbara_malone@sbcglobal.net 291-4359
(D) Angela Mansfield angelamansfield@aol.com 872-3306
(R) Marilyn Pfisterer cpfist1061@aol.com 244-7156
(R) Lincoln Plowman lincolnplowman@comcast.net 557-7594
(D) Joanne Sanders jmsanders@msn.com 283-6040

The next scheduled meeting for the Rules committee is 5:30 pm, Tuesday, July 28, in room 260 of the City-County Building.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

CIB Dog & Pony Show Revs Up a Notch

The CIB dog and pony show that has been on the road for a couple of months now, will apparently take a new bump up in star quality. I can only assume this is preparatory groundwork for City-County Council consideration of an increase in the hotel tax to support the CIB bailout plan adopted by the State Legislature. Here's the announcement via Washington Township community activist Penny Bigalow:

Town Hall Meeting

Hosted by Mike Speedy, CityCounty Councillor, District 24 & Jose Evans, CityCounty Councillor, District 1
Invited: All members of the public.
Topic: Future of the Convention Center, Downtown & Proposal from the Special Session of the General Assembly
Presenters: Don Welsh, President & CEO of the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association,
Barney Levengood, Executive Director of the Capital Improvement Board
Craig Huse & John Short, members of the CIB

WHEN: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Reception at 6:00 pm, Program at 6:30 pm; Opportunity to comment and Q&A to follow. Public input & feedback is vital!!!
WHERE: 4925 S. Shelby Street (PerryGovernmentCenter)
Behind Fire Station on Thompson Road near Northwest corner of Madison Ave. & Thompson Road.

Contact: Mike Speedy, 317-786-6689; m.speedy@sbcglobal.net

From the Office of Jose M. Evans Councillor, District 1
City of Indianapolis/Marion County
317.698.8890 (O), 317.917.2116 (F)
For more information, please go to www.evansforindy.com

"We need a city that cares as much about neighborhoods as it does downtown." Jose M. Evans