Gas Tax "Windfall" - Not What the Mayor Makes it Out to Be

Here's how it looked back on August 14, 2013, when IBJ reporter Kathleen McLaughlin penned an article about Mayor Greg Ballard's proposal to float a bond to add revenue to the nearly depleted RebuildIndy fund:

City officials said Thursday that they intend to spend $350 million over the next three years to improve streets, sidewalks, trails and bridges.

Most of that money will come from existing funds, but $135 million will be borrowed against increased state transportation funding.

...The city expects its share of state gas tax revenue to increase by $7 million, and will leverage that into the bond issue.

The increase in gas tax revenue sent to the City from the State was refined to $7.8 million.  That's were it stood on August 29, when the Public Works Committee of the City-County Council rejected Proposal 250.  I noted in a blog entry the next day that the Mayor's statements to the press were far from the truth.

Well, add one more lie to the list.

I received the real gas tax revenue numbers from the State Auditor's office.  The estimated 2013 distribution of the "Motor Vehicle Highway" revenue to the City of Indianapolis and the County of Marion is $20.25 million.  The estimated 2014 distribution is $23.75 million.  That is a difference of $3.5 million.  Less than half of the $7.8 million the Mayor, Bond Bank Director/Deputy Mayor Deron Kintner, and DPW Director Lori Miser have been touting as the windfall that will pay for the bond.



I added the color highlights to better direct attention to the figures applicable to the City and County

As I noted earlier, the Proposal actually called for annual payments of $9 million on the bond.  So, given that the real gas tax revenue increase is a paltry (by comparison) $3.5 million - they had plans to tap $5.5 million every year for 30 years of money that is usually needed for other things in DPW.  That's not only taking the next generation's increased gas tax, its also trading existing services that by rights should remain in place for the next 3 decades.

There still remains the $240 million of revenue that is already earmarked for road and sidewalk repair over the next 3 years - and that is no small amount of money.

But, to hear Greg Ballard tell it, if the Council does not allow the City to float this additional bond, there will be no infrastructure improvements at all.  That's the story he and his administration are repeating to the media, to the neighborhoods, and to the Council.  It is all a pack of lies.  Mayor Ballard even went so far as to accost Democrat At-Large Councillor Zach Adamson at the Hob Nob with "We're going to murder you guys on this.  You're dead."

They must think they have a lock on the press, a lock on what information gets to the neighborhoods, and a lock on the facts as they prefer to make them out to be.  They must think we are all stupid.

As more of the truth comes out, and it will, I am increasingly grateful to the members of the Public Works committee who voted against this fiscally unsound and cynically presented Proposal to float these bonds - Councillors Vernon Brown, Pam Hickman, Bill Oliver, Monroe Gray, and Zach Adamson.

Budget Season Getting Really Interesting - CIB Budget Delayed

Usually this part of budget season is dull and boring.  We're in the wrap-up phase after all the departments and agencies responsibilities and budget numbers have been discussed and after the big public hearing before the full Council.  About now, in the old days, there would be technical amendments to fix transposed numbers and whatnot - sometimes undoing the consumption of one group by another - but normally routine passage of the introduced budgets by the committees.

This year, due expressly to split government, we have real review of the budget and the Democrats are reworking the budget in significant ways.  They made it clear over the last month or so of committee hearings, that they would try to reinstate IMPD and IFD contractual raises and recruit classes. 

I have heard discomfort from Councillors on both sides of the aisle about Mayor Ballard's request that the homestead credit be eliminated - which sounds like, and is, a tax increase to many.  Plus its elimination actually causes a $3.5 million loss in revenue to Marion County schools.  So, the Ds are trying to dredge up an additional $8 million to substitute.  Heads of the municipal corporations have reported to the Council that the Mayor will be offering a deal to them to soften the blow from the homestead credit elimination, but so far no such deal has been revealed to the public.

With that back drop, I still wasn't expecting for something to be afoot with the CIB budget, but it is.  At their budget hearing in committee, they were chastised for not stepping in to aid the City in its time of need, when the City had stepped up when they needed a helping hand.

In the CIBs budget there was a golden egg for the ICVA.  DMD is in the process of selling a building next to the old Conseco Fieldhouse (someone please remind me of the new name) and the proceeds will go to the ICVA.  Something like $4.6 million is expected.  This is over and above the $9 million they get annually from the CIB.  The lion's share of the CIB revenue is from taxes of one kind or another.

The CIB is done with its $10 million a year 'loan' to the Pacers, so that's freeing up some cash.

Last night the Municipal Corporations committee of the Council met to make any final tweaks to the muni corp budgets.  But Chairman Monroe Gray announced that the CIB budget would not be discussed.  They are working on the numbers and they will call another committee meeting, hopefully by Wednesday or Thursday of next week.  The entire budget must pass out of committee in time for the October 15 meeting of the full Council.

What's brewing with the CIB budget?  Nobody is telling me anything.  But something interesting is going on.  Stay tuned.