City-County Council Should Vote Down Prop 132

Monday night the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council will decide the fate of Proposal 132, which authorizes an increase in the sewer utility PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes), authorizes issuance of a $170 million bond to be repaid with these PILOT payments over 30 years, and appropriates the bond proceeds to be spent on projects approved by the Public Works Board.

Whether one is in favor of generating money for infrastructure needs through increase utility rates - whether one is in favor of selling the City's water and sewer utility - extreme caution should accompany any consideration of passage of this Proposal as it does a disservice to the long term interests of the City's taxpayers, ratepayers, and myriad property taxing units.

Let's start with the PILOT itself. I learned just two days ago, at a meeting set up by Councillor Christine Scales between local bloggers and representatives of Citizens Energy, that Citizens Energy pays property taxes. It does so for the property assets of its current utilities, and would do so for the water utility, should they take ownership of that utility. But, the PILOT envisioned in Prop 132 will be substituted for any property tax liability Citizens Energy would have regarding the sewer utility, should they take ownership of it.

A number of questions immediately come to mind. I have scanned through the 'library' of information the Ballard Administration posted online on Friday, but didn't see the answers to these particular questions. (the library can be accessed at ftp://ftp.indygov.org/utilities/ -- the user name and password are both "public")

The questions are: by what statute does the City have the authority to replace the property tax liability of any organization and substitute a PILOT? How much would Citizens Energy have paid in property taxes over the next 30 years, should they take ownership of the sewer utility? How much revenue do the other property taxing units in Marion County stand to lose if the PILOT goes through and they do not get property tax revenue for the sewer utility?

The PILOTs I have heard of before now were assessed to organizations that normally do not pay property taxes; the airport and the CIB come to mind. The important difference between a PILOT and property taxes is that the City gets the entire PILOT amount, but property taxes are shared among all taxing units relevant to the property location. Usually, schools get about half, the City/County government nabs about one fifth to one fourth, the municipal corporations (Health & Hospitals, Library, and IndyGo) get about one tenth, and the Township Government gets the rest. So, should the City swap out property tax liability for a PILOT, which it is still unclear to me they have the authority to do, it takes money from Marion County schools, Townships, the library, IndyGo, and Health & Hospitals.

Chris Cotterill, Mayor Ballard's Chief of Staff, tells me that IC 36-3-2 and 8-1-11.1 exclude the sewer utility even if Citizens owns it. Hopefully the lawyers will hash this out more fully. But, what I see is that IC 36-3-2 begins with the premise that "That the tax base of the consolidated city and the county have been significantly eroded through the ownership of tangible property by separate municipal corporations and other public entities that operate as private enterprises yet are exempt or whose property is exempt from property taxation." Since Citizens Energy pays property taxes on its currently owned utilities and would do so if it were to own the water utility, it certainly seems like, at best, a huge loophole to forgive them property taxes on the sewer utility -- thereby getting ALL the tax money for the City and denying other taxing units their due.

Another problem with Prop 132 is that it envisions floating a bond that will take 30 years and cost $292.5 million to repay (see this report in the 'library'). From that money, only $135 million will be generated to spend on infrastructure projects (if indeed the money actually gets spent on such things and only such things). These projects do not have a useful life of 30 years - much less in fact. It is a pretty simply tenet, you don't get a loan for a longer term than the life of the article which you would purchase with the loan. So, the bottom line is that the sewer utility ratepayers would pay $135 million in principle and $157.5 million in interest and fees over 30 years for repairs and construction which will not last for 30 years.

If we went by the more prudent, pay as you go system, the PILOT would generate the $135 million by year 14 (2023) and the remaining years through 2039 would see it generate over $280 million.

The final critical problem with Prop 132 is that the funds generated are not dedicated to the projects which have been promised. Section 29 of the Proposal states clearly: "All PILOT received by the City shall be deposited in the consolidated county fund and used for any purpose that the consolidated county fund may be used." So, the money can be re-appropriated and used for pretty much anything. In addition the PILOT is anticipated to generate about $123 million MORE over 30 years than is needed to repay the bonds. Yes, I'm sure the City could find many things to spend this money on. But Mayor Ballard continues to promise infrastructure improvements and the administration and the Council should be making sure that all of the proceeds of this deal are dedicated to fulfill their promises. And if they do not dedidate the funds, then there is no taxpayer or ratepayer in Marion County who should believe the promises. As the saying goes, they won't be worth the paper they aren't written on.

There are several BIG problems with Prop 132 - swapping a PILOT for property taxes denies other taxing units their due revenue, paying on what is basically a loan over 30 years for things whose tangible life is far less than 30 years, having ratepayers pay more for interest and fees than for promised projects, and not backing up the promises by dedicating the money for the promised projects in writing. All of these should lead to a Council vote against Prop 132.

Decatur Recalled 26 - 21 Still on RIF List

In response to an open records request, Gary Pellico provided me with the list of previously RIFed teachers who were recalled at Tuesday night's MSD Decatur School Board meeting.

Those newly recalled, plus the 13 previously recalled (see "13 Teachers Recalled at MSD Decatur Township"), leave 21 teachers who remain on the RIF list.

Those newly recalled are:

Dean Adler------------ HS -------------Industrial Technology Teacher
Kristina Criswell -------HS ---------------------Spanish Teacher
Justin Dixson ----------HS/New Tech ------------Social Studies Teacher
Kyle Enright -----------HS/New Tech -----------English Teacher
Jeremy Griffith --------HS/Choice ---------------Social Studies Teacher
Chris Hutchison --------HS/Q&I ------------------Mathematics Teacher
Lisa Carroll ------------DDA ---------------------Spanish Teacher
Mary Ann O’Neal ------DDA --------------------Special Education Teacher
Jane True -------------DDA ----------------------Science/Music Facilitator
Cari Hair ---------------DEC ----------------------Social Studies Teacher
Laurie Sheldrake -------DEC ---------------------Mathematics Teacher
Kristi Hodges ----------DILC/Blue --------------Special Education Teacher
Kristina Langley -------DILC/Blue --------------6th Grade Teacher
Cheryl Smyth ----------DILC/Blue --------------Art Teacher
Mary Davey -----------DILC/Gold --------------6th Grade Teacher
Megan Murrell ---------DILC/Gold -------------5th Grade Teacher
Kelsey Bales -----------ECC ----------------------Kindergarten Teacher
Ashley Dyck -----------ECC ----------------------Kindergarten Teacher
Anne Foster -----------ECC ----------------------Kindergarten Teacher
Ashley Klassen ---------ECC ---------------------Kindergarten Teacher
Rachael Many ---------ECC ----------------------Kindergarten Teacher
Elaina Gibbs -----------LW ---------------------2nd Grade Teacher
Kate Ferguson ---------SD ------------------------Special Ed Teacher
Janette Mikulsky ------SD ------------------------Special Ed Teacher
Allison Hite ------------VM ---------------------3rd Grade Teacher
Ashley Lipps -----------VM ---------------------1st Grade Teacher


Those who continue on the RIF list (the number in parentheses is the number of teachers who were lower on the seniority list, but who were recalled):

Erin Gettinger (2) ---------HS/Choice ---------------Special Ed Teacher
Jo Ann Moore (38) ----------HS -------------Family & Consumer Science Teacher
Kristen Pineda (16) ---------HS ---------------------Art Teacher
Quincy Wallace (37) ---------HS ---------------------Physical Education Teacher
Elizabeth Carpenter-Wilson (32) ---DDA --------------Art Facilitator
Howard Esterline (2) --------DILC/Blue ---------------Special Ed Teacher
Catherine Jones (0) --------DILC/Blue --------------6th Grade Teacher
Rebecca Starnes (7) -------DILC/Blue ---------------6th Grade Teacher
Jennifer Geiger (2) ---------DILC/Gold --------------Special Ed Teacher
Megan Johnson (7) --------DILC/Gold --------------5th Grade Teacher
Megan Mathew (38) --------DILC/Gold --------------Physical Education Teacher
Erin Whitfield (7) ---------ECC -----------------------Kindergarten Teacher
Lauren Brake (5) ----------SD -----------------------2nd Grade Teacher
Michelle Kite (14) -----------SD --------------------- 3rd Grade Teacher
Katherine McFadden (1)---SD -----------------------2nd Grade Teacher
Stephanie Werner (7)-------SD ------------------------4th Grade Teacher
Stevie Bruzas (5) ----------VM -----------------------4th Grade Teacher
Rachel Slagle (38) -----------VM ---------------------Physical Education Teacher
Brittany Caldwell (5) ------WN -----------------------2nd Grade Teacher
Rebecca Jones (1) ---------WN -----------------------1st Grade Teacher
Molly Newland (17) ---------WN ----------------------2nd Grade Teacher

New Decatur School Districts

A truly mind boggling color map depicting the crazy assignment of students to elementary schools in Decatur Township for the 2010-2011 school year is now posted on the district website. [edited : the link is making my browser go crazy. I'll see when they get the map fixed on the district website and post the link again then]

Given the back flips families will be doing to get their children to school, many of whom will not be able to attend the closest school, the issue of finding new babysitters has been brought to my attention. I have been asked to allow babysitters to post their names and what school district they serve.

Given that any entry in a blog rolls down and finally off the main page, I think what might be best is for babysitters to contact me at hadenoughindy@gmail.com with their name, phone number, and what district they serve. I will then post it in a box on the right hand side of the blog. This will not be any kind of endorsement of the particular babysitters -- so do your homework and get your references.

Rules Committee to Vote Tonight on Utilities Deal

The City-County Council Rules and Public Policy committee will be meeting tonight to vote on Prop 131 and Prop 132, which involve the proposes sale of the water and sewer utilities and floating an $189 million bond, respectively. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 pm in room 260 of the City-County Building.

The Rules committee has amended Prop 131 to require that the final version of the actual sales deal come back before the Council for final approval. This is an excellent move and rightly values the Council as an independent arm of City government.

There are 4 fundamental issues regarding the sale of the water and sewer utilities to Citizen Energy, that I think are most important.

1) DEDICATION OF FUNDS: The proceeds from the sale (Prop 131) and the increased sewer utility PILOT (Prop 132) are not dedicated to street and sidewalk repair and installation. From what I hear, the Mayor's office is willing to look at inking down exactly how the money can be spent, but some on the Council want to leave it loose in case a future Council wants to spend it otherwise.

We heard verbal promises by the Republican Council and Democrat Mayor, Bart Peterson, on the first stormwater drainage fee that appears on property tax bills. The promise was that the funds would be used to finance new drainage projects, something the City had been unable to find the funds to do previously. Instead, the money went to pay off old debt for old projects and the money that had been budgeted for those debt payments went elsewhere in the City's budget. So, lots of verbal promises, but no written commitment on how the money could be spent.

We heard verbal promises by the Democrat Council and the Democrat Mayor, Bart Peterson, on the increase in County Option Income Tax, $5 million of which was promised to go to crime prevention grants. While some money has been so spent, the verbal promise was put to the side by the Republican Council that was voted into office in 2007. Now-President of the Council, Ryan Vaughn, and Councillor Ben Hunter, have been the most vocal about the fact that the old Council did not ink down the promise properly and that is why a) they voted against it originally, and b) why they did not feel bound by the promise.

Vaughn, Hunter, and others, are now in the position of voting for or against a proposal of a Republican Mayor, Greg Ballard, who has made verbal promises all over the County regarding how the proceeds from any sale would be (and would not be) spent. They have it within their power to commit to the promises being made. It is now their watch. The Council is up for election next year. The Council could again pass to Democrat control and out of the control of Vaughn, Hunter, and Ballard. If they mean what they say, they will commit to it in writing. This is as true of the spending of the proceeds of the bonds that would be backed by the increased sewer utility PILOT payments, as it is of the proceeds of any sale of the water and sewer utilities.

2) LOCAL PUBLIC INPUT: To move all oversight and public input to the state level for a local service is not wise. That is what they did with the oversight of the cable companies - and that has not worked out well at all for the customers. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has shown itself to be best buds with the utilities they regulate. Marion County residents deserve a local say in a local public process, about local rate hikes and local expenditures. It is, after all, the public's water and sewer utility right now, and it is in their interest that they not be cut out of further issues that will arise. Mayor Ballard has said the one of the express reasons to sell the water and sewer utilities is because politicians don't have the stomach for raising rates. Well, that's not all bad. And, if you go in that direction, at least leave the regular citizens with a process where they can HOPE to influence the outcome of rate appeals that will pull more money from their pockets.

3) RAISING WATER/SEWER RATES INSTEAD OF TAXES: There is a fundamental question involved in all of this - should water/sewer customers pay for their water and sewer usage AND fund street and sidewalk improvements? There is no doubt that there is much need for infrastructure improvements in Indy. But, how to get the money to do it all quickly, is another matter. If the proceeds from the sale are not dedicated specifically to a very short list of possible types of expenditures - then why would anyone agree to increased water and sewer rates? If the funds were to be dedicated, in writing before any deal is finalized, then this question still remains on the table, in my view. I have to admit, I end up on both sides of this one, depending upon how I approach the question in my mind.

If I look first at the huge need for street, sidewalk, and bridge repair and then at the issue of passing the cost onto water and sewer utility customers, I can see a scenario where I could support it. First, the money would have to be dedicated or its off the table for me. Second, there needs to be local oversight of water/sewer utility in the area of protecting our water supply - both in quality and quantity. Not widely know, I think, is that the water company has been pumping water so rapidly from the Perry aquifer, that the underground flow of water into the aquifer has not been able to keep up. The water table has dropped 10 feet as a consequence. This is not trivial. Likewise, overpumping from reservoirs and inadequate water release into our rivers and streams can lead to damage to those biomes. Luckily, the City will retain the Eagle Creek reservoir, considering it a drainage control feature, and not primarily a drinking water supply. But, not all of the rivers and streams in the County can have their water levels increased or decreased by opening and closing the Eagle Creek dam. When I come at this question from this angle, I conclude 'maybe - if there are some other ingredients secured'.

If I look at the water/sewer rate payers first, then the need for infrastructure improvements, I land on the other side of the equation. These rates are going to go up -- way up. Just because the City projects the rate to go up less rapidly if Citizens runs these utilities, the rates are still going way up. There is something positive to be said about keeping the cost of living as low as possible. There are economic and social reasons to do so. This is not a trivial matter. The proponents of the sale are saying it is important to keep rates as low as possible - so sell the utilities. But, then they say - since there are savings, lets split the difference. When I come at this question from this angle, I conclude 'no' to utility rate payers paying for ANYTHING more than the water and sewer they use.

4) CLEAN, SAFE, DRINKING WATER IS OUR NUMBER ONE RESOURCE: This is the most fundamental point of all. Our area spends much of its resources trying to get rid of excess water - especially this time of year. But, that should not lessen the value of clean drinking water to us. I would recommend folks look over the April issue of National Geographic before coming to a conclusion on this point. "Water - Our Thirsty World" is the title. They go into the perspective in other parts of our Country and the world. Some of the titles of articles in this volume: "Water is Life", "The Burden of Thirst", "California's Pipe Dream", and "The Last Drop". I can't conclude that the City should give up its ownership of this resource. Run the utilities better, sure. Give up ownership of the water? No - I cannot go there.

Tonight the Rules committee will decide on whether to recommend the full Council pass the increased PILOT from the sewer utility and approve floating the bonds that would be repaid with that money, as well as approve the Mayor and Citizens continued resolution of the details of the sale with the proviso that the Council gets a say after seeing said deal. This very well may be the most important decision that this Council makes its entire term. Again, the meeting starts at 5:30 in room 260. Since public testimony was taken last week, there may not be any additional time for comments made available. Channel 16, as always, will carry it.

Decatur School Board to Meet Tomorrow (Tuesday) Night

The MSD Decatur Township School Board will meet tomorrow, May 12, in Executive Session at 5:00 pm and at its Regular Meeting beginning at 7:00 pm in the Board Room of the Central Office.

The meeting page of the district website has been revamped. To get to an agenda you click on the date in the right hand panel. Or just click here for tomorrow's agenda.

Included on the agenda are:

Fiscal Restructuring/Enrollment Management – Mr. Stinson
A. Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreement with Decatur Education Association
B. Recall of Teachers
C. Elementary Attendance Areas
D. Armstrong Pavilion Recommendation
E. Location of DDA and DEC
F. Reduction of Other Staff
G. Mitchell Building Update
H. Savings to Date

It is not clear how many are action items, except A. The DEA, the Teachers Union, is presenting the new contract to its members this afternoon. I'll post the changes from the old contract here as soon as I can. As for the recall of teachers, it isn't clear if this is the official notice of the previous recall of the 13 teachers, which has not yet been voted on by the Board, or word of additional recalls afforded by any agreement with the DEA and the potential savings from subletting space in the Mitchell Building to the new Charter school revolving around aviation.

The Trolls Have Arrived

To all those who actually read this blog - whether you agree with my conclusions or not - first, thank you. Second, it is clear that the trolls have descended. Urban Dictionary defines a troll as:

"One who purposely and deliberately (that purpose usually being self-amusement) starts an argument in a manner which attacks others on a forum without in any way listening to the arguments proposed by his or her peers. He will spark of such an argument via the use of ad hominem attacks (i.e. 'you're nothing but a fanboy' is a popular phrase) with no substance or relevence to back them up as well as straw man arguments, which he uses to simply avoid addressing the essence of the issue."

With the Sitemeter function linked to this blog, I can get limited information about the visitors. anon 7:04 who commented on "Moving On", logged on from Indianapolis and was on for all of 49 seconds. They visited the main blog page and this entry's comment page only. Obviously, not enough time to even read that blog entry itself. Only enough time to type up his or her personal attack and leave. anon 7:04 is typical of the trolls that have begun in ernest here.

Since you actually read at least some of the information here, let me say this - education is the most important thing to our community, as it is to every other community in Indiana. Roughly half of our tax money goes to K-12 education in this state - local tax dollars as well as state tax dollars. Those tax dollars should be used for the purpose of education. Not to build palaces. Not to make Administrators millionaires.

The Indiana State budget for 2009 spent $6,169,000,000 (over $6 billion with a 'B') on K-12 education out of a total budget of $14,436,000,000 (over $14 billion with a 'B'). For 2010, the budget appropriates $7,579,000,000 for K-12 education out of a total budget of $14,331,000,000; actually increased spending on K-12 education with a decreasing overall budget.

It is also important to remember that school districts are governmental units overseen (or supposed to be overseen) by elected representatives of the people. The public deserves open meetings where they can 1) tell what is being discussed and 2) participate by offering their opinion on matters before the Board. The public elects these Board members to review, think, give input, think again, and then vote up or down on fiscal as well as personnel matters - policy matters - and a whole host of things. But, not to be a rubber stamp. A rubber stamp is as good as not having a Board Member at all. Maybe worse.

Education in Indiana is serious business. Each and every community should be taking a close look to see that the money is not being squandered in ways that enrich adults but do nothing to improve or deliver education to the children in the MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS FOR THE CHILDREN. I used all caps there, because it certainly is my opinion, having seen a district operate up close, that many of the expenditures are most effective for the adults and not for the education of the children.

Anyway - if the public does not become more engaged in education during this time of fiscal constraint in all districts and fiscal fiasco in Decatur's, then there may be no hope for really improving the quality of education and thereby providing today's children with more secure futures.

Trolls represent a segment of our population - those who want everything to run smoothly so they don't have to be pulled away from their everyday routine, and lacking that, they want everything to SEEM to run smoothly so they don't have to be pulled away from their everyday routine. In addition, all people want to be able to trust those who make decisions every day that will affect their children, their children's education, and thereby their children's future. To shake that confidence has its consequences.

But, if all the money we pour into education is allowed to be frittered away not to the benefit of education itself, and if we are not willing to call it out when we see such frittering, then we waste our money and the children's future.

Mother's Day Free For All

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there. Hope you are having a great day with your family.

Time for another free-for-all. Anything on your mind that you want to address?

Otherwise, its a beautiful day to be outside.