Editorial: Mayoral candidates should state their positions on downtown tax

One of the city’s challenges over the next several years will be restoring and maintaining the vibrancy of downtown in the aftermath of the pandemic.

That’s why it’s important for Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett and Republican challenger Jefferson Shreve to lay out their plans for downtown for the next four years and make clear their positions on a potential taxing district to fund such efforts.

So far, they’ve left too much unsaid. Neither has taken a position on new state legislation that provides the framework for the city to set up an economic enhancement district board that could impose a fee on property owners in the Mile Square to fund downtown enhancements and help cover the ongoing costs of an envisioned low-barrier homeless shelter.

We’re not saying the new tax is necessarily the way to go. But we do think the candidates for mayor owe it to voters and downtown property owners to clearly lay out their positions on the fee before the Nov. 7 city election.

If they support the tax, they should provide a detailed plan for how they would spend the revenue. If they oppose it, they should propose an alternative plan for funding downtown improvements and outline what they should be.

We applaud the Legislature for giving city leaders a real opportunity to create the taxing authority, if they desire it.

We also realize that supporting a tax just before an election is a politically tricky situation for any candidate. But a clear position on the downtown enhancement tax is sorely needed; whoever is elected mayor and to the City-County Council in November likely will face intense pressure to take quick action.

That’s because the Indiana Apartment Association and other opponents could attempt to have the Legislature rescind the city’s unilateral authority to create a downtown district when state lawmakers reconvene in January. As IBJ’s Taylor Wooten and Peter Blanchard reported last week, that is the fear of the Indy Chamber, which lobbied for the legislation and wants to see the tax imposed for the betterment of downtown.

It’s also critically important that whoever is elected mayor has a comprehensive plan to move downtown forward as it continues to emerge from a pandemic spike in homelessness and reduced occupancy in downtown office buildings.

The taxing district legislation would allow some of the money to be spent on cleanliness initiatives and homeless outreach, and safety ambassadors would be tasked with deterring aggressive panhandling and other nuisance behavior.

Another portion would go toward covering the ongoing costs of operating the low-barrier shelter, which would have fewer restrictions for entry and is seen as a way to reduce downtown homelessness.

All are worthy efforts that need to be funded. Hogsett and Shreve need to tell us where they would find the money to make it happen and what else they would do to guarantee downtown’s vitality and safety.

The future of the city and state depends on it.•

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