Local governments plan to throw Steak n Shake Co. a life raft of incentives worth about $275,000 to help the struggling chain
keep its headquarters in Indianapolis. The company has quietly agreed to retain about 180 employees here in exchange for a
$200,000 state training grant and a five-year personal property tax abatement worth about $75,000.
Sales of specialty license plates benefiting colleges, not-for-profits and other Indiana organizations fell by nearly a third
last year after the state unveiled “In God We Trust” tags as a free alternative to the lime-green pastoral fields plates reviled
by many motorists.
Many Indiana school districts say they have no choice but to brace for cutbacks in areas like school repairs, computers and
transportation thanks to the property tax reform measure approved by the General Assembly and signed by Gov.Mitch Daniels.
Property tax reform is now Indiana law. Hoosier homeowners are thrilled. But many corporate leaders grumble the historic deal was brokered on the backs of business. Topping their concerns is the new 3-percent property tax cap for commercial and industrial properties, which they fear will slow business expansions and discourage companies from moving headquarters to the state.
In 2005, assessors valued the 559-acre Indianapolis Motor Speedway at $34.4 million for property tax purposes. According to
the latest Marion County reassessment, it now has a market value of $170 million. Thousands of other businesses also would
see extraordinary spikes in property values, according to an IBJ analysis of the latest assessment data.
The state’s economic development leaders have been touting 2007 as a banner year that brought commitments for more than 22,000
new jobs, including positions in manufacturing, logistics and life sciences. But almost 20 percent of the announced jobs would
be in call centers–jobs that typically pay near or below the state’s $35,000 average annual wage.
The debt strategy Gov. Mitch Daniels’ top financial officials developed to save the state money on major projects like
Lucas Oil Stadium has turned sour.
Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer and his predecessors have stockpiled more than money over the years. The trustee’s office
also holds a portfolio of mostly undeveloped properties worth at least $10 million. Several key parcels have been on the trustee’s
books-and off the tax rolls-for decades. Drummer has made some progress in finding uses for the properties since an IBJ special
report first questioned his holdings in November 2006. But it would have to be measured in inches. The most…
At an aging building at 863 Massachusetts Ave., they pass through a metal detector and wait in line to show a clerk their
identification and copies of overdue bills. Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer sometimes helps. The Trustee’s Office received
an average of $6.9 million each of the last seven years, mostly from taxes, to provide poor relief-now known as township assistance.
But only about $2 million reached the penniless each year, with much of the difference covering administrative overhead….
Although he collects an average $6.9 million each year for poor relief, mostly from taxes, Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer
is rarely asked to explain his finances. Drummer’s budget is filed-unread-each year in the Indianapolis City Controller’s
office. The 66-employee Indiana Department of Local Government Finance reviews it, along with budgets from every other taxing
entity in the state. Year-end reports go to the State Board of Accounts, a 282-worker agency that conducts 2,700 to 3,000
audits of Indiana counties,…
Mayor Greg Ballard says the status quo isn’t good enough anymore when it comes to educating Indianapolis children. So heis
proposing what he’s calling a big, bold idea in education: Provide help to every student who needs it, not just the ones who
ask for it.
The “event data recorder,” a so-called black box car makers have installed in their cars over the last decade and a half as
part of air-bag systems, can be a double-edged sword for motorists. Yet they likely don’t even know it’s spying from under
their seat or dashboard.
Two bills in the Indiana Legislature would require utilities that operate here to supply up to 25 percent of their electricity from renewable resources such as wind, landfill gas, and plant and animal waste. Backers say utilities need more incentive to diversify from coal-based power generation.
Northwest Airlines flight 1829–stranded on a Detroit taxiway for seven hours with lavatories overflowing and the 198 souls
aboard without food or water–has now landed at the Indiana General Assembly. Two Republican lawmakers have proposed creating
an “airline consumer advocate” to resolve disputes on behalf of passengers who’ve endured poor service.
Here’s a political hot potato that so far has received little discussion in the rancorous debate over property-tax reform:
Should the enormous costs of helping impoverished Hoosiers continue to be funded county by county, or spread to taxpayers
statewide?
Indiana’s friendly economic development rivalry against Michigan and Illinois is heating up. Confident that its business costs
are lower, Indiana has begun a six-month advertising campaign designed to attract companies across the state line.
Many called it “the perfect storm.” But in retrospect, the dark clouds of Indiana’s 2007 property tax crisis had been forming
for years. Legislators caught wind early that something was amiss and spent all spring preparing to weather the impact.
In early 2007, many expected Marion County Republicans to punt on the chance to unseat Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson. After
all, the two-term incumbent had high approval ratings and a campaign war chest of $2.5 million. Attractive GOP candidates
willing to embrace the challenge were in short supply.
As legislators prepare to overhaul the state’s property-tax system, Marion County’s future hangs in the balance. Indianapolis
residents–particularly in the city’s older, urban core–already pay far higher taxes than their suburban counterparts. And
arguably get less bang for their buck. Changes on the table could make Marion County an even tougher sell.
For a preview of how Indiana’s 2008 gubernatorial election will play out, look no further than the emerging tussle over entrepreneur
Scott Jones’ $4 million in awards from the state’s 21st Century Research & Technology Fund.
