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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Commission’s reforms are just what Indiana needs

The recommendations of the Shepard-Kernan report are a tonic to anyone who cares about local government efficiency and improved local services. The commission r e c o m m e n d e d changes to the way Indiana’s government provides local services. Our current system looks much like a pre-statehood government, where services are provided in a disconnected fashion with budgetary decisions answerable to state bureaucracies, not local voters. It is this organization of government that has caused much…

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Amendment for houses of worship

State Sen. Pat Miller says sheâ??s looking to the future by proposing a constitutional amendment that would
protect churches and other houses of worship from someday being taxed.

Itâ??s not a â??crisis today,â?? but could become a problem in the future…

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Would a county CEO be a king?

A centerpiece of the sweeping proposal rolled out yesterday by the Commission on Local Government Reform involves
consolidating many county offices under one elected official.

A county chief executive would appoint the assessor, auditor, coroner, recorder, surveyor, treasurer and even
the…

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Kernan, Shepard break china

Folks who think itâ??s time to bring local government from horse-and-buggy days into the modern era have to
be smiling about the report that the Commission on Local Government Reform released this morning.

The report, written by former Gov. Joe Kernan…

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NOTIONS: Read my lips: No taxes whatsoever. Nada. Zip.

I was driving through the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood when I spotted the sign. It was posted in the manicured front lawn of a brick bungalow on a wooded corner lot. It said: “Stop taxing our property.” At other nice houses up and down the same tree-lined street, other signs dotted other manicured lawns. Many of them bore the same message: “For Sale By Owner.” Below that, the signs cited the purported cause of the alleged listings: “excess taxation.” I had the…

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Biz issues move to back seat: Property-tax reform leaves little time for other work

Reforming the state’s property tax system will consume so much of the legislative session that the Indiana General Assembly isn’t expected to give much attention to other issues pertinent to the business community. Compounding matters is the fact that the session, which runs from mid-January to mid-March, is of the short variety, meaning legislators have less time to debate issues than they would during the long, odd-year meetings. “I think [property tax reform] is the most intense and voluminous issue…

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INVESTING: Market still dangerous; stay in defensive mode

After suffering through one of the worst Novembers in the modern era, stock investors should probably take a minute and ask themselves what they should do next. For now, one action to avoid at all costs is listening to anything a government official has to say. For that matter, throw in CEOs or any other corporate leader from a publicly traded company. The things they say can get you in a lot of trouble. Three weeks ago, right in the…

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Kenley a go-to guy in taxing situations: Influential senator sees public service as his duty

Take a look at some of the most complicated, heated and thankless Statehouse negotiations and chances are you’ll find Republican Sen. Luke Kenley smack in the middle of the fray. While some Hoosiers are hard-pressed to attend a school board meeting or even try to understand their property-tax bills, the 62-year-old chairman of the Senate Tax & Fiscal Policy Committee sits through hours of public hearings and even more hours of closed-door negotiations. This General Assembly promises to be one…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Are unions really that important?

Uncle Uriah Marcus visited us on Thanksgiving. It took over a week to recover. He blames “the @#%$# unions” for most of our state’s woes. Uncle Uriah asserts “them big unions scares businesses away from Indiannie.” A sample of his views: High property taxes: It’s the teachers’ union’s fault because teachers keep pushing up their earnings and reducing their responsibility. Congestion in cities: Bus workers’ unions keep fares too high for anyone to ride the bus. The battle between the…

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Revving for another Super Bowl bid

After weeks of talking, Mayor-elect Greg Ballard and the Indiana Convention & Visitors Association have
decided to shoot to host the 2012 Super Bowl.

It wasnâ??t so long ago â?? in May â?? that the NFL owners voted 17-15 to give…

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Stopping the tax buck

We Hoosiers are getting value from the libraries, schools and other public services we fund with our taxes,
but not enough valueâ??at least according to Mike Hicks, who moved from Ohio this year to take over the Bureau
of Business…

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INVESTING: Investors shrugging off home-mortgage turmoil

Nov. 20 was one of the stranger days in the stock market that I have seen for some time. On the surface, it came and went like any other business day, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending up a decent 50 points. However, if you had told me the stock prices of both the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Federal National Mortgage Association would collapse 25 percent that day even as the Dow rose, I would have…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why eliminating property taxes is a bad idea

Judging from the many yard signs I’ve seen, a repeal of property taxes is a popular sentiment in the state. Too bad, because that would be an uncommon departure from Hoosier practicality and wisdom. Like most states, Indiana taxes income, consumption and wealth. We use these taxes to fund different levels of government. Critics of Indiana’s property taxes are right to be flummoxed. I’ve even argued that many of the consequences of Indiana’s property taxes are worse than most critics…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Privatization of lottery is a winning ticket

It happened on the day that does not exist. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is not a good news day. This year, we got an extra serving of admonitions about obesity from the Centers for Disease Control. Beyond that, we heard the usual stories of indignation and indigestion, miracle recoveries from swallowed wishbones, and promising/disappointing retail sales. Also on that day, Gov. Mitch Daniels deferred for another year his proposal to “privatize” the Hoosier Lottery. Last year, the state…

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PROFILE: Silverback Consulting Group: Consultant helps clients navigate tech jungle Silverback looks to diversify health care, bank business

Silverback Consulting Group Consultant helps clients navigate tech jungle Silverback looks to diversify health care, bank business In the jungle that is today’s business world, businesses can’t survive without information systems. And if they need help finding their way through all the technological underbrush, a local consulting firm wants to be the 500-pound gorilla that clears a path for them. Silverback Consulting Group was founded in 1997 to help businesses upgrade their internal computer and phone systems. Its consultants plan…

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Lottery vs. local ad firms

The Hoosier Lottery has rejected all bids for the creative part of its advertising account. Most of the
bidders were local, and the agencies involved are miffed that they were passed over.

In this weekendâ??s IBJ, reporter Anthony Schoettle…

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Is Jones a political football?

Carmel tech entrepreneur Scott Jones is finding himself in the middle of a political debate he didnâ??t ask
for and doesnâ??t want.

The spokeswoman for the Indiana Democratic Party is questioning whether Jones needed the $4 million in grants
that two…

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High-speed rail still on slow track in state: Economic study, innovative financing explored

The effort to put high-speed trains into service in Indiana and eight other Midwestern states sometimes seems as fanciful as the first manned flight to Mars. There have been years of talk and countless meetings. And it will be many more years before a vehicle is fueled-and-ready, if ever. In the 13 years since the Indiana High Speed Rail Association was formed in Highland, the closest thing to high-speed rail Hoosiers have seen is an occasional speedy European locomotive brought…

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Vets serve country, customers: Franchises offer breaks to would-be entrepreneurs leaving the military

On Veterans Day this year, retired U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Robert Flores didn’t attend parades or reminisce with friends. Instead, he worked from open to close at his Little Caesars Pizza store at 11530 Westfield Blvd. “I’ve been here every day since we opened,” Flores said, who debuted the Carmel shop Oct. 31 after receiving assistance from a Little Caesars program created to help veterans become franchise owners. As part of the program, Flores, 45, received a discount of…

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