Article appeared on page 4, of the April 25, 2008 issue of the Farmer's Exchange. Article is entitled "Consolidation Is No Way to Streamline State Government."
Click link to view article
Monday, May 12, 2008
Public Forum on Property Tax "reform"
Direct Link to Article
Article published May 12, 2008
If you go
The Common Council's public meeting on House Bill 1001 will be at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Recital Hall of Century Center, 120 S. St. Joseph St., South Bend.
For more information, contact the city clerk's office at (574) 235-9221.
Public forum on Indiana property tax reform scheduled
Ripple effects of House Bill 1001 starting to show.
JAMIE LOO
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND -- Property tax bills may be lower and sales tax is up, but those aren't the only things that will change in the future because of the Indiana General Assembly.
On Thursday, the public will have a chance to find out the full effects of House Bill 1001 and talk to government officials about the impact. House Bill 1001 is the property tax relief legislation passed by the General Assembly during the last session.
South Bend Common Council will host the meeting at Century Center, and the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns will give the presentation. A question-and-answer period will follow. Officials from South Bend, St. Joseph County, Mishawaka and the county townships have been invited.
The ripple effects of House Bill 1001 are starting to show, as local officials look for ways to trim budgets and comply with the roughly 550-page law. Here are a few ways the law has affected the community so far:
# The state sales tax increased 1 percent at the beginning of April. The money from the increase is meant to be used for property tax relief.
# The St. Joseph County Public Library is closing all of its branches on Saturdays this summer. The library board also has approved a $300,000 reduction in purchases of new books and other materials in its 2008-2009 budget.
# The St. Joseph County assessor's office has been busy preparing to take on township assessing duties. Most of the township assessors in St. Joseph County will be eliminated by July 1. Voters will get to decide whether to keep the Portage and Penn assessors in a referendum in November, because both townships have at least 15,000 parcels.
Local officials say that House Bill 1001 will severely affect services such as public safety, schools and libraries. All of the taxing units combined in St. Joseph County could lose an estimated $34.6 million over the next two years.
Staff writer Jamie Loo:
jloo@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6337
Article published May 12, 2008
If you go
The Common Council's public meeting on House Bill 1001 will be at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Recital Hall of Century Center, 120 S. St. Joseph St., South Bend.
For more information, contact the city clerk's office at (574) 235-9221.
Public forum on Indiana property tax reform scheduled
Ripple effects of House Bill 1001 starting to show.
JAMIE LOO
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND -- Property tax bills may be lower and sales tax is up, but those aren't the only things that will change in the future because of the Indiana General Assembly.
On Thursday, the public will have a chance to find out the full effects of House Bill 1001 and talk to government officials about the impact. House Bill 1001 is the property tax relief legislation passed by the General Assembly during the last session.
South Bend Common Council will host the meeting at Century Center, and the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns will give the presentation. A question-and-answer period will follow. Officials from South Bend, St. Joseph County, Mishawaka and the county townships have been invited.
The ripple effects of House Bill 1001 are starting to show, as local officials look for ways to trim budgets and comply with the roughly 550-page law. Here are a few ways the law has affected the community so far:
# The state sales tax increased 1 percent at the beginning of April. The money from the increase is meant to be used for property tax relief.
# The St. Joseph County Public Library is closing all of its branches on Saturdays this summer. The library board also has approved a $300,000 reduction in purchases of new books and other materials in its 2008-2009 budget.
# The St. Joseph County assessor's office has been busy preparing to take on township assessing duties. Most of the township assessors in St. Joseph County will be eliminated by July 1. Voters will get to decide whether to keep the Portage and Penn assessors in a referendum in November, because both townships have at least 15,000 parcels.
Local officials say that House Bill 1001 will severely affect services such as public safety, schools and libraries. All of the taxing units combined in St. Joseph County could lose an estimated $34.6 million over the next two years.
Staff writer Jamie Loo:
jloo@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6337
Friday, May 2, 2008
Indiana Libraries not alone regarding Public Library Consolidation
I am preparing to meet with State Senators and Representatives regarding my opinion about library consolidation.
It seems that a few of our friends in New York are also gearing up to retain local control of their public libraries. In my research I have found that they have some excellent ideas about inter-library cooperation that deserve serious investigation.
http://www.nassaulibrary.org/baldwin/consolidation.htm
http://www.nassaulibrary.org/pobblog/2007/11/library_consolidation.html
It seems that a few of our friends in New York are also gearing up to retain local control of their public libraries. In my research I have found that they have some excellent ideas about inter-library cooperation that deserve serious investigation.
http://www.nassaulibrary.org/baldwin/consolidation.htm
http://www.nassaulibrary.org/pobblog/2007/11/library_consolidation.html
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Good article on property taxes from Indiana Business Review
I read the article, though I must admit I'll have to re-read it a few times to understand it. So far, in my opinion, all of the work done on property taxes might just be a wash once the "dust has settled."
Read the article here: http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2008/spring/property-tax-policy-questions-answered.pdf
Read the article here: http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2008/spring/property-tax-policy-questions-answered.pdf
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