Indy Tax Dollars

We agree

A column in yesterday’s morning paper (6/28/11), carried this headline.  "We have to make safety on the Monon a priority."   At our age, we thought for a moment the subject was a train rather than a trail!  But, no question about it.  Users of this recreational facility should be free from being mugged while going about their business - or pleasure.

BUT...when is media going to start raising some question about how the taxpayers are getting mugged by government?  Over and over we see stories in the papers which are questionable, but nobody is asking.  Are the keyboards missing the question marks?

We understand the difference between an editorial position and straight news reporting.  We frequently differ with editorial positions, but everyone has an opinion, even though the editorial page sometimes seems to have ignored the front page.

In looking back over a few days of print, we found this situation.  Both articles cited were published under the date of June 20, 2011.

The daily paper carried an editorial by the governor with the headline, "We’re reaping benefits of sports investments."  (When are they going to start saying "expenditure" rather than "investment?")  The Guv cites state tax revenues of millions of tax dollars.  He doesn't say whether that allows for all the special dispensations and allowances.  Nor does he mention the billion dollar plus debt he helped load on the city to build a football field.

And we wonder if there is communication between the Statehouse and the City-County Building.  The same issue of the weekly paper carries a story headed, "Showdown looming on county income tax."  With reference to adequate funding for public libraries and IndyGo, we find a quote from the president of the City-County Council as follows.  "We have more people competing for a smaller pot now." (Our emphasis,)

How can this be?  According to all the reports for the last few decades, we’ve had "economic development" coming out our ears.  After 30-40 years, with billions of dollars worth of "investments," how can "the pot" possibly be getting smaller?

Downtown is a three-ring circus compared to the dark spot it used to be - so we’re told.  Economic activity is unbelievable - we’re told.  (Well, maybe the use of "un" makes that one true!  After all, the departure of Nordstrom is one kind of indicator.)  Bars and restaurants are getting filthy rich - we’re told.  Of course there is a little "blip" in the road caused by the $10 million per year we’re paying the basketball team to use our facility.  Or is that enough of a blip to wipe out the pot?

Salt is rubbed in the (mugging) wounds with the comment by the director of the Bond Bank who is quoted in the 6/27/11 issue of the IBJ concerning the distribution of TIF funds, "This is a pot of funds that can be used."  (Our emphasis, again.)

We’re all in favor of priorities.  But we think the first one should be protection for the taxpayer, ahead of Monon Trail worries.  It should start with reporters recognizing and reporting that public officials are deliberately misleading or outright lying to us while throwing tax dollars around like beads being tossed from a Mardi Gras float.

The leadership of the city of Indianapolis does not take a back seat to the spending profligates in Washington. Unless the mayor can just print the money, the fact that the numbers are a little smaller is irrelevant.

The funds get slushier

We’re referring, of course, to use of TIF funds.  And we apologize to the taxpaying citizens of Indianapolis.  On May 27 we wrote and made a suggestion that maybe we ought to make the entire city one big TIF district. Despite the fact that we did say at the time that it was not a serious thought, it has apparently been taken that way downtown.

Revenues being derived from the "consolidated" downtown district are now proposed for use on projects well outside the geographic bounds of that district. Specifically the area around the old Bush stadium at west 16^th Street and Indiana Avenue.

For years the downtown keepers of the till have insisted that the funds could not be spent other than for the designated projects/areas for which they were initiated.  So, among other things, we reduced library hours and staff while the Indianapolis Bond Bank sat on a pile of money which it’s managers held to be a "sacred trust."

Now we have apparently decided that geography no longer applies, and anything with the vaguest link to downtown can be called a part of downtown development.  It’s a reveille call to developers that the city is rolling in money it will hand over to the "right people" who claim their pet projects will bring a couple of bucks to town.

In referring to the Bush stadium project, the head of the Bond Bank says, "These people are going to come downtown to shop, to eat,...."  With this kind of thinking, we can just see the backers of the high speed rail system salivating.  Isn’t bringing people downtown a primary purpose of the mass transit proposals?  Here’s another source of revenue for us!  And we can raise the dough by just playing games with assessed values to get around the so-called property tax caps!

This suggests to us what a tragedy it would be to vote for a new "mass transit tax" before we know precisely and absolutely who will be in charge and how and where those tax dollars would be used.  Three or four decades of experience tell us that local public officials have too strong a resemblance to kids in the candy store to be given any discretion as to disbursements of public money.

There is one other quote from the IBJ article we’re reading.  We would recommend that every taxpayer in the city copy it and paste it on the bathroom mirror where they will see it every morning.  The director of the Bond Bank has this to say.   "This is a pot of funds that can be used."

This is a "two-fer." You get the most honest and direct reference to a slush fund you may ever see in print.  And you get the direct statement of attitude about its usage by the guy in charge of handing it out.  You can bet they’ll use it wherever, whenever and by whom they want to have it.  

 

Short and...

...okay - off the point, not to the point.

We’ve been reading the reports on the Charlie White situation, and they bring a question to mind.

Without commenting on facts, politics, or any other pertinent ideas, we’d simply offer this thought.

We would guess the odds are pretty good that those pursuing this case will, after they displace White for sleeping in the wrong place the wrong percentage of times, then move on to strong opposition to voter ID and strong support for the most unexacting possible registration and voting procedures.

It is imperative that everybody be enabled to vote - except Charlie apparently.

A fraud is a fraud is not a fraud is a fraud is not a....

Take your pick.

Details

Yesterday the morning paper carried an editorial by Governor Daniels headed, “We’re reaping the benefits of sports investments.”  We thought some of the statements by the governor needed a little clarification.  At one point he says, “This year, the sports and convention business will generate more than $30 million (tax revenues) per year for the state.”

Question, Governor.  Is that net income, after all revenues diverted to the CIB, the Colts and the Pacers through all the secret agreements and tax allowances and variations are taken into account?  And if the figure is “net,” just how much has been siphoned off?

Another statement, parenthetically. “(By the way, most folks are surprised to learn that more than 90 percent of the stadium events are not Colts games.)”  We would suggest that most folks also would be surprised to learn that the stadium structure contains a good many regular meeting rooms with no connection to the arena itself.  They also might be surprised to learn that many of these other “events” are held in those rooms, despite being listed as “stadium” events.  How many is unknown, since the stadium website does not show an estimated attendance per event.

The stadium website shows events for the coming year.  As of today, 6/21/11, there are 72 days booked from 6/21/11 to 6/20/12.  15 are for football, including high school, college, Big Ten, the Colts and the Super Bowl.  That’s 20.8 percent for football.

The Governor goes on to say that, having put the state into the picture, “The keys were cutting back the proposed cost of the facilities, and enlisting Indy’s surrounding counties to participate voluntarily through a 1 percent restaurant tax.  No taxpayer anywhere else was asked for a nickel....”

Two points here.  We’re not sure how “cutting back” on costs managed to include a $70 million sliding roof which, to date, has done damned little sliding.  But he’s right about Indy taxpayers.  They weren’t “asked” for a nickel.  As a matter of fact, they’ve never been asked for anything.  They’ve been told what is going to be done, and that their tax dollars will be used to finance it.  Just pay up and shut up!

Aside from these little details - and the fact that we’ve never really understood how they arrive at some of the astronomical revenue estimates - the Guv’s article was pretty interesting.

The beat goes on

Well, the NBA basketball season is finally over.  But apparently the all-court press is still in vogue at our morning paper.

On Friday, June 10, Mr. Tully took up the case of mass transit, insisting that the time for a vote was at hand.

On Tuesday, June 14, Ms. Smith jumped on the bandwagon with equal insistence that the peasants be allowed to vote on this imperative.

This morning, June 15, Mr. Sikich joined the party.  He tells us supporters of a "mass transit overhaul" are getting up a petition asking the legislature to raise taxes for that purpose.  Actually, he doesn’t use those words. He refers to having the legislature "...authorize a referendum on transit funding...."

This column sidebar (is that the proper term?) gives a link to the internet with specific directions as to how one votes as follows: "I support dedicated funding for transit." (No indication that there is an opportunity to cast a "Do not" vote.

Given the fiscal precedents set by "leaders"of Indianapolis and Marion County in recent years, it is depressing - but not surprising - that the paper continues to support efforts to provide public officials with such a massive blank check.

Will someone really explain - and guarantee - what "dedicated funding for transit" really means?  What source of revenue will be used?  Income tax increase?  Sales tax increase?  Property tax increase?  (The so-called constitutional property tax cap could be avoided by an across the board increase of assessments.)

What body will receive the increased tax revenues?  Will that body make the determination as to projects and priorities thereof?  What constitutes "transit?"  Are Bike lanes included?  Federal "transportation" funds are being used for the Georgia Street boondoggle for Super Bowl "Dress Up Day."  Is that kind of project in the future?

Will someone finally answer a question we’ve asked many times, and explain why it makes sense to place a new rail system parallel to, and within a short distance of, current multi-million dollar re-construction of multi-lane freeways before we know whether that solves our problems?

Which will come first - suburban pleasure or city needs?  Would you send your ten year old child into a department store with a $100 bill and suggest that he buy what he needs?  Pardon our cynicism, but we believe setting up the big slush fund before nailing down the details simply begs for abuse of the funds.

And wouldn’t it have been nice if the same paper had been as interested in having a public vote on municipal assumption of a billion dollar plus debt to build a football field?

A really wild idea!

It’s far enough out that we’d probably accept the thought that it is well beyond "thinking outside the box" - whatever that really means.

This morning’s editorial in the local daily is headlined "IndyGo needs to make quick U-turn." Some of the comments are surprising.  For instance, "Even $4 a gallon gas..." isn’t increasing rider count.  And, "...express buses that link Downtown to the northern suburbs are largely empty...."  This one is at least partly explained, we are told, because of the double whammy of fare increases combined with service reduction.  Somebody actually expected a different result???

The executive director of the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority is quoted as saying, "We have a core, loyal readership (sic) on the express routes, but it’s a lesser service than it used to be."  (Maybe it’s just a typo.  Otherwise we don’t have a clue as to what "readership" has to do with bus patrons.)  But, as indicated above, it’s not all that tough to anticipate the effect of "lesser service" plus higher costs.

The last paragraph in the editorial says, in part, that IndyGo is a "civic embarrassment" that should call for "...civic engagement and investment to build a viable transit system that will meet the needs of residents...."  If they’re talking about the needs of Indianapolis resident to get around within the city, they have our support.  And there would seem to be some possibilities.

If we turn to yesterday’s paper, here’s where the wild idea really starts to percolate.  One of two separate stories about the scheduling of Big Ten football and basket ball games, we are told, has made the "Sports community ecstatic."  Considering the estimated financial impact, we feel certain that downtown bars, restaurants, and most particularly the Colts and Pacers really are pretty happy.

We have reservations about the financial impact figures that get tossed around for events like this.  But in this case, we’ll buy in on the numbers.  We fully understand that our suggestion will constitute civic heresy.  But here it comes, anyway.

For the moment forget the Colts.  But remember that the Pacers get all revenues from Conseco Fieldhouse.  If that organization will benefit so hugely from all this new revenue, isn’t it time we stopped payment on those annual $10 million Pacer subsidy checks?  What would $10 million a year do for IndyGo - and the libraries - and the park system?

Couldn’t we risk a little reduction in ecstasy for the sports fans to "waste" public funds on some of the more mundane, but less "world classy" functions of the municipality for the benefit of citizens generally?

Obviously, we could.  Will we?