Indiana’s population is migrating to rural areas, a new study shows. Unincorporated areas added nearly 148,000 residents between 2000 and 2006, a growth rate of 7 percent, said the study, which was conducted by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University. Incorporated areas grew by 85,000 people, or 2.1 percent. The trend was strong […]
Special census nets Carmel millions HAMILTON COUNTY – The city of Carmel is clearly one of the fastest-growing in Indiana. But now, thanks to a special census, its leaders know exactly how fast. In just seven years, Carmel’s population has increased 35 percent. As a result, the city will receive an extra $3.5 million in […]
The next two weeks should be interesting ones in the General Assembly, but not for the reason you might expect. Now that bills have cleared their chambers of origin and moved across the Rotunda for consideration, there is a natural lull of sorts as lobbyists breathe a collective sigh of relief and gird themselves to battle with a different set of lawmakers. You saw this in recent days, as committee action again took center stage, and action on the floor…
Westfield hopes to draw business farther north New development could reduce residential tax rates Judge and Ging Jones moved to Westfield more than a decade ago to escape the congestion and crowds of Carmel. They wanted to live in a safe, friendly community with good schools where they could leave their doors unlocked during the […]
Back when they arrived in 1996, there were lots of open spaces and taxes were low, Jones said. “Overall, it was a good place to live,” he said. Jones said he still loves living in Westfield, which is 20 miles north of Indianapolis. But he admits things are changing, which is a double-edged sword. Eight years ago, according to the U.S. census, Westfield had just 9,300 people. Now, it’s a rapidly growing city with a population of 24,000, an increase…
Inventories of unsold houses exploded last year, according to figures compiled by an Indianapolis real estate brokerage. A 13-county area anchored by Indianapolis overflowed with nearly a year’s worth of inventory, Landrigan & Co. Realtors said today. At the rate of absorption underway in December, the inventory existing as of the end of the year […]
A high-flying Carmel businessman who moved his base of operations to Miami a couple of years ago is accused of burning through
$160 million of investors’ money in the collapse of his real estate empire.
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?
Democrat Bart Peterson leaves office in early January after two terms as mayor of Indianapolis. Succeeding him will be Republican Greg Ballard, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps who parlayed property-tax outrage into a surprise win. As Peterson, 49, prepared to leave office, he sat down with IBJ. The following is an edited version of the interview. IBJ: You didn’t expect to be stepping down this year. What was the most significant priority you had planned for…
The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) issued a “Citizens’ Guide to Property Taxes” on Nov. 20. That document contains the following paragraph: “What factors contribute to property tax increases? Local spending is the reason for property tax increases-or decreases-depending on local fiscal management. Other factors that contributed to increases during the 2006-2007 pay cycle include the elimination of the inventory tax and the onset of the annual adjustment process, also known as ‘trending.'” Got that? Property taxes rise…
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.
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…
A public library preserves the record of humanity’s intellectual, scientific and artistic achievements, as well as its failures. Those records and the people who facilitate the community’s access to them support democracy, encourage economic development, sustain lifelong learning, and foster an information- and technology-literate community. A community’s investment in its public library system symbolizes the importance of the civic role of public libraries in ensuring an informed society. In our community, the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Foundation raised more than…
Carmel has another appellate victory on the issue of annexation after an Indiana Court of Appeals ruling on Oct. 17. The state’s second-highest appellate court decided that the city adequately proved it could afford to annex part of a nearby community into its municipal borders, and that a Hamilton County judge erred in auditing a financial plan and ruling in favor of the remonstrators. The unanimous decision in City of Carmel v. Certain Home Place Annexation Territory Landowners, No. 29A04-0510-CV-578,…
In exchange for promises to keep its headquarters here, Marion County is considering providing an eight-year property tax abatement worth $17,659 for local parking ticket software-maker T2 Systems Inc. According to a Department of Metropolitan Development filing, T2 Systems is promising to add 115 jobs to its current work force of 43 as well invest […]
For most of this decade, the Indianapolis residential real estate market enjoyed a very good run. But now it’s muddling through
the doldrums just like the rest of the country, and builders are pulling out all the stops to avoid getting stuck with inventory.
We don’t have to be obsessed with property taxes. All is not dreadful despite the clamor of some disaffected taxpayers. For example, La-Porte has two operating barbershops on the same street downtown. This warms the heart. Equally positive is finding an excellent housing stock in LaPorte, with many beautiful homes painted in a joyous, imaginative fashion. Can you believe the McDonald’s in Winamac opens at 4:30 a.m. and keeps its drive-through open 24 hours a day? That alone suggests a…
Tipton mayoral candidates say the $530 million transmission plant Chrysler Group and Germany-based Getrag Corporate Group are building near the town should provide job growth without disrupting the rural way of life associated with the community, according to the Kokomo Tribune. Getrag’s tax abatement request shows it intends to hire 1,088 Chrysler workers, and create […]
With little effort, IndyGo may well pack buses on a new route starting in September from Fishers to Indianapolis. After all, the hellish commute on interstates 69 and 465 is its own best advertising for taking the bus. But while full loads each morning to big employment center Indianapolis are one thing, how about when the bus heads back to Fishers to pick up another load for the inbound commute? “It’s like a trucking firm. You want to have full…
After 47 years of relative anonymity, the Indiana Transportation
Museum is steaming ahead with an effort to increase its visibility, attract new riders and eventually grow the organization.
