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For city politics, back to the future: GOP returns without guarantees

The Republican party dominated city government here in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, and for much of that time it was assumed that the party’s lock on city hall was tamper-proof. Voters proved that theory wrong in 1999. Whether it was changing demographics or the fatigue that sets in when one party rules for too long, the public turned the mayor’s office over to Democrat Bart Peterson. Four years later, Peterson easily won re-election and the Democrats won the City-County…

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SPORTS: An open letter to Greg, er Hizzoner, Mayor Ballard:

Well, the day is here when you finally get the keys to the offices on the 25th floor of the City-County Building. Congratulations. I knew you had the election in the bag all the way. Yeah, right. Anyway, I’ve noticed you have formed a number of transition teams to bring you up to speed on the various forms and functions of citycounty government. Folks way smarter than I have provided reams of information that will provide you a road map…

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Of battles won and trouble ahead: Peterson says state action key to city’s future

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…

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THE TRAVELING LIFE: Genghis Khan slept-and was admired-here

Before we landed at the Genghis Khan Airport, checked into the Genghis Khan Hotel, and drank Genghis Khan beer, everything we had heard about the most famous Mongol of all time was negative. But that changed when we visited Mongolia in September. You might wonder what nice things could be said about a guy who conquered more territory in 25 years than the Romans did in 400? Well, the people we encountered perceived him as a combination of George Washington,…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why state’s job growth is better than neighbors’

For the past week or so, I have been flooded by phone calls from colleagues in Illinois and Michigan, chortling over a new marketing campaign launched by Hoosiers. The privately financed billboards and radio spots ask businesses and residents whether they are tired of high taxes and unresponsive government. If so, they are invited to “Come on IN” to Indiana. It’s high-order fun this holiday season. Indiana sits as a small island of growth in the Midwest, and it is…

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Ballard transition led by GOP insiders, business executives: 24 local leaders size up city for new mayor

With little encouragement and less financial support, mayor-elect Greg Ballard was forced to campaign as a longshot outsider. But his surprise election turned the tables. In the last six weeks, he’s been embraced quickly by Marion County’s Republican elite. And his transition team is stacked with insiders. To prepare an administration in less than two months, Ballard assembled a transition team of 24 local leaders, who then pulled in 150 volunteers to examine the current shape of city and county…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Fiscal bombs in Hoosier political waters

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…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: The worst of this year’s technology snafus

Another year gone, and yet another Christmas gift for you. Every year, I collect examples of utterly horrendous technological snafus and write about them. No matter how awful your own meltdowns may have been, they can’t have been as bad as these, so enter the new year with a light heart. The first example of disaster is fresh in the news still, at least in reports from the British Broadcasting Corp. The English government has lost disks with personal information…

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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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