Well, it's been a while since I posted. We've had a busy summer with a grandaughter graduation and visiting kids and grandkids from New York. Also, I've made major additions to our flower garden and landscaping. Grandaughter Sarah graduated 8th in her class at Blackford High School and won a number of art awards, including best of show. All this in spite of a major medical problem that took her out of school for over a month and was life threatening. She's headed for IU and a dentistry career. We're all very proud of her.
Are you as steamed about the property tax situation as I am? In addition to my residence, I have 3 rental properties of modest value yet my property taxes will be over $8,000 this year. All this for the priviledge of supporting mediocre schools and driving on horrible streets and roads. Though some of the blame goes to local officials for mis-management (counting non taxable property last year), the real blame lies with the legislature. They avoided addressing the court ordered mandate to change the assessment method for as long as possible. Then at the last minute they cobbled together a patchwork system that they've been fiddling with ever since. They don't have the political will to do away with the current system and correct the problems. Inventory tax was eliminated and taxes were reduced for industry, yet rather than distribute that burden fairly, they let it fall on residential property. In order to soothe homeowners, they increased Homestead Exemptions, but did nothing to relieve the burden on rental property. It currently takes me over 2 months rent to pay the taxes on each unit. In Muncie, 1/3 of the assessed value of property is non-taxable because it belongs to Ball State, Ball Hospital, Muncie Schools and other non-profits. The legislature had an opportunity to remedy this by passing the "Hometown Matters" bill that would have allowed cities like us to use alternate forms of taxation to replace this lost revenue. However, the legislature refused to relinquish their total control, the bill died and property taxes show the result.
My solution is to start with the legislature and vote out all incumbants. This is not a party thing, Republican or Democrat, it makes no difference and the're all responsible. Legislative experience seems to make no difference either, so let's start fresh. V.O.I.C.E. (Vote Out Incumbent Candidates for Election.) Marion Co. is posting sherrif's deputies at the courthouse to protect officials from irate taxpayers. Let's not get mad at the courthouse people, they're merely implementing the legislation they were given. Let's get to the heart of the problem and make our V.O.I.C.E. heard.
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