By CHRIS MORRIS
Chris.Morris@newsandtribune.com
May 05, 2008 08:23 am
—
The Indiana Legislature approved a property tax cut in its recent session. That’s great news for homeowners and landlords.
It’s not such great news for Floyd County government.
The county will be getting less money from the state as a results of the new property tax setup. However, expenses keep going up, officials say.
Something doesn’t add up.
And almost all of the 15 candidates for Floyd County Council say that is the main dilemma facing the county. Where do they make up the difference?
“How are we going to make up that money. That’s the biggest issue,” said Ted Heavrin, one of nine Democrats seeking an at-large seat Tuesday. “Tough decisions will have to be made.”
“There are so many unknowns right now,” said Jeff Fessel. “It’s something the council is going to have to deal with. The state keeps sending down unfunded mandates.”
Democrat voters will select three of nine candidates Tuesday to fill their November slate while Republicans will pick three of six candidates. Of the six, three will be elected to the council in November.
Democrats
The Democratic slate has both veteran politicians and newcomers. At-large incumbents Randy Stumler and Carol Shope are seeking re-election. Heavrin and Fessel are both former members of the council while Don Blevins is a former New Albany city councilman. Other Democrats running include Tom Lenfert and Joe Schindler, who have both run for office in the past, along with newcomers Greg McCartin and Brad Striegel.
While they all come from different political backgrounds, they are all basically saying the same thing. How will the county combat its budget shortfall? Others ask, is the current county council being fiscally responsible?
The county, which has a budget around $13 million, also receives $1,057,874 million a year in riverboat funds, according to Auditor Teresa Plaiss. Without that money, the county would already be in major financial trouble, she said. But with less money coming from the state in the future due to the property tax overhaul, the county will either have to implement a new tax, cut expenses which could include layoffs, or find another way to generate income.
“I don’t know how the citizens would take a new tax,” said Heavrin, who spent 16 years on the council.
“I think people are tired of higher taxes,” Blevins said. “I understand the county doesn’t have much money, but I think there needs to be a better relationship with city and county government. You can get more done that way.”
Striegel agrees.
“Elected officials need to work with other elected officials in order to achieve our goals,” he said. “We need to hold elected officials accountable for their work.”
Lenfert admits the county is facing a money crunch, but he wants to know where the money is being spent.
“People ask me all the time where is the money going and no one ever seems to give me an answer,” Lenfert said. “I’ve asked different people on the council where it goes and I am still waiting on an answer. Money is definitely the biggest thing.”
The two Democrat incumbents say there is just not enough money to go around, especially with cuts coming from the state. They also say experience will be vitally important to get the county over its current and future financial hurdle.
“Experience will be more important this year during budget (session),” Stumler said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. This is going to be a topsy-turvy year.”
“If they don’t have someone on there with knowledge about funding, there could be layoffs,” Heavrin said.
But Stumler said he is not in favor of rushing to approve a new tax.
“He (governor) created this mess, so he needs to find a way out of it,” Stumler said. “He said local spending is out of control but our budget has decreased four consecutive years. I would like to know how spending is out of control when we get less each year.”
Shope points to the lack of pay raises office holders have not received in the past two years as another way the council has tried to save money.
“We have to resolve this somehow, but I don’t think people want their taxes raised,” Shope said. “We are going to have to understand what we are dealing with and resolve it.”
Schindler and McCartin, however, say the council needs new blood to help interject new ideas.
“Most people I know in politics are around 40 or older and I think we need younger people in politics,” Schindler said. “The younger people are going to be leading the county in the future.”
“It seems like over the years, the same people get elected over and over,” McCartin said. “I think we need new people with new ideas.”
Republicans
All but one Republican has held office, or ran for office, in the past.
Dana Fendley is currently an at-large county councilwoman. Bill Fender has also served on the council while veteran politician Harry Harbison was a member of the city council more than 20 years ago. The other three Republican candidates include Rocky Cambron, Tonye Rutherford and Larry Summers. Rutherford ran for city council last year.
While Republicans agree with their Democrat rivals about money being the main issue, they also point to other issues.
Fendley and Fender both say experience is their strength. Fendley said she attends meetings and other state functions that deal with finance.
“A lot of people don’t understand the time it takes. I just went up to Indianapolis last week,” she said. “This tax cap is really going to hurt cities and counties. We have to know where we stand and what it’s going to take.”
Fender said his eight years on the council give him the experience it will take to deal with the financial crunch.
“No one is able to bring more to the table than I can,” he said. “I will put my experience up against anybody.”
Fender said property tax reform was long overdue. He said the council must use fiscal responsibility now that less money will be coming from the state.
“I just don’t think you should work all of your life and property taxes rise at a rate that is higher than the
incremental raises you get,” he said. “People were being run out of their homes because of property taxes.”
Rutherford said the biggest issue is government overspending. He also said he is also optimistic about his chances.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people and shook a lot of hands,” he said. “I talked to a lot of people and they encouraged me to run.”
Harbison said managing the county’s growth will be important. He also said getting the new youth shelter built will be a priority.
Summers, 24, is the youngest county council candidate. He is also a first-time candidate.
“I’ve always been interested in politics and I feel like I have something to give,” he said. “I think it’s important to look at the items that can be cut from the budget without hurting services.”
Attempts to reach Rocky Cambron were unsuccessful.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Photos
