The Indiana Legislature passed several good laws on property tax limits. By the year 2010, they have limited everyone's property tax to 2 percent of assessed value.
Its first implementation was for homeowners -- limiting the tax liability of Hoosiers actually living in their home property by utilizing the homestead exemption. Although this has probably helped some wealthy people, it continues to be a real safety net for the middle class and lower middle class, which is of particular importance in Lake County. Although the 2 percent safety net is not meant as a solution to all the sudden increases in property taxes for Hoosiers, it is a cap preventing many Hoosiers from loosing their homes and property.
The property tax that rental-building owners have to pay is passed on to the renters who must ultimately bear the burden of the increased property tax. Consequently, the Legislature placed a 2 percent tax cap on rental property to go into effect in 2008. After 2008, the rents in Indiana will not have to go up exorbitantly and, in many cases, may even go down or at least remain steady. All of this is good for the rental market, both the people renting and rental-property owners -- a true win-win situation.
For decades, Indiana has been unable to develop new business, while losing old businesses. In Northwest Indiana itself, there has only been a net 300 new business growth over the past decade. It would make no sense, then, for Indiana to put all the weight of local government growth on the back of business, while claiming to help it. Therefore, starting in 2010, the Legislature has included business property under the 2 percent cap. This not only is a matter of equity and fairness, but also smart economic development. Over the past 15 years, Tom McDermott Sr., as president of the Northwest Indiana Forum, argued vehemently for limiting property tax on businesses as a way of promoting economic growth for Lake County.
With the sole exception of Lake County, everyone in the state accepts these limitations, believes they are fair and will promote economic activity, and are living within their limits.
This legislative program seems to have minimal consequences for other counties. Out of 92 counties in Indiana, only Lake County is screaming that the "sky will fall" if it is forced to live within these limits.
However, Lake County politicians have created their own bed and now they need to lie in it. Despite almost a decade of economic warnings and legal indictments, politics as usual continues to rule in Lake County.
In East Chicago, 81-year-old City Councilman Gus Kouros gets a two-year extension, to 2011, on his yearly $72,000 contract "managing" the school district's food programs. Mayor George Pabey decided to give information technology guru John Aguilera an $85,000 contract and he no longer is considering a bid for mayor. It is so blatant that the very next day after receiving the contract, Aguilera holds a news conference announcing that he is not running for mayor.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. continues to exponentially increase the city's budget annually, while spending millions on legal settlements and lawyer fees.
In fact, since the property tax issue came to the forefront four years ago, not a single Lake County taxing entity has lowered or even maintained its spending levels.
Regrettably, the only way to put a stop to this is by ending the free-flowing spigot of taxpayer money. Corruption and incompetence is neither an explanation nor an excuse for changing the statewide law. If everyone else can live with it, so must Lake County.
State Representative Chester Dobis is the sole politician in NWI to take up the challenge and to show courage by standing up against the waste and abuse he has watched for years. He has informed Lake County politicians that he is not going to support any change downstate until he sees substantial improvements in how local government operates. To show how clearly he is thinking, he is not going to fall for promises again, since they never materialize.
Representative Dobis is a representative who is truly speaking truth to power. His stand is the true hope for the citizens of NWI for a responsive government in Lake County. All citizens in Indiana should commend him and support him in his stand.