tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post280844462027007741..comments2020-04-11T03:30:02.282-05:00Gary R. Welshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-82218802472216414892007-07-11T16:36:00.000-05:002007-07-11T16:36:00.000-05:00It would be interesting to match up the list of abandoned / vacant houses with the database of assesments for those properties and see how those got assesed ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-55436709613017962932007-07-11T12:50:00.000-05:002007-07-11T12:50:00.000-05:00Gary, you are correct in stating that this problem with commercial assessments was known for quite some time.<BR/>So what happened? In a word, LOBBYISTS.<BR/>I would prefer that outside professional real estate appraisors be brought in and the commercial properties re-appraised.<BR/><BR/> I find it rather odd that our assessors can't seem to be able to appraise commercial property but real estate brokers somehow are able to arrive at a price to list it at.<BR/><BR/>Finacially, Indanapolis is broke. It will, in time, go the way of Cleveland, Detroit and a host of others cities that had their populace head for the burbs and then the exurbs.<BR/>Does anyone have any conception of just how many more abandoned houses will start to appear in Center Township? Even the slumlords took it in the shorts.<BR/><BR/>I hate to say it but I'm afraid we are looking at a city that's taking it's last breath of life. When people and businesses leave, they don't come back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-38655576176269907962007-07-11T11:05:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:05:00.000-05:00minor quibble: that kroger is at 16th and central, not college.stAllio!https://www.blogger.com/profile/15712626121566349866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-24125219079952863292007-07-11T09:50:00.000-05:002007-07-11T09:50:00.000-05:00AI- <BR/><BR/>It should be noted that several business organizations have for several years said that the SYSTEM of assessing properties is broke(e.g. unqualified township assessors), and that the system as a whole needs to be fixed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-64190005691136146602007-07-11T08:48:00.000-05:002007-07-11T08:48:00.000-05:00Uh, sorry, 7:12...I never worry about cigarette tax increases.<BR/><BR/>If I live to be 100, and the per-pack tax rises to $5, it won't come close to covering the cost of health woes caused by tobacco.<BR/><BR/>There's a reason they add nicotine to cigarettes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-1373960964208675772007-07-11T08:39:00.000-05:002007-07-11T08:39:00.000-05:00Mayor Peterson tried a simple plan for stormwater drainage assessment, for NFP properties, two years ago. He was shouted down by Rev. Greg Dixon and other demagogues. The stormwater problem brewed for over 30 years, unfixed, and the icnreased cost is choking us.<BR/><BR/>The concept of fees for use of governmental services, such as stormwater drainage and public safety, is solid. But of course it cannot be a tax. Sticky wicket.<BR/><BR/>Curing the overall problem is important, starting with runaway spending. And there is rampant abuse at most school corporations, as well as other taxing entities.<BR/><BR/>Schools think they're running lean, when in fact their budgets are cesspools of waste. The school administration community fosters a narrow view of budgets, without outside thought entering the process. It isn't pretty. And they want one of their own--an architect--to be governor. Pardon my skepticism...these folks don't understand prudent budgets.<BR/><BR/>But honestly, I've watched the City-County Council and the Mayor tackle overspending for two years. They worked hard at wringing out the excesses. There is more to be done, but they saw this coming. And they got almost no support<BR/><BR/>In Marion County, if you want real savings, attack the biggest wasteful spender of all--IPS. They just added hundreds of millions in bonds to their tax base, and it will not get any better. All for a school system that's horribly broken. It's time to face the music there: IPS probably cannot be fixed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-67124007978351336212007-07-11T08:11:00.000-05:002007-07-11T08:11:00.000-05:00How about taxing the real estate owned by non-governmental not-for-profits, such as private colleges, that own more than one acre of real estate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-66650507946137068362007-07-11T07:36:00.000-05:002007-07-11T07:36:00.000-05:00Matt might think about curing the problem instead of treating the symptoms. Too much spending among layers and layers of government. Start there and then we can re-evaluate to see if revenue needs to be raised elsewhere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-84670575201209846022007-07-11T07:12:00.000-05:002007-07-11T07:12:00.000-05:00Add one more TAX increase to worry about.<BR/><BR/>From USA Today - Cigarette packs may see 61-cent tax <BR/><BR/>http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-07-10-cig-taxes_N.htm<BR/><BR/>WASHINGTON — Smokers would pay an extra 61 cents per pack of cigarettes to expand health insurance to about 2 million children under a tentative deal worked out Tuesday between Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee.<BR/><BR/>The tobacco tax increase would boost the federal levy from 39 cents per pack to $1, an increase of 156%. It would raise about $35 billion over five years to pay for the largest expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) since its creation a decade ago.<BR/><BR/>Add that on top of the .44 cent State tax increase. A smoker may pay more in Cig. Tax increases than they may in Property tax increase !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com