Comments on Advance Indiana™: Ballard To Seek Tax Hike Next Year To Fund Regional Transportation Authority

@Unigov- It's worse than that, esp on your pre...

2010-06-30T08:37:54.195-05:00

@Unigov- It's worse than that, esp on your premise, because MPO's studies showed that on it's best days, the light rail would take nearly 4% of cars of I-69- but they conceded that was optimistic, and less than 2% was more likely. In reality, you aren't going to have people drive from Carmel or Westfield to the Fishers station to take the train. If they're driving that far, they're driving downtown.

This is just political pork. Let's check on the campaign finance records of the County Commissioners in Hamilton County, and Ballard, and follow the money.

Re HEI's comment that COIT sunk Peterson, I st...

2010-06-29T15:35:49.285-05:00

Re HEI's comment that COIT sunk Peterson, I still think that if the Council Democrats had kept Steve Talley as President of the Council, Bart would have beeb reelected Mayor. And so it goes.

The income tax increase Miles mentioned didn't...

2010-06-29T09:09:51.346-05:00

The income tax increase Miles mentioned didn't seem big enough to raise the kind of money they'll need. I believe he mentioned a 0.1 or 0.2 percentage point increase. I think they figured the average household would pay $20 a month more. On the tolled lanes, he mentioned building new express lanes that would be tolled; the existing lanes would remain toll free. I can't imagine that many people jumping into a tolled lane to drive faster unless the existing lanes become so congested that the commute to work takes too long. They should have tolled a few miles of I-70 over by the airport when they relocated it to accommodate the new airport terminal and FedEx facility. I noticed a few years ago that when I drove on I-70 into Kansas from Kansas City, MO that I-70 had been tolled. Not sure how Kansas uses that money.

While it is ironic that Ballard will be on the sam...

2010-06-29T08:57:27.601-05:00

While it is ironic that Ballard will be on the same ballot as a mass transit referendum, he can say it is up to the people, and not his doing. It is additionally ironic that they have changed positions to make it dependent upon a COIT increase, which is what sunk Peterson.

Have you heard how much that COIT increase would have to be, to capture the billions of dollars they want for the transportation plan? I have to add that much of the proposal that I saw, was for highway improvements and not mass transit. Any change there, or is this a tax increase primarily to create tolled lanes on I-65 and I-69?

Your list of tax increases should add the PILOT increase from last month that will raise sewer rates to pay back a 30 year bond, the proceeds of which will be used for infrastructure improvements that will reasonably last 10 years. And, as far as I'm concerned, the $5 million in tax money taken back from the failed Navistar deal that was squandered on the ICVA and IEDI instead of being used for any number of pressing needs, belongs on your list since it could have relieved some of the need for new tax revenues.

Light Rail is a billion dollar boondoggle that wil...

2010-06-28T18:35:59.403-05:00

Light Rail is a billion dollar boondoggle that will primarily benefit affluent white people who moved to Hamilton County in order to get away from black people.

Meanwhile, inside 465, we have the worst bus service in the world.

I thought maybe that the Greg Ballard we elected has been replaced with an evil socialist robot, but the robot would be an improvement.

How may tax hikes does make for Ballard who promis...

2010-06-28T17:31:38.458-05:00

How may tax hikes does make for Ballard who promised no tax hikes??? I am including visible or hidden tax hikes.