Northwest Indiana Discussion

Kind of makes you wonder about the extension of the budget deadline doesnt it? Its all coming together now!

The only people happy about the COIT being implemented are government workers. Again Lake county may shoot itself in the foot.

BERT I DON'T THINK THERES ANY WAY AROUND IT. THEY'RE ALREADY SCREAMING ABOUT A HIRING FREEZE, IMAGINE HOW LOUD IT'LL BECOME ONCE THEY HAVE TO MAKE REAL CUTS. I KNOW YOU DISAGREE BUT HAMMOND'S SITTING PRETTY IN THIS WHOLE MESS. AND IF I WAS MCDERMOTT AND THEY WANTED TO IMPLEMENT THE COIT I'D BE SCREAMING THE LOUDEST.

If you see Hammond as sitting pretty in any way, shape or form you need to have your eyes checked. Taking money from my families pocket to maintain this mess is not beneficial. Why would McDermott not want the COIT? This tax would allow the nonsense to continue. As previously discussed 1% will never be enough to keep the gravy train rolling. Lake County will again shoot itself in the foot.

DO YOU THINK THE COUNTY IS GOING TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS AND CUT $17 MILLION OR PASS THE COIT ??

Since Democrats want us all to be equal they will tax us all into the same poorhouse. Cut Cut Cut, families do it, business does it but somehow government is immune. We have deluded ourselves into believing that government is the answer to all of lifes obstacles when in fact government creates a lot of the obstacles people face. The idea of being dependent upon government for what I want or need in life sickens me. Unfortunately for those of us who still value the benefits of hard work and independence we will be forced to support those who have had that independent spirit drained. When you punish success and reward mediocrity through taxation the results are not pretty.

DO YOU THINK THE COUNTY IS GOING TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS AND CUT $17 MILLION OR PASS THE COIT ??

In comparative terms, it is! Even without COIT Hammond is preparing a budget that will conform. Gary definitely can't, EC probably can't, as we know LC is screaming bloody murder. Far as I'm concerned LC had better cut $30 mil before they ask me for another dime! And then only after creating an independent HR dept. Non-negotiable.

If we're just talking Hammond then the SCH had better start figuring out how to cut 20% of it's budget to conform and to make room for the new high school that eventually will be built. And all the better if it can be a single high school for the whole city on the same site and cut all the extra expenses and administrators from having multiple locations.

A number of things have been taken for granted in LC's various taxing units and it needs to stop here and now no matter what! And we need to move to 5 year budgeting even if unofficially because of any state regulations.

For someone who claims to be an "Oracle", you really aren't up on politics. Duane was on WJOB several weeks ago and said he will definitely oppose a C.O.I.T. Fran won the primary in part because of her opposition of the C.O.I.T. and Dedelow realizes that Fran will hammer him on this issue if he doesn't oppose it. All three of the councilmen you mention aren't likely to change their votes. Blanchard is adamantly opposed to it and Bilski and O'Donnell are aware that voters within their district don't want it. Cuts and layoffs will happen even if this unpopular tax were to pass. Don't forget that HEA bill 1001 which contains the 1% residential
property tax cap effective in 2010,also exempts Lake and St.Joseph from complying with the caps until 2020. If a C.O.I.T. were to pass, that exemption would be lifted and much of the revenue raised by it would simply replace money lost to the cap. Why pass an unpopular tax if it won't result in more revenue?

If a C.O.I.T. were to pass, that exemption would be lifted and much of the revenue raised by it would simply replace money lost to the cap.

You sure about that? I didn't read the actual law enough times to remember that technicality but I don't recall reading that if a COIT is passed we revert immediately to 1%. But it certainly could be true. If so it sure seems like certain candidates for office should be hammering away on that point loud enough to get at least a reporter or two to listen.

OTOH the lack of shouting this from the rooftops might mean some candidates are less than qualified to hold the office since they aren't paying enough attention to the issues they would be directly involved with.

Speaking of the COIT -

http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2008/0 ... 036683.txt

so the revenue expected well could be much less than anticipated anyway.

It was not written into the legislation but the property tax cap was written by the governor's staff to force government statewide and especially Lake county to cut spending. As Bert commented on previously, both families and private industry cut back on expenses yet in Lake county, Gary,East Chicago and Hammond,the theft and/or wasting of tax money continues. If the 1% COIT passes, the property tax cap legislation will be amended in a New York minute. The Governor is far too astute financially to not do so.

previous debt incurred before the law was in place is exempt from the cap. all debt incurred after july 1 2008 when the law went into force will come under the influence of the cap.

Ok now that I kinda knew about in general terms but doesn't sound quite like what Sparky was referring to.

But now thinking about that, I would venture that the new HHS could not proceed without a referendum vote because the bonds were not issued prior to July 1, thus it becomes a new debt and falls under spending caps. So to comply either way the school budget would have to be reduced unless there's an out clause that escapes me at the moment.

Didn't Indy tell Lake County two years ago that they had to pass the COIT? I seem to remember something about them freezing all the budgets if the COIT wasn't passed.

You are wrong about that,Oracle. Effective in 2010, every county in the state will have to conform to the new property tax caps, which are 1% for homeowner occupied residential,2% for rentals and farms and 3% for business. There is "no grandfathering" of any debt except in Lake and St. Joseph counties. When the bill was passed,it was widely covered in the papers.Here
is the link to the story. This is from that link.

In 90 counties, including Porter, property tax bills will be capped at 1 percent of assessed value for homeowners, 2 percent for landlords and 3 percent for businesses by 2010. (Bills will be capped at 1.5 percent, 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent respectively in those counties next year.)

In Lake and St. Joseph counties, existing construction debt won't be covered by the caps until 2020. Local government and schools in Lake County faced $244 million in annual spending cuts under the full caps, but removing their debt from the calculation of the caps lowered those losses to $154 million. For Lake County homeowners, the move means their bills will capped somewhere between 1.5 percent and 2 percent of their home's value in 2009. Starting in 2010, the average cap for Lake County homeowners will be 1.2 percent, but the range of tax bills will be 1 percent to 1.8 percent of a home's value. The caps will inch downward as local government retires existing debt, and all homeowners will be guaranteed a 1 percent cap in 2010, meaning they would pay no more than $1,000 in annual taxes on a home worth $100,000.
I am not trying to bash you,Steve, just trying to point out that you are spreading information that is wrong and making yourself look bad. It is better to say less and know what you are talking about than to lose credibility.