How and when do I vote?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 2nd. In the primary, the parties chose their candidates, and I was fortunate to be one of three Republicans to make it onto the ballot in the fall. There are three at-large County Council seats, with the three Republican candidates facing up to three Democrats. The deadline to register to vote in the 2008 election is October 6th. If you are not registered, you can register at any Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch or the County Clerk's Office in the Boone County Courthouse. You can also pick up a mail-in registration form at any library or print one off the Secretary of State's website. The polls will be open 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. You can find your polling place and answers to most other voting questions here. If you can't make the polls on November 2nd, absentee voting starts October 6th and continues through October 27th. An absentee ballot can be requested here.

Thoughts on Government Restructuring

Late last year, the bipartisan Kernan-Shepard Commission on Streamlining Local Government released a report full of good ideas about restructuring Indiana’s often outdated local government system. Many of the guiding principles behind their recommendations reflect my own philosophy of local government: local government should be simpler, more understandable and more responsive; local government should be more transparent; only elected officials should be allowed to approve taxes and debt; administration of state services should be matched with state funding whenever possible. The commission’s report seeks to move from philosophy to specific ideas. The next step will be turning those ideas into concrete action at both the state and local level. While any restructuring must come from the state legislature, I as a County Council member will advocate for reforms that move us toward fulfilling these goals.

As a believer in traditional Republican principles, I favor smaller government and local control over both policy and taxation. As a teacher, and more importantly as a student of government, I recognize the complexities in balancing efficiency with responsibility and accountability; “smaller government and local control” rarely means the most efficient or cost-effective government, and many times doesn’t even provide the most responsible or accountable government, either. I think it is important to remember that while business provides many models for improving government efficiency, government is not a business. Business is about profit, while government is about people, about respecting their rights, listening to their views and protecting their wallets.

That said, there are several recommendations in the Kernan-Shepard Report I would like to see implemented immediately:
-- “Establish a single, unified legislative body for county government.” County government in its current form is far too complex. Even those who take an active interest in county government – and even many of those who serve in it – have trouble knowing which parts of government are responsible for which decisions. The current division of powers between Commissioners and Council creates confusion and inefficiency while hindering both accountable and responsibility. An expanded County Council with clear legislative decision-making powers and a Board of Commissioners limited to executive powers and implementation of policy makes better sense both governmentally and economically.
-- “Consolidate emergency public safety dispatch by county or multi-county region.” Boone County has already essentially done with this with our move to the 800 MHz communication system (paid for without county tax dollars); completing this transition for Boone and surrounding counties will improve both safety and efficiency.
-- “Transfer the responsibility for all funding of the state’s trial court system to the state . . ..” What we tend to think of as the county court system, including the county prosecutor, are really state courts and officers, enforcing state law. Counties currently have little control over them, yet are required to fund their operation.
-- “Move all municipal elections to an even-year cycle.” Every election, both primary and general, costs our county tens – sometimes hundreds – of thousands of dollars to conduct, no matter how many voters actually cast ballots. Moving municipal elections, with their woefully low average turnout, to coincide with state and national elections would increase participation and save taxpayers significant money.

Many other ideas in the report merit serious consideration. Several I consider priorities, but with some reservations:
-- “Establish a single-person elected county chief executive.” I like the idea of a streamlined executive branch, except at the very top. This is where efficiency collides with accountability. A three-member board of commissioners (our current structure) provides a broader voice for citizens, while staggered elections allow frequent turnover if voters are dissatisfied. A president or governor must be able to act quickly and decisively, but at the county level deliberation should trump decisiveness. The current number of commissioners should be preserved precisely because it is less efficient.
-- “Move the funding of child welfare from counties to the state.” This seems like a straightforward proposal, and it’s one I support, but our child welfare system is enormously complex and any change that might affect the safety and well-being of the children it serves must be fully thought out and carefully weighed before implementation. Shifting funding doesn’t – and shouldn’t – always mean shifting responsibility for administration of services away from local case workers who have the best grasp of each unique situation.
-- “Transfer the responsibility for administering the duties of township government . . . to the county executive.” This recommendation more than any other embodies the conflict between local government and efficient government. The state legislature just adopted legislation that eliminates the township assessor position and shifts those responsibilities to the county assessor, but leaves responsibility for poor relief, fire protection, EMS and cemetery care with the township trustee and board. I applaud this first step, as it at the least improves accountability by streamlining the assessment process. I would like to see the oversight and funding of the remaining township duties moved to the county level as well, but doing so in a way that maintains a responsive local presence and local control will be a long and complex process.
-- “Conduct all non-partisan school elections during November in even years.” It’s my understanding that current law allows counties to choose whether to hold school board elections in May or November and Boone, like most counties, conducts them in conjunction with the primary. I see no need for changing the law governing this choice, but I would like to see our school elections moved to the fall for two reasons: 1., since voters under 18 can vote in a primary but not in the school board election, our clerk’s office must spend extra time and money creating an additional ballot for the different voters to use; 2., primary turnout is notoriously low – since schools are a community’s single most important asset as well as by far the largest recipient of property tax dollars, more voters should have a say in who oversees them, which is more likely to be the case in a fall election.
-- “Reorganize library systems by county and provide permanent library service for all citizens.” Libraries, like schools, are fundamental to building an educated, thoughtful and adaptable community. They are economic, as well as cultural, investments. No child should be denied access to a library, yet five of Boone’s 12 townships have no public library service. Expanding service while preserving what’s good about our current library system will be tricky, but Boone County’s long-term viability depends upon it.

Many other of the commission’s recommendations are worthy of debate and most should be enacted in some form. I strongly encourage you to read the report, think about its implications, and share your views with both your local government officials and especially your state representative and state senator, as it is the Indiana General Assembly that ultimately must enact any proposed reform.

Thoughts on Property Tax Reform

Property tax reform dominated the 2008 legislative session and the plan which emerged, based largely on that proposed by Governor Daniels in December, promises major changes in the way Indiana funds government at the local level. The 1% cap on homestead property tax which the governor signed into law and which has begun the process of being embedded into our constitution will provide welcome relief for some Boone County taxpayers, but could spell increases in the future for others. And the 1% increase in the state sales tax will impact everyone, whether or not they own property. It’s too early to gauge the full impact of the 1-2-3 tiered cap plan, but it if the governor’s long-term goal was to force local government entities to think differently about how they fund services, it has already succeeded. While our county government at least in the near term will see few significant repercussions, the caps could mean big trouble for some of our cities and towns, libraries, and especially our schools. No doubt the new process will require additional tinkering for many years. It is my hope that in the end, no matter what the specific numbers might be, we can reach a system that is fair, consistent and most of all stable. For businesses and homeowners alike, perhaps the biggest tax-related fear is not just that taxes will rise, but that they will rise suddenly and dramatically. A system that allows taxpayers to plan accurately for future costs will also allow government to plan in order to make informed and logical decisions about spending, so that necessary cuts trim fat and not bone.

One of the rallying cries for those pushing property tax reform has been the elimination of the homestead tax altogether. While in principle I really like the idea, I just don’t see how it can feasibly be done without the kind of increases in other areas that would be crippling to our state’s economy. Additionally, I believe at a fundamental level that property taxes make sense. The system we currently use for determining, collecting and distributing property taxes is an absolute disaster, and the governor’s new plan won’t really do much to address many of its biggest flaws. But if the system could be implemented fairly – and I know that’s a big if – property taxes can be the most transparent and understandable of all taxes. Two factors support this belief. First, we all know exactly how much we pay for property taxes. How many of us know how much we pay in sales tax (each week let alone each year)? Under a better system we would also be able to know exactly where that money goes. What was your county option income tax bill last year? If I am elected to serve on the County Council and residents feel too much of their tax money is going to county government they will know exactly who to contact, and who to vote out office if their concerns are not addressed. Second, taxes on property – in a fair system – go directly to pay for services that increase the value of that property. Property in low-crime areas, with quality libraries and public schools, reliable infrastructure (streets/roads, sewers, utilities) and efficient delivery of services is worth more because of those factors. Under a fair property tax system, we get what we pay for; true, some who do not pay also benefit, but those who do pay benefit far more.

The “property tax crisis” that swept across Indiana last summer and fall had widely varying impact on Boone County residents. Nearly everyone’s tax bills increased, with those in our southeast quadrant hit particularly hard. A number of factors contributed to this increase – “trending” as the basis for reassessment, elimination of business inventory tax (which shifted more burden to other property tax payers), reduction of the state property tax replacement credit, etc. – but little of it had to do with county government. On average, only a bit more than 10% of Boone County property tax dollars go to fund county government, according to the state’s Department of Local Government and Finance, and only about $3 million of Boone County’s annual $15 million+ budget comes from property taxes. As in most counties, and to a greater extent in some areas of Boone than in others, most property tax money (71% county-wide on average) goes to fund our public schools. The current County Council and its predecessors have done a good job of managing our finances so that changes will not have much immediate impact, but better long-term planning will be needed to ward off future shortfalls or tax increases in other areas.