Articles
Governor Daniels' Weekly Wrap-up: 3/11/08
Weekly Wrap-up
A look at news and events in the Daniels Administration
Volume 2, Issue 72
March 3 - 9, 2008
A Winning Plan for Property Tax Relief
We are close to a huge breakthrough in delivering permanent property tax relief for Hoosier homeowners. Legislators from both parties have worked hard and in good faith to evaluate and improve the original plan that I proposed to them last October. I hope that, in the next week or so, I will be able to sign legislation that cuts property taxes sharply and protects against future unfair increases by capping them forever, while addressing the concerns of local governments and schools about their ability to provide services in the coming era of property tax restraint.
This week, Senator Luke Kenley and others produced a compromise plan that deserves bipartisan and universal support. It meets all four of the elements I have laid out as essential to real property tax reform: immediate and significant relief for all property taxpayers; permanent protection against future tax increases; meaningful controls on local government spending; and improved accuracy and fairness in the assessment of property values.
Despite many changes, the basic framework of my original proposal has been maintained. It provides an additional $700 million in relief for 2008 tax bills, in addition to the $250 million already allocated by the General Assembly. The average homeowner would see about a 1/3 cut with those hardest hit seeing even greater relief. It takes the cost of funding school operations, child welfare, and other local obligations off the backs of property taxpayers and shifts them to the state. It caps property tax bills at 1 per cent of a home's assessed value, requires referenda to approve major new capital projects, and sharply reduces the number of assessors responsible for valuing property.
At the same time, this compromise plan is exactly that - a compromise. It takes into account the concerns that have been expressed most loudly during the legislature's consideration of property tax reform. It provides special tax relief for lower income Hoosiers, renters, and senior citizens. It eases the transition for schools and local governments to a new era of lower property taxes and gives them more flexibility than they've ever had to manage their fiscal affairs. The plan is especially sensitive to the concerns of our schools, providing two years of special payments to partially offset the impact of the new taxpayer protections, allowing communities to exceed the caps for school spending with taxpayer approval, and increasing the school "rainy day fund."
This practical plan provides an opportunity for Hoosiers to come together in our state's best tradition of pragmatic problem solving. It would provide Hoosier homeowners and businesses with security and predictability they've never before enjoyed, knowing that there is a fair and final limit on the amount of tax they will ever pay on their property. It gives taxpayers a much stronger voice in decisions about the new public and school facilities that are built in their communities. It places clear accountability for local government spending on local government officials, finally ending the state subsidies that rewarded those who spent the most locally with the greatest amount of state support.
As I've traveled the state the past few months, I've seen the consequences of high property taxes firsthand. I've met with homeowners of all ages who are scared that they will have to leave their homes because they can no longer pay their property tax bills. They don't understand a system that first decides how much government wants to spend and then sends out the bills, regardless of how high they are. Taxpayers want government to stop living beyond their means and instead hold spending down to what they can afford to pay.
I've also visited communities that are struggling to provide adequate public services because both families and businesses have fled to avoid the costs of ever-rising property tax bills. The biggest threat to our cities and schools is not property tax caps, as their lobbyists argued to the General Assembly. It is the negative spiral whereby high taxes drive people away, leaving a shrinking tax base that pushes up further rates for remaining taxpayers, thus driving even more people and businesses to places with lower taxes. The best way to stabilize communities and struggling school districts is to encourage families and businesses to stay put by reducing their taxes and providing them with certainty by capping their future tax exposure.
The months of hard work have been well spent, and the time for decision has arrived. Legislators must now side either with those who pay property taxes or those who spend them. Those who continue to defend a system that can tax Hoosiers without limit must accept the justice of permanent protection that is fair for all. The General Assembly has an historic opportunity to fix, once and for all, the state's property tax problems and make Indiana America's best place to own a home or business.
Mar. 7, 2008- Governing magazine, in conjunction with the
Overall,
Researchers analyzed performance in four categories: money, people, infrastructure and information. Within each of these categories are five criteria for which states were rated as a strength, mid-level, or weakness. The 20 criteria used are identical to the measures used for the last report in 2005, allowing direct comparison to individual performance from three years ago.
Grades were also assessed at the category level (money, people, infrastructure and information).
|
|
2005 |
2008 |
|
Money |
C |
B+ |
|
People |
C |
B |
|
Infrastructure |
B- |
B+ |
|
Information |
C |
B- |
|
OVERALL |
C+ |
B |
Waste services company to create more than 350 new jobs in Morocco
Mar. 7, 2008- Governor Mitch Daniels joined executives from Allied Waste Industries, Inc. (NYSE: AW), the nation's second largest waste services company, to announce the Company's plans to establish a new regional customer and financial support center in Morocco, creating more than 350 new jobs by 2014.
The new jobs come following the Phoenix-based company's decision to consolidate its regional customer support center operations into a centralized operation in this
"We welcome Allied Waste's continued investment in the Hoosier state," Daniels said. "We have worked hard to create a competitive environment that differentiates ourselves from our neighbors and makes
Allied Waste will locate its new consolidated customer support center in an idled manufacturing facility located at
Ag equipment manufacturer to expand its
Mar. 3, 2008- Laidig Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of silo storage and conveyor systems, announced it will expand its operations here, creating more than 45 new jobs.
The company, which designs and manufactures dry good reclaim systems and silo unloaders, will invest more than $6 million to build a 49,000 square-foot addition to its manufacturing and office facility at 14535 Dragoon Trail.
"Creating an environment that encourages growth is essential to
Governor's schedule for March 11
Tuesday, March 11
-Governor Mitch Daniels will join executives from Medco for a research and development announcement and a groundbreaking ceremony for the world's largest and most advanced automated pharmacy.
2 p.m.
Future site of Medco Pharmacy
Whitestown
Directions: Go north on I-65 to Exit 133 (State Road 267), right on County Road 400 south, right on Anson Boulevard. Parking is available near the large industrial building on the left.
IN THE NEWS
New firm will set up in Indiana
Gary Post-Tribune
March 8, 2008
By Carrie Napoleon
Officials from Allied, Newton County and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. have been in negotiations since last year to establish Allied's regional call center at the site of the former auto parts maker. The waste management company operates
"Today is exactly the kind of day we get up for every day in our administration," Daniels said.
The news comes on the heels of an article in Chief Executive Magazine which names
The call center, which will serve 17 states for Phoenix-based Allied, should be running by the end of the year, according to Jim VanWeelden, vice president of market planning and development for Allied.
He said the work to prepare the building will mostly revolve around software and telephony, and he expects it to begin within the next 60 days. The site has enough office space for the operation to start. The company expects to spend about $1.7 million to update the facility.
VanWeelden expects the company will hire about 40 people during the fourth quarter of this year and then continue to grow. Allied committed to creating the full amount of jobs by 2014.
The IEDC offered Allied Waste up to $1.8 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans.
The state will also provide
Later in the day in Merrill-ville, Daniels continued to laud
Daniels mentioned two local businesses as proof that
Valdes Engineering, which broke ground at Ridge Road and Broad Street in Griffith, and Charleston, W.Va.-based pipe distributor McJunkin Red Man's Illinois operations relocating to Munster, were cited by Daniels as reasons why the state was rated No. 8 in the CEO survey.
"What's become a steady flow will become a flood," Daniels said. "Northwest Indiana has the biggest opportunity for reform in the state, and that's why I advocate for
Among the potential jewels is the
"We're the only state in our area with a balanced budget, and revenues have dipped this year. We need to be careful," he said.
"The state Convention and Visitors Bureau (in
Daniels hasn't seen any of the reworked legislation going through the General Assembly but said Luke Kenley's ideas for the expansion are "close" to what he thinks it should be.
Daniels visits GOP-themed C.P. café
March 08, 2008
CROWN POINT | Gov. Mitch Daniels commended Conservative Cafe owners Bill McCall and Dave Beckham on Friday for their "gumption."
"This is what
Daniels stopped into the business before making his way to the governor's ball in
Former Mayor Dan Klein, Crown Point schools Superintendent Teresa Eineman, Councilwoman Carol Drasga and local developers Tim Walsh and Dave Bryan were among those who showed up to greet the governor.
"I know everybody is excited to see Johnny Depp, but I'm excited to see the governor," said Beckham, referring to the upcoming filming of a Depp movie in town.
Cameras flashed as Daniels wound his way through the dining area, chatting with residents and children.
McCall and Beckham presented Daniels with a black Conservative Cafe jacket stitched with his name in white.
The Times honors Daniels, Visclosky as Partners in Progress
March 08, 2008
By Keith Benman
U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., and Gov. Mitch Daniels both were awarded The Times Partners in Progress Award at Friday's Business and Industry Hall of Fame awards.
"More than federal and state, more than Democrat and Republican, these two are Hoosiers," said Times Publisher Bill Masterson Jr. as he bestowed the award.
The congressman and governor worked together three years ago to create a fully funded Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. Both have also worked on funding for the Gary/Chicago International Airport expansion and
Visclosky said
"Every corner of the state needs to move forward," Visclosky said. "And to do that we need good-paying jobs."
Daniels has taken a number of actions unpopular in
Daniels estimates he has made more than 60 trips to the northwest corner of the state since first running for governor in 2004.
"There are too many people in the rest of the state who don't appreciate the great asset we have here, the great potential we have here in
The Partners in Progress Award will be given for special merit in future years, but not necessarily every year, Masterson said.
Indiana first lady has a heart-to-heart
March 6, 2008
By: Sue Lowe
MISHAWAKA - When Indiana's first lady Cheri Daniels did a program on heart health at Indiana University, her daughter, a senior, and some friends went to the health screening.
Daniels said two of her daughter's friends had very high cholesterol readings.
"They are active," she said. "They're not overweight. But their food choices are horrible."
And that's the reason, Daniels says, women as young as college age need to start getting health screenings.
The first lady was in
Daniels said heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, as well as men. She said it can strike somebody who is thin and exercises often.
So she urged her audience to "get your numbers."
Those numbers are cholesterol, blood pressure and triglycerides.
If any of those numbers are too high, people need to do something about it. They may need to change their diet, exercise more or take medicine, according to Daniels.
She said women's symptoms of heart attacks are different from those men often have. Daniels said that while men often have crushing chest pain, women may experience extreme fatigue or have flu-like symptoms.
She said one in 2.6 women die of heart disease. The first lady asked women to "be bold" about taking care of their health and "help me make
She said more information is available at www.in.gov/inshape/.
