THE LETTER ATTACHED BELOW  WAS SENT BY LABORERS’ INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA LOCAL #561 PRESIDENT  BARRY  RUSSELL.  ITS IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT BARRY RUSSELL IS A MEMBER OF THE EVANSVILLE  WATER AND SEWER UTILITIES BOARD.  MEETING MINUTES SHOW  THAT BOARD  MEMBER  BARRY RUSSELL VOTED FOR THE JOHNSON CONTROL “SMART METER PROJECT”.  

PLEASE NOTE THAT MR. RUSSELL STATED IN HIS LETTER THAT HE LIVED JUST OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.  Comment about Mr. Russell living in Newburgh was taken down by Editor because information was incorrect.

ABOUT  HALF  OF WORKERS WHO INSTALLED THE  “SMART METERS” IN EVANSVILLE WORKED FOR HYDROMAX, INC AND THE REMAINING WORKERS WERE FROM LOCAL PLUMBING AND STREAM FITTERS UNION # 136.

November 20, 2014

To all members of the Evansville City Council:

I am writing to express to you my extreme displeasure with Ordinance G 2014-30. Although the City Council may mistakenly believe that this ordinance is “in the best interest of the citizens of Evansville”, as a long-time resident and board member, vehemently disagree. As you are aware, Ordinance G 2014-30 will require that:

All persons serving on any boards, committees, comnzissions, funds, corporations, board of  directors, authorities, associations, or any other governing or advisory bodies shall be residents of the City of Evansville, Indiana.

Regardless of the narrow definition as provided in the above-referenced ordinance, I have always and will continue to proudly identify myself as a resident of Evansville. I was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in 1957 and grew up in the North Park area of Evansville. I attended Stringtown School and graduated from Central High School. Although I freely concede that my home of over 32 years is located just outside of the city limits, I believe it is worth noting that my Indiana driver’s license lists my city of residence as Evansville.

What should be of far greater significance to the members of this Council and the residents of Evansville is the dedication and capabilities of the individuals giving of their time to serve their community on these civic boards. Over the last 30 years I have supported and volunteered on numerous projects to benefit the City of Evansville. During that time I have also performed construction work on water lines, sewer lines, and storm sewer lines. I have worked on the construction of Water and Sewer Treatment Plants in Evansville and the surrounding areas. In addition, I continue to pay my water and sewer bills to the Evansville Water Utility. I also understand that the Evansville Water and Sewer Board serve not only the City of Evansville, but the surrounding areas as well. As a customer and as an interested stakeholder I firmly believe that eligibility for service on these boards should remain unchanged.

Over the years I have faithfully served on the Utility Board with dedication and a sincere commitment to the citizens of Evansville. Never before has my mailing address been a source of concern regarding my abilities to perform my duties on this Board and I am very confused as to why the Council now believes it to be a hindrance to such a degree as to disqualify me from eligibility to continue my service on this Board. Sincerely,

Barry Russell

President Business Manager Laborers’Local 561

LABORERS’ INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, LOCAL UNION #561

THIS LETTER WAS POSTED BY CCO WITHOUT OPINON,  BIAS OR EDITING.

By Lesley Weidenbener
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – About half of all Indiana companies would stop paying property taxes on the value of their equipment under a recommendation a legislative study committee made Wednesday.

The group’s chairman – Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek – said those firms might be required to pay a modest fee to help make up revenue lost to local governments. However, the latter was not among the 18 recommendations approved by the Commission on Business Personal Property and Business Taxation.

Hershman called the commission’s recommendations “aspirational” and said the group’s final report will serve as a “guidance document” the legislature could implement over time.

But the Republican, who chairs the Senate Tax & Fiscal Policy Committee, said he’d like to move forward with the small business property tax cut when lawmakers reconvene in January. The proposal would exempt taxpayers that have less than $20,000 in equipment.

Under a law passed earlier this year, counties have the option of eliminating the tax for those companies. But the personal property tax commission voted Wednesday to recommend that the change become mandatory for taxes paid in 2017.

Most of the 147,000 companies that would be affected pay less than $50 per year, said Kevin Brinegar, president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and a member of the commission. But he said they often spend much more to have their equipment assessed and tax returns prepared.

He called the proposal a “common sense recommendation.”

Still, the change would not come without costs to local governments and schools that rely on the revenue.

According to a fiscal analysis prepared by the Legislative Services Agency, the tax cut would save Hoosier small businesses about $13.5 million a year. But because of the way the change would shift tax burdens to other property owners – and move some of those taxpayers up to constitutional limits on their bills – local governments would lose less than that. LSA estimates the total be about $6.8 million per year, with cities, towns and schools hit hardest.

The commission did not propose specific ways to help local governments weather the cuts. But it did approve a general recommendation that called for continued discussions about ways to “mitigate any lost revenues realized by local units” of government.

Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett, a member of the commission, said his city has been hit hard by other property tax changes and would likely suffer losses under the new proposal. Still, he voted for the commission recommendations, in part because they call for additional conversations about new revenue sources.

“I just want to make sure we continue to keep that in front of us,” Bennett said.

After the meeting, Hershman said he would consider legislation that imposed a $25 or $50 fee on companies that are freed from paying property taxes on business equipment. He said that would be easier and cheaper for the firms because they would not need to pay for professional help to assess their equipment and prepare their returns. And he said it would relieve administrative burdens for local governments that have to process the returns as well.

It “would probably be a win-win for everyone involved,” Hershman said. But “we didn’t adopt that as a recommendation because we still have some due diligence and research to do it on that.”

The commission also recommended Wednesday that the legislature:

Postpone changes – again – in the way agricultural land is assessed for taxation. The recommendation says that the state should use the same base assessments for farmland in 2015 as it did this year and should use so-called soil productivity figures that have been used since 2011. Otherwise, taxes on farmers are expected to increase. The committee said the state should also look for alternative ways to assessing agricultural property.
Consolidate several existing local income tax rates into a single rate that could be used in part to reduce property tax rates and pay for debt and special projects.
Remove the requirement that local governments use local income taxes in part to reduce property taxes in order to have permission to use those rates to fund public safety.
Change a sales tax exemption for manufacturing and agricultural production so that companies don’t have to pay the tax if the product is used directly in the overall production process. Currently it must be used in the direct production of a product to qualify.
Lesley Weidenbener is executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.