The Marion County Township Trustees have such stringent guidelines for Poor
Relief that they have amassed 4-5 million dollar surpluses each. Now the
Capitol Improvements Board [CIB] wants to take it away and use it to pay
down the huge debt of the new Lucas Oil Stadium. What will happen if an
emergency comes along like a flood like last year, or taking care of their
abandon cemeteries, or infrastructure? Story here:
A bi-partisan group of Indiana representatives have called for a raid on the
rainy day funds of Marion County township trustees to bail the Capital
Improvement Board out of its money woes.
The CIB faces a $47 million budget deficit. $43 million will be due this
summer to pay for construction bonds. The statehouse reps call for annexing
the funds of the trustees which have fought back previous attempts to
legislate them out of office.
"I would hope that the public would say that if I have $50 million in my
left pocket and my right pocket needs it, maybe I ought to borrow it from my
left pocket," said Rep. Ed Delaney, a democrat from Marion County.
"The vast majority of the money that Representative Delaney is talking about
is sitting there in the rainy day funds which are funds already collected by
the trustees from the taxpayers," said Rep. Phil Hinkle, a Marion County
republican. "Before we start raising taxes on taxpayers, it is time we
utilize the money they have already paid to try to address this problem."
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has proposed hiking liquor, ticket, hotel
and car rental taxes and expanding a downtown taxing district and hitting up
the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers for $5 million apiece in order to
bail out the CIB. House-senate conferees at the statehouse will consider
that plan this week.
City County Council democrats have already called on lawmakers to allow
Marion County to retain more the tax money it generates but sends to state
coffers. On Monday, a bi-partisan group of council members issued a
statement, claiming that any CIB funding solution be a regional central
Indiana plan not dependent on Marion County alone and that such a proposal
also address funding for the arts.