Latest news with #LegislativeServicesAgency
Chicago Tribune
25-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
‘You're shaking out the couch cushions': NWI leaders look for help amid tax cut
Indiana's new property tax system will result in an approximately $303 million reduction over the course of three years for Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties, according to the state's Legislative Services Agency. Lake County will see a reduction of $32.9 million in 2026, $37.2 million in 2027 and $165.1 million in 2028 for a total of $235.2 million in three years. Northern Lake County will see the highest reduction in property tax dollars in Northwest Indiana, said Beth Shrader, a planner and project manager with SEH, which along with Baker-Tilly, and Development Economic Finance held a Lunch & Learn session about the fiscal and planning challenges for cities and towns in Porter and Lake County in the wake of Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 1 (SEA 1). Porter County will see a reduction of $13.7 million in 2026, $14.5 million in 2027 and $21.4 million in 2028 for a total of $49.6 million in three years, LaPorte County will see a reduction of $5.3 million in 2026, $6.3 million in 2027 and $6.5 million in 2028, for a total of $18.1 million in three years, according to LSA. Jason Semler, principal with Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, said overall the new property tax system will benefit property owners but hurt local government funding. 'We're going to hurt,' Semler told the crowd of around 35 municipal officials. 'The less that they have to pay, the less money we receive.' Senate Enrolled Act 1 established a new property tax system by saving two-thirds of taxpayers up to $300 on their 2025 property tax bill while local governments, school districts, libraries and other units will lose $1.4 billion through 2028. As the bill moved through the legislature, county, city, and school leaders came to the legislature to testify about its financial impacts. Legislators told the local leaders that they could lean on local income tax to make up any budgetary shortfalls. Semler said Tuesday the legislature took the local income tax structure and 'threw it out and started over.' The local income tax, effective July 1, 2027, will decrease from 3.75% to 2.9%, Semler said. The 2.9% has to be allocated as follows: 1.2% for county general revenue, 0.4% for EMS and fire departments, 0.2% for townships and libraries, he said. Local income tax councils will be eliminated beginning July 1, 2027, and all local income tax rates have to be affirmed by Oct. 1, 2027 to continue into 2028, Semler said. Starting in 2031, the local income tax rates must be adopted annually by county councils, he said. In Porter County, state law requires a portion of the local income tax to go toward the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, said Portage Mayor Austin Bonta. He asked how that will be impacted under the new property tax law. Porter County will have to continue making that payment from its local income tax, Semler said. Hobart Mayor Josh Huddlestun asked about implementing the local income tax changes in cities and towns that have different zip codes. Hobart has four zip codes, he said, including people who have a Merrillville address but live in the corporate boundaries of Hobart. 'We're going to have to throw darts at a map,' when calculating local income tax rates, Huddlestun said. 'It's a nightmare.' Officials at the Indiana Department of Revenue have said that won't be known for a couple of years, Semler said. But, Semler said that's a good point because someone with a Valparaiso address doesn't necessarily live in city limits, so the tax allocations have to be looked at. 'That is something that's going to have to be worked out,' Semler said. Local leaders can begin preparing and mitigating the fiscal impact under the new property tax system by reviewing revenue projections, preparing a budget outlook, collaborating, creating a capital improvement plan, getting creative and communicating, Shrader said. A capital improvement plan typically projects five years out, Shrader said, and highlights specific projects, which includes linking the projects to budgets and timelines. Capital improvement plans also help build trust with the community, she said. Local officials could also apply for grants at the federal, state and private levels to help fund various projects, said SEH associate planner Nate Day. Another option local officials have to finance big projects amid decreased revenue streams has been lease purchase financing, Shrader said, which is a public-private partnership to complete a project without immediate costs Local officials have used lease purchase when traditional bond options are 'less attractive,' Shrader said. 'A lot of that risk is mitigated through that agreement,' Shrader said. Since 2019, Indiana has allowed for residential tax increment financing, which captures the assessed value of new residential developments, like new construction or age-restricted housing, said Dan Botich, the president for Development Economic Finance Consulting. Under the residential TIF, communities could use the funds from the captured assessed value to finance public safety or capital expenditure, Botich said. Another benefit, Botich said, the developer has to put in public improvements — sewer, streets, lighting, parks — around the residential project. Local leaders have to start preparing for the upcoming change to the property tax system, Shrader said. 'You need to make sure you're reassessing all of your funding options. You're shaking out the couch cushions trying to find any grants, any loans, any other opportunities that you left on the table in the past. If nothing else, to assure the people that you are communicating these issues, these changes and how they're going to impact you that you have looked at all options,' Shrader said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Work is underway to divide Johnson County into districts under a new state law. What to know:
Work is underway to comply with a state-mandated change that could reshape the future of Johnson County's governing body. Senate File 75, a change to state law passed and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in April, requires Story, Black Hawk and Johnson counties to elect their county supervisors via districts instead of at-large. In a letter addressed to the governor in April, the Johnson County supervisors urged Reynolds to veto the bill, saying it "targets" just three of 99 counties in the state and "strips them of their right to choose how their local governments are elected." "No matter how it is framed, this bill singles out counties that happen to elect local leaders who reflect the views of their diverse constituencies," the supervisors wrote. "That's not democracy in service to all, it's policymaking designed to produce different electoral outcomes." More: Is Iowa still in a drought? See how more May rainfall changed the US Drought Monitor map Johnson County will be split up into five districts, equal in population, that spread across the entire county. One supervisor will be elected from each district. What to know about the new election process: The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has appointed a three-member redistricting commission comprised of residents from around the area. The commissioners are Susan Dvorsky of Coralville, Nathan Mueller of Solon and Thomas McInerney of Iowa City. More: How Iowa Republicans voted on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' on taxes, Medicaid and SNAP The Johnson County Democrats chose Dvorsky and Mueller with support from the local board of supervisors. The county Republican party selected McInerney. The board met a May 15 deadline to establish the commission. The commission is now tasked with drawing five districts with equal populations within Johnson County. The temporary county redistricting commission will also hold "at least one public hearing to receive public comments about the plan." More: Congress passes budget bill with deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. What that means for Iowa A brief outline from Johnson County Board of Supervisors Chair Jon Green in board documents revealed plans for four public meetings in the summer and early fall, three daytime meetings, and one in the evening. The county redistricting commission's final plans for the 2026 elections must be in place by Oct. 1, 2025. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency will then officially draw the districts by the end of the year. The five-person Johnson County Board of Supervisors will all be up for election in 2026, once the districts have been finalized. If this law had not been set to take effect, only two of the five board members — Green and V Fixmer-Oraiz — would be up for election. Instead, Rod Sullivan, Lisa Green-Douglass and Mandi Remington are now poised to run a second election campaign in three years, having just been elected to four-year terms in 2024. More: Students ask Regents to veto tuition hike amid funding uncertainty, affordability concerns To offset future elections after the redistricting, the Johnson County Auditor's Office will randomly select two of the five districts for a 2028 supervisors election, according to board documents. The remaining three candidates will be elected to the typical four-year term. Several of the current supervisors could retain their seats depending on how the districts are drawn. The county has just over 160,000 total residents, the most recent census estimates show, meaning each of the five districts should contain about 32,000 people. More: A look at Liberty High School's adaptive P.E. class and the student's making a difference Iowa City is in the center of the county and could find itself within several districts. A U.S. Census estimate puts Iowa City's population at around 76,000 as of July 1, 2024, meaning the city could include two of the five districts. Fixmer-Oraiz, Remington and Sullivan all listed addresses in Iowa City in their most recent filings. Green-Douglass' address is listed in North Liberty, while Green's address is in Lone Tree. Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@ or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01. This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Johnson County redistricting begins ahead of 2026 supervisor elections
Axios
22-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Indiana lawmakers won't consider marijuana legalization
If you had high hopes Indiana's budget crisis would cause lawmakers to take another look at marijuana legalization, don't hold your breath. Catch up quick: Lawmakers learned last week they need to cut a staggering $2 billion from their two-year spending plan — or find a way to close the gap with additional revenue. As it stands, lawmakers have just $170 million in new dollars to spend in 2026 and $30 million in 2027. That's not much, considering the state spends around $22 billion annually and its Medicaid expenses are projected to grow by more than $400 million in the first year and another $375 million in the second. Between the lines: Statehouse leaders have said "everything is on the table" when it comes to writing a balanced budget, and that includes cuts and, possibly, new taxes. Yes, but: Not everything. What they're saying:"We're not going to legalize marijuana in the budget," House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) told reporters Thursday. Huston said legislators wouldn't consider fast-tracking significant public policy changes in the final week of the legislative session simply to close a budget gap. Plus: The taxes generated from legalization wouldn't solve Indiana's financial problems. A fiscal analysis from the state's Legislative Services Agency estimated that recreational marijuana would generate between $100 million and $200 million annually once a cannabis program was fully implemented (which would take some time). What's more likely: Raising the cigarette tax by $1 would bring in an estimated $200 million annually and is a policy that's already been vetted by the legislative process multiple times.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local parents pushing for change in student abuse investigations in Iowa school districts
DES MOINES, Iowa — In 2023, the Petek family filed a civil rights complaint against the Urbandale School District after they said the district did not take proper action in a situation involving their disabled student Keaton Petek. A teacher at the Urbandale elementary school, Amanda Delzell, was placed on administrative leave after attempting to report what she considered abuse. Delzell was later fired by the district. It's this situation that has Paige Petek and Pam Gronau seeking a change in Iowa code. 'It's my understanding that a full formal investigation where the parent should have received a report showing what they had found in their investigation was never done, it was never given to them. And so that was where the huge red flag came in and I said this has to change,' said Pam Gronau, a concerned parent with three students attending a central Iowa school district. Under current state law, teachers are mandatory reporters, except for when the abuse is at the hands of an educator. This allows school districts to take the lead in abuse allegations, which means the information surrounding an incident could be kept private. Gronau is advocating for a bill that will take alleged abuse investigations out of the hands of the school districts and into the hands of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Haven't filed your taxes yet? Here are some helpful tips 'As a parent, you want to make sure you send your children to the school … you want to know that they're safe when they're there. And in most cases, I think, most of our schools are doing the right thing. But we can't let there be even one opportunity for the right thing not to be done. We need to ensure that we are protecting our kids at all costs,' said Gronau. The bill sets up districts the department would open across the state to handle these investigations. The Legislative Services Agency projects that the DHHS will conduct around 600 investigations per year, and would need seven new full-time employee positions to handle the cases. The projected cost is over $700,000 in year one and $656,000 in year two. Though the bill passed through the Iowa House unanimously in a 96-0 vote, Gronau is concerned that the fiscal implications may hold it up in the Iowa Senate. The bill was recently placed in unfinished business, which means it could or could not pass and be signed into law this session. Gronau is urging Iowans to reach out to their elected officials and ask them to advance this bill along in the process. 'We need to protect our students in the state of Iowa and there shouldn't be a cost taken on their protection,' said Gronau. Iowa News: Iowa State University Insect Zoo to close Local parents pushing for change in student abuse investigations in Iowa school districts Haven't filed your taxes yet? Here are some helpful tips Man who shot at Iowa police officers sentenced after pleading guilty WATCH: Which Hawkeyes and Cyclones are bound for NFL? Draft Day Preview Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Governor gets more savings for homeowners in amended property tax proposal
After days of silence, Gov. Mike Braun gave a thumbs up on a significant property tax amendment minutes before Republican leaders brought it to the House floor. The measure passed on a 70-27 vote along party lines. Braun made property taxes a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign, and had been conspicuously quiet after House leaders unveiled their plan Friday. 'I am grateful for the leadership of (House) Speaker Todd Huston and (Senate) President Pro Tem Rod Bray and for the ways they have partnered with us to deliver this meaningful tax relief to Hoosiers,' Braun said in a statement shared to X. 'I encourage House members to support this amendment and urge the Senate to then take action quickly to get it to my desk for signature.' The new version of Senate Bill 1 will increase a credit applied to all homeowner bills to 10% or a maximum of $300, cumulatively saving homeowners $1.4 billion over the next three years. An earlier version had a $200 cap and saved homeowners $1.1 billion over three years. Additionally, the amended property tax bill softens its business personal property tax cuts and further drops local income tax limits. 'This amendment makes a good bill even better and provides even more relief to homeowners,' said Lizton Republican Rep. Jeff Thompson, who authored the amendment. Thompson, who also sponsored the underlying Senate motion, said that two-thirds of homeowners will see reduced bills in 2026 when compared to 2025. But Democrats again urged caution when voting on the large bill without knowing the full fiscal impact. The Legislative Services Agency doesn't release fiscal notes on amendments until they are adopted. 'I just can't vote on something that has so many uncertainties,' said Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis. A handful of Democrats spoke against the amended bill, many of whom mentioned the changes to the business personal property tax as a major concern. Currently, small businesses with less than $80,000 in such property — which can include equipment, billboards and more — are exempt. Before Wednesday, Senate Bill 1 would have halted the charge on purchases after this year, meaning the revenue to municipalities would gradually fall. A 2024 study from the Indiana Chamber found that exempting the tax on new business personal property would reduce revenue by $1.2 billion for the state while eliminating the depreciation floor would shave away another $35 million. In the amended property tax bill introduced on Wednesday, that $80,000 benchmark increases to $1 million next year and $2 million the year after. 'The government officials in our cities and towns (who) are going to be affected have not been in this conversation. There's still concerns with what we have, even though this amendment does make a little bit better than what we had in committee,' said Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster. '… a lot of elected officials are concerned that they're going to not be able to have this tool.' House Speaker Todd Huston made a rare appeal from the floor, urging his colleagues to advance the motion to amend. 'This is historic taxpayer relief. Historic,' said the Fishers Republican. '… This is a complex system. We are making it a better, more transparent system for all — whether you're a homeowner, a business or a farm. But we are, most of all, making it great for Hoosier families.' After accepting Thompson's edit, Republicans batted away over a dozen Democratic attempts to amend the bill, including ones that would grant more relief to renters, a first-time home buyer's credit and one restricting the personal property tax language to only American corporations. 'The money is tight,' Thompson repeatedly told Democrats, referencing the state's slim revenue growth predictions for the next two years. In a statement, House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta called Senate Bill 1 'a tax hike in disguise.' 'Paying up to 4.1% in income taxes to your city and county on top of state and federal taxes is much more than the $300 max in 'credit' you could receive off your property tax bill in 2026,' said GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne. 'Businesses still get a break, but working Hoosiers get crumbs. This is a bad deal for working Hoosier families, which is why House Democrats voted no on this plan.' The bill must pass through the House one more time before the Senate takes action. That chamber can opt to accept the amended property tax bill or dissent, which would go against Braun's wishes for a quick resolution. Dissenting would send the bill back to a conference committee, where lawmakers would hammer out a final negotiation that both chambers could agree upon. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
