IndyGo, another agency dependent on property taxes, also adopted a 2011 budget Monday, and it, too, will pursue a shortfall appeal as expected.And just as typical is the Republican response:If approved by the City-County Council, the appeals would bring in $1.8 million for the library and $1.5 million for IndyGo. But for most homeowners, the increase combined would be only a couple of bucks.
The one-time levy, which would not increase the actual tax rate, would increase taxes by $1.21 for a $100,000 property, said library Chief Financial Officer Becky Dixon. The IndyGo increase would be roughly $1 per $100,000.
Angel Rivera, a Republican who initially expressed opposition to the move, said because the increase was small, he "would give it a lot more consideration," though the council is still exploring other options.Republicans are against tax hikes, until they are for them.
"I don't like tax raises," Rivera said. "But if it's $2.50 per parcel, I think we'd have to seriously consider it."
There are too many other things the Library and IndyGo can still do to generate revenue. They can charge their users for the services they use. Hike the fares, charge more for overdue videos, and charge to use the internet. Is this so hard to figure out?
I suppose it's easier to simply claw at the community as a whole.
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Not sure how these couple of items that came to mind play into the overall analysis, if at all, but here they are:
#I am forever hearing from debtors complaints about how their lack of transportation is keeping them from getting any or a better job. Sometimes this is based on their old car breaking down. Sometimes it's based on the fact that I've suspended their license on a claim where they caused damage as an uninsured motorist.
#The Urbanophile had a pretty good post a few weeks back on how cities should rethink and improve their bus systems. Normally, the bus service is awful and your fellow passengers are from the sketchier end of the community's demographics.
I always thought it a luxury to live far from your place of employment. I'm guessing your debtors are probably big on making excuses, though.
One of the troubles with Indy is that it is a sprawling city. Sure, a lot of people work downtown, but workers come from all over. The number of routes necessary to cover all the bases is astonishing. This has a lot to do with geography. Consider Manhattan, which is an oblong-ish island, or cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Baltimore, etc., that have large bodies of water confining population to certain directions. That allows for a greater rationality of routes, because in the cases of Cle or Chicago, you aren't going north.
Really, in terms of geography, Indy has to be one of the worst locations to try to run a bus service that would serve every possible group of passengers... and we haven't even begun to talk about suburbanites not wanting to stigmatize themselves with a ride on the lowly bus.
Seems like yesterday or today, I just read something about Indy ranking high (or low - depending on perspective) in terms of the lack of barriers to sprawl, regulatory or otherwise. Can't remember where that was.
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