Consolidation--Is almost a done deal

First the big boys were not going to be upstaged by the small fries. With surrounding areas gaining more knowledge of the underlying reasons for City County push to consolidate, East Allen County are banning together. So Allen County Commissions are giving in to some type of consolidation for merging departments, only. The City will have to swallow the amendment consolidation agreement or the agreement fails. Or City Council can choose to make other amendments sending the consolidation agreement back to the Allen County Commissioners. With this back and forth amendment nowhere is the public involved.

The amended consolidation agreement does not follow the law under Indiana Code 36.1.5.2, formerly referred to as House Bill 1362. The reason because it would require community input before any type of consolidation. City Council consolidation agreement has thumbed its nose at the voters.

Council Person Sam Talarico is not running for his seat and is one of the co author of the push consolidation down the throats of the voters. The public was not supporting of City-County changing government, and the second co-author, Dr. John Crawford was not impressed with the unyielding Allen County Commissioners non cooperative. So the two new founding fathers, Dr. Crawford and Talarico flipped the steps, merge departments and study and then go to the people.


The joint parties will commission a study on how to consolidation city and county government. This circumvents of IC 36.1.5 requirement of public hearings on consolidation of city and county government. The local Republican leadership, believe like their fear leader, President George W. Bush, they know what's best for the people. It is not a government for the people, by the people, it is by elite businessmen seeking their own best interest.

According to Amanda Icone in the Journal Gazette

The commissioners will send a cover letter with the amended resolution to the City Council asking for the facilitator and the committee to review each city and county department for ways to make them more efficient, including possible mergers. The letter would also ask that a committee of council members and commissioners meet before the proposed study committee begins to ensure the elected officials work together.

East Allen County were quite aware of behind closed door dealing instead of open government for local citizen. East Allen County formed their proposal. And East Allen County will place it on a referendum for the voters to vote on it.

Communities in east Allen County are considering creating an umbrella government that could provide some services to 19 towns, townships and cities but maintain the independence of existing municipalities. The proposed hybrid government is expected to be on the November 2008 ballot for a referendum.

No surprise here. In the Harrison Square Study, consolidation will bring more people to work for city-county government. The Study suggest that having a jobs in the area (downtown) will encourage these folks to live downtown. Fort Wayne's new tool for growing its population seems to have failed. Fort Wayne has tried annexation to stem the tide of raced white flight from the core of the city. But elected official call it a more efficient and efficiency government.

Consolidation Fall out and market value trending

The City Council and the Allen County Commissioners have discovered what the taxpayers were already cognitive about when it came to total consolidation. The need to study the impact of consolidation on the whole community. The group meeting came out with a decision to form another yellow ribbon committee outside the law governing consolidation. The cautionary yellow ribbon committee does not need the public hearings as it discusses merging certain departments.

More than likely, the latest action by the city council is to quiet the public as it attempts to do what the law forbids without the public input. Remember, the two authors of the proposal were Republcans, Dr. John Crawford and Sam Talarico. Talarico is not seeking reelection, which may explain why City Council and its' members are moving this merger without the public permission.

Here is a suggested reading, by the Indiana Policy Review Foundation on Marion County consolidation, that was forwarded the to me, after blogging about consolidation.

The Indiana Policy Review Foundation,in turn, conducted research on the effects of consolidation on the efficiency and effectiveness of providing local public services. It had a different task and focus. The commission asked the foundation to summarize what experts thought about local government consolidation.

From Sam Staley's finding, I find limited consolidation as the best fit for communities like Fort Wayne which is so fragmented. Fragmented in the different constituents needs and interest. Below are some of the issues in limited consolidation.

Focusing on police departments, the biggest obstacle is overcoming attitudes.
Attitudes surrounding pay inequity, choice of jobs, wealth building, and union muscle during negotiation.

Economy development departments, decision makers who are more in favor of growth in hopes of influencing new money into the city as well as in anticipation of new ideas bubbling up from the newly formed government. The cost laid at the foots of those in the outlaying communities.

The biggest interest for me is the diluting of the African-American representation. And the second reason is the cost of merged operations that would involve more specialized skills, from the cost of a more professional staff for governing the merged departments would fall more heavily on the the taxing of African-Americans living in the under developed and depressed areas.


In order to shush the more affluence tax base, a lower tax rate will be used to reduce the ticket shock of the merger. While the tax rate will be increased to subsides the lower rate given to the outlying areas.

This increasing in property tax has been cushioned with the replacement tax, but the
Governor is talking about doing away with it. The fact that many assessing units are uniformity assessing property, trending to increase property tax is on the horizon.

The township assessors wants the county to hire a private company, GNA, to assess property next year utilizing a new system called "trending." Instead of going out and assessing property like the assessors should have, they will attempt to match similar properties. Trending is what caused the over assessment of property in the
City of Fort Wayne, because homes were estimated rather than actual assessed. Houses were priced at amount that similar houses in other neighborhoods. But because neighborhoods is a factor on the selling price of a piece of property, this was an unfair comparable assessment. This is a time saving as well as it compensate for those who are not trained in assessing properties.

State officials mandated counties adopt market trending this year in an attempt to make anticipate the cost of increases in property taxes. This way, the officials can determine how they will skew the increase in favor of the more affluence taxpayers.

This does not benefit the tax payers in the city if the assessed values were what properties would be sold for rather than what the property would actual be sold for.

Furthermore, in the news media, comments have focused on the need for a Property Tax Board. When in fact, the taxpayer should pay more attention to the one lone representative in their district who goes to Indianapolis and draft laws that are not in their district interest. The tax board that is proposed is to reduce the tax rate. Where as the time to protest inaccurate property tax bills remains on the tax payers. And the legislators have reduced the time to protest tax bill.

Under SEA 362 reduces the length of time taxpayers have to protest a tax bill and file a suit in tax court. To protest a tax bill, taxpayers will have 45 days. Previously, taxpayers had 60 days. In addition, taxpayers will have 60 days to file a suit in tax court, a change from the previous 180 days.

The shortening of the time will prevent folks from protesting on mistakes made by the auditors and treasurer office.

Consolidation vs gerrymandering

Consolidation goes after Democrats 6th District representative Glynn Hines. The Journal-Gazette reports that democratic packed district will have a Republican challenger, Joe Smith.

Mayor Graham Richards

How many days before the election: 67? I posted this yesterday:

If your property value is not being reduced back to what it was in 2002, how is the property tax being reduced? Answer: its not.

Today, Ben Lanka of the Journal-Gazette reports on why the tax rate may go down but that don't mean your tax bill is going to be that less of a bill.

Aboite has just gotten punked, that's all, plain and simple.

Read what Bill Ruthhart of IndyStar reports about lowering tax rate when property values may go up on a yearly basis, and that's the rest of the story.

County Consolidation Survey

These are the four questions, The Allen County Commissioners are seeking public input on the issue of government reorganization. This online poll is part of an information gathering process that has included public hearings and the acceptance of comments in writing.
Comments in writing may be submitted by e-mail (mailto:commissioner@allencounty.us ), by fax (260-449-7568) or by mail at 1 E. Main St., Room 200, Fort Wayne, IN 46802. You have to give name and address. Sent to your pals who don't have anything better to do, as a joke or to those who take it seriously.

*1. Do you believe that the current structure of local government is an obstacle to our community's progress and economic development?
Yes
No

*2. Do you support the creation of a committee for the purpose of studying reorganization of local government?
Strongly Support
Somewhat Support
Somewhat Oppose
Strongly Oppose
No Opinion

*3. How large do you believe that such a committee (comprised of representatives of cities, towns and unincorporated areas) should be in order to represent all interests that should be involved in a discussion of government reorganization?
0-5 members
5-15 members
15-30 members
30+ members

*4. Where do you live?
Unincorporated Allen County
A city or town outside the City of Fort Wayne
The City of Fort Wayne