Monday, August 27, 2007

MARKET TO MARKET OR THE STATE GOVERNMENT HAS WON AGAIN.

MARKET TO MARKET OR THE STATE GOVERNMENT HAS WON AGAIN.

But “we need development to lower our taxes.” Oh hell yes.
Scattered around Indianapolis in some pretty good neighborhoods (and also some not such great neighborhoods) forests of red lettered signs are cropping up like mushrooms in your barnyard after a rain. They say:

HOUSE FOR SALE
BY OWNER
DUE TO UNFAIR TAXES

This is the result of a judicial decision, about which of course our politicians are blowing smoke, perhaps smoke from Dearborn County’s cash crop, as to what they will do to relieve this disgusting problem. The state is taxing Americans out of their homes; homes that represent their desire for the American Dream, homes in which they wish to raise their children, homes that represent perhaps the largest asset among the assets the owner. We should put ourselves in those folks’ shoes. This is a statewide problem; we’ll see it here. I know a widow with a home and a couple of acres who has seen her taxes grow from 8 thousand dollars a year in 2003 to currently over 25 thousand dollars a year.

Now along comes the pro develop anything anywhere crowd such as the Chamber of Commerce, the DCEDI and all of their sycophants, even those who can’t/won’t pay the 5000 dollar admission fee to the DCEDI.

They claim that development will lower our property taxes. Well let’s take a look again at Indianapolis.

Indianapolis has a city county government so the taxes are all the same - done by the same taxing authority. Indianapolis and its Marion County are loaded with commercial business. There are restaurants galore, hotels, two sports stadiums, the Eli Lilly Company, many insurance companies and the Allison Engine company just to describe a few. It’s not exactly Dearborn County and yet with all of this development, including subdivisions and a few mammoth shopping malls, their home taxes are shooting up, as will ours with or without development.

So the argument that development will lower our taxes is specious. It always has been.

Every year new tax calculations will determine what one’s property is valued at according to sale prices of property in the area, the area so far not well defined. Think of this: someone comes along and purchases that land along I-74 near the St. Leon exit. The price of that land is quoted at 55 thousand dollars an acre. What will the assessments of neighboring land become? Will the owners be able to stay on their land? With this new taxing system, will a developer who can’t believe his good luck, come along and take the re assessed land “off the hands” of the owner who can’t pay the tax?

This tax will be a wonderful way to help those who covet the North West Quadrant. Look, the development increase the land’s value, the taxes of the neighbors go up, the developer buys the neighbor’s land at a good price to save the neighbor from a sheriff’s sale. They will not even need good old Vieste. They can do this again and again.

This scenario is the closest we will ever get to perpetual motion!

Yes, here in the USA they are taxing people out of their homes!

Do the politicians really care about this? I doubt it. Our elected unemployables (oops, I mean State Rep and Senator) instead might be more interested in trying to find another Honda for Dearborn County’s North West Quadrant.

Alan Stanley Freemond, Sr.
Tanners Creek Farm
Jackson Township

56 comments:

Anonymous said...

Appeal the latest assessment if you assessment has gone up more than 50%.

Making a lot of noise has worked for some counties.

Refer to Department of Local Government Finance (://www.in.gov/dlgf/) for some interesting info concerning Dearborn County.

Commissioner Musgrave is encouraging people to file appeals.

Anonymous said...

Industry and Commercial property are supposed to help the tax situation; but, with all the tax abatements, the burden is placed right back on the home owner.

Anonymous said...

I drove by Rick Fox's spread the other day. Not one business in site, no pole buildings for manufucaturing and no vast amounts of concrete. It seemed like a nice and peaceful place. I wonder why he lives in such a rural area and then votes to develop "smart growth" areas? Makes me think he only cares about himself.

Anonymous said...

Tax abatements are just another way the non-politically connected subsidize the politically connected!

In the end only the realtor, developer and a handful of other theives see any profits, while the rest of us just watch our taxes go up and up and up!

The DCEDI and the Chamber of Commerce exist only to hurry the theft along!

Like enforced sewer hook-ups, tax abatements are simply a way of transfering taxpayers dollars from the honest to the dishonest!

Anonymous said...

Just remember when the term "Economic Growth" is bandied about, it concerns the "Economic Growth" of a just a few at the price of the many!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Mr Freeman for bring this subject to light. When the politicians raised the sales tax, Laughing out loud, one penny, as one politician explained ,this 20% rise was to be off set by lower property taxes. That has not taken place. The politicians just changed the rules and hit us with a "Double Whammy". Either the politicians don't know any different or they are just flat lying.
The new tax base and the "lower tax rate" have caused my property taxes to rise. WE need a new "Boston tea party" and throw out the sneaky thieves. If they want to represent us tell us the truth.

Anonymous said...

Expecting someone like Nugent to tell the truth is asking alot!

Nugent supported the Democrat last Commissioner's race!

Have you heard one word from Nugent regarding the inequity and unfairness of "forced sewer hook-ups?"

Why to you think that is?

Anonymous said...

Nugent tells all his constituents what they want to hear, then goes along with whatever the powerful few desire!

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Tax abatements folks ought to drive past the Honda plant project and then try to figure out who is paying for the enormous infrastructure being placed,including that structure that will pass over I-74 or be a clover leaf, and that green pipe mostly on the north side of I-74 that stretches from the plant to about Shelbyville.
Choose from the following as to who you think is paying for all of that:

1. The Emperor of Japan
2. The Dearborn County Republican Central Committee
3. Lee Hamilton and Dick Lugar
4. Fox and Hughes
5. Paris Hilton
6. Johnny Nugent
7. Al Sharpton
8. NONE OF THE ABOVE.

Anonymous said...

Johnny Nugent with a good golf tan and wearing a shiny jogging outfit, resembles Al Sharpton in both mood and in manner as well as in his ethics!

Anonymous said...

And Bischoff, well he's just plain Bob. Happy to be there and smiles a lot. We need somebody that can translate a one cent sales tax rise, $.01/$.05 into 20% increase. Thats one hellufa rise when the national inflation rate was 3%.

Anonymous said...

These bought and paid for political hacks cannot point to a region where development has decreased taxes. Dearborn County is surrounded by "growth" and on the news every night there are stories concerning the costs to taxpayers concerning these "growing" pains.

Anonymous said...

So lets do nothing and die.

Anonymous said...

So lets do nothing and die.

So let us lose our land to high taxes and the costs of hooking up to the sewers of a few corrupt realtor/developers...

...as long as "doing something" profits Fehrman and gang!

How about each County being a bit smarter with the taxpayers' money?

How much has Dearborn County wasted just on Vieste and the DCEDI?

To what end?

To profit a "connected" few!!!

Anonymous said...

Some call it "economic growth," when the rest of us are forced to pay for it!

Go figure!

Anonymous said...

So lets do nothing and die.

My entire family made more money this year than last.

This was a banner year for my spouse and myself!

But, of course, we are not in real estate!

Maybe a few more in this County should not be in real estate!

Unless these realtor/developers think the rest of us should carry them during all their lean times!

It would seem, this mentality would still have us subsidizing those who produce buggy whips and wagon wheels!

Anonymous said...

"My entire family made more money this year than last."

You forget, the self-centered, self-satisfied, self-proclaimed and self-ordained movers and shakers of this County are myopic as to other folks' predicaments and prospects!

It is just about them!

It is the "dollar" they make!

Regardless if the costs to you is "two dollars" to subsidize their every “One dollar!!!”

Anonymous said...

REMEMBER, IT WAS NOT TOO LONG AGO, ON THIS BLOG, WHERE SOME WERE CALLING THOSE UNWILLING TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT, SELFISH!

WHEN ASKED WHY DOES IT TAKE THE REST OF US TO GET LOANS TO SUPPORT THESE DEVELOPERS, THERE WAS NOTHING BUT SILENCE AS A RESPONSE!

Anonymous said...

Well, one must consider the immediate needs of DCRSD's Board Member and realtor/developer, Brett Fehrman, when it comes to any decisions on his part, relative to the "public good!"

Anonymous said...

The majority of the comments on this blog paint an out of control community. There is nothing going on plain and simple. Show me the new business that are opening here?

Anonymous said...

Show me the new business that are opening here?
Barlycorns to the river bank at the end of walnut street.
Probably supported by the gambling money.
Hope it works.

Anonymous said...

Will it help throwing taxpayer dollars at this problem?? I doubt it.

Home sales hit slowest pace in 5 years By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
2 hours, 38 minutes ago



Sales of existing homes dropped for a fifth straight month in July, falling to the slowest pace in nearly five years, while home prices fell for a record 12th consecutive month.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes dipped by 0.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million units.

The median price of a home sold last month slid to $230,200, down by 0.6 percent from the median price a year ago. It marked the 12th consecutive month that home prices have declined, a record stretch.

The deep slump in housing, combined with recent severe turmoil in financial markets, has raised worries about a possible recession. But many economists believe the Federal Reserve will ward off a full-blown downturn by reducing a key short-term interest rate should financial market conditions fail to stabilize.

The steep slump in housing has trimmed overall growth for the past year and recently the economy has been shaken by spillover effects in financial markets. Rising defaults in subprime mortgages have triggered a serious credit crunch as investors have worried that hedge funds and other big investors in securities backed by subprime loans could suffer serious losses.

The 0.2 percent drop in July sales, compared with activity in June, marked the fifth straight monthly decline and left sales 9 percent below the level of a year ago. The sales pace was the slowest since November 2002.

By region of the country, sales fell by 2.2 percent in the Midwest and were unchanged in the South. Sales rose by 1.8 percent in the West and 1 percent in the Northeast.

The increase in the Northeast, which also saw the median home price increase, was seen as possibly hopeful sign that the worst of the housing downturn may be ending.

"The rise in sales and prices in the Northeast region on a fairly consistent basis in recent months is promising because this was the first region that underwent sales and price weakness after the boom," said Lawrence Yun, senior economist for the Realtors. "Now, it appears that it will be the first region to climb back, indicating that other regions could follow a similar path."

However, many analysts believe it could be months before housing stabilizes because of the threat that rising delinquencies could dump further homes onto an already glutted market.

The inventory of unsold homes rose by 5.1 percent at the end of July to a record of 4.59 million units.

Anonymous said...

"There is nothing going on plain and simple. Show me the new business that are opening here?"

What is going on across the America?

It is a slow time for all of you in development.

Sorry.

Not my fault!

Should we force everyone on pressurized sewers and grinder pumps, because it may help a few of you?

Should we do away with all zoning regulations, because it may help a few of you?

Should we spend our tax dollars because it may help a few of you?

What about the rest of us?

Is what happens to the majority just acceptable collateral damage, as long as a few of you profit?

Anonymous said...

Show me the new business that are opening here?

Who knows how many businesses are starting up every day that do not need a spectacular, realtor/development "bricks and mortar" development to profit?

But, you are more interested in how much realtor/developers are making in the current climate, you could give rat's ass about the rest of us!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

What is wrong with viewing Dearborn County as a respite from all the unrestrained development that is making life miserable for our neighbors in the Tri-State?

Or are we more worried that some of our realtors and developers may not make a killing buying up farmland only to have it re-zoned by their flunkies in goverment to residential and commercial property?

Is that what it is all about, our Mini-Captains of local industry?

Anonymous said...

I, for one, work out of my home.

I own a farm that I lease out.

I am a professional.

I make enough money to support my family and my 150 acres!

Does the fact that neither Fehrman nor Maxwell profit by my professional enterprises, make my accomplishments, or my contributions to the community, null and void?

Must all "growth" in Dearborn County be measured by how much Fehrman and Maxwell earn in a given year?

Anonymous said...

"However, many analysts believe it could be months before housing stabilizes because of the threat that rising delinquencies could dump further homes onto an already glutted market."

In the mean time, let Fox and Hughes and their handlers, find ways to "tax" the rest of us until a few realtor/developers regain their footing, regain their strength, to force the rest of us to support their incomes!!!

Anonymous said...

Must all "growth" in Dearborn County be measured by how much Fehrman and Maxwell earn in a given year?

Dearborn County measure of success in a "nutshell!"

HOW MUCH DID MY LOCAL REALTOR/DEVELOPER MAKE!

Anonymous said...

Unless a bulldozer is not smoking diesel fumes, unless pastures are not being turned into blacktop or concrete, there is nothing "happening" in Dearborn County!

Anonymous said...

If you made a dollar in Dearborn County, it matters not, it only matters how much you profitted Brett Fehrman!

For it is only how much Brett Fehrman has gained, not the the profit to your families, that matters!!!

Anonymous said...

"Commissioner Musgrave is encouraging people to file appeals."


Would this be Musgrave Suzie or Musgrave Sam of whom you would be speaking?

Do they do the jitterbug out in Musgrave Land?

And do they shimmy?

Do they twirl and do they tango?

Anonymous said...

Must all "growth" in Dearborn County be measured by how much Fehrman and Maxwell earn in a given year?


Expect a banner year for lawyers…

…whenever realtor/developers on County Boards and Commissions have downturns in their fortunes…

…they always seem to use taxpayer dollars…

…to hire lawyers…

…to sue us taxpayers…

…until we taxpayers are forced to subsidize realtor/developers!!!

Anonymous said...

Why is development always touted as being good? If every new house costs more in services than it pays in taxes, how is that good for the County? That just means economically the county ends up further in debt.

Since we have reciprocity with Ohio and Kentucky, you pay your taxes here. If citizens from other states work here, they pay their taxes at home. Does it matter where the business is? Would the smoke stack be better here or polluting elsewhere?

Anonymous said...

That just means economically the county ends up further in debt.

Brett's subdivision will not only be a drain on public services and public money, but consider also all the costs to those surrounding his subdivision if he is successful in forcing them onto his sewers!

He is in fact "taxing" these surrounding homeowners to help pay for his sewers!

Anonymous said...

Who would have ever imagined that corrupt development forces could take over our very own government and then be capable of forcing citizens to finance these corrupt developers' projects and other business ventures!

Anonymous said...

It is common for some, when they are not making ends meet with one job, to get a second job.

In contrast, our local realtors and developers run for office, or get appointed to boards, in order to find ways to get those working second jobs to support and subsidize down on their luck realtor and developers, in order for these realtors and developers to not have to get second jobs!

Anonymous said...

Please tell us more about the poor widow on a couple acres whose taxes went from $8000 to $25000. Even at $8000, it must be a helluva house ...or maybe just more bull.

Anonymous said...

hay Ralph we know who your widow is

Anonymous said...

hay Ralph we know who your widow is

Along with your lack of class, you cannot spell!

And here we thought you realtor/developers could stoop no lower than stealing campaign signs and forcing others to pay for your developments!

You out-did yourself!!!

Anonymous said...

I guess it just matched how Brett's parents have been treated on this blog. I guess it is only mean when it is about your great Ralph.

Anonymous said...

"I guess it is only mean when it is about your great Ralph."

It's not an easy job defending the people rights against the realtor/developer machines. It's almost thankless.

Ralph's doing and excellent job!

Anonymous said...

I guess it just matched how Brett's parents have been treated on this blog. I guess it is only mean when it is about your great Ralph.

It is Brett besmirching his parents' name and reputation!

If anything, all I have seen on this blog relative to Brett’s parents is absolute wonderment why they have not reigned in Brett! Brett appears to many to be nothing more than a common criminal!

His parents never had to resort to stealing from others, to make a dollar!

Anonymous said...

Ralph's doing and excellent job!

One person in County government who is looking out for someone's interests, not a realtor/developer, and you would swear these development flunkies feel as if they are being "carpet bombed" by tons of eithical ordinance!

Anonymous said...

"Why is development always touted as being good? If every new house costs more in services than it pays in taxes, how is that good for the County? That just means economically the county ends up further in debt."

Has your house been here since the beginning of time? No...so your your house was a new house and you're a drain on the services of the county as well. Will you send ME a check for the burden you've placed on my household? Thank you.

Anonymous said...

"Please tell us more about the poor widow on a couple acres whose taxes went from $8000 to $25000. Even at $8000, it must be a helluva house ...or maybe just more bull."

No doubt, if you have taxes that high it's because you have a valuable asset to cause it. I didn't know we had diamond mines in Dearborn County.

Anonymous said...

Will you send ME a check for the burden you've placed on my household? Thank you.

Please!!!

Not only does Brett want to squeeze more tax dollars from the community and further stress the infrastructure with his subdivisions, he wants the rest of us to get loans to help pay for his sewers!

Again, enough with you silly straw-man arguments and responses.

Tell us why should we subsidize Brett's sewers?

Anonymous said...

The Dearborn County Sewer district was initiated by the commissioners to fix High Ridge Estates and Stewart Streets polution problems.
These problems have been side stepped for years. With a $4.5 million war chest the board is trying to include other reator/developer subdivisions and are having a hard time including them in their agenda.
Either the DCrSD should fix the 2 initial poluters or desolve the "sewer board" and let the commissioners handle the problems. I'm sure they can find an entity that can sewer High Ridge and get stewart street connected. As for Cole Lane that was an inside job that was unnecessary.

Anonymous said...

Is Cole Lane related to the "Dennerline Deal" that is being whispered around County Government?

Anonymous said...

Dennerline deals, Fehrman's follies, Maxwell's land options, and Hankin's resignation.
Somehow these must all be related...

Anonymous said...

Hankin resigned?

Anonymous said...

" Is Cole Lane related to the "Dennerline Deal" that is being whispered around County Government? "

The Cole Lane sewers serves Denridge Acres (Dennerline's business), while only the neighbors pay for the construction costs.

Anonymous said...

"So lets do nothing and die."

Why would we die if we do nothing?? Little new construction and almost no Commercial/Industrial is occurring and the County doesn't seem to be dying.

So how is doing nothing hurting anyone - other than the developers?

Anonymous said...

"The Cole Lane sewers serves Denridge Acres (Dennerline's business), while only the neighbors pay for the construction costs."


It is almost as if Dennerline had a "friend" on the sewer board!!!

Makes you wonder what other "friends" on the sewer board will be able to get away with!!!

"PUBLIC SERVICE" used to mean something, but now...

...it just a way for a few corrupt individuals to be "SERVICED BY THE PUBLIC!!!"

Anonymous said...

Now I see why Vera Benning seems so comfortable with this group!

Anonymous said...

May Vera have an entire subdivision of Vera's move in next to her, sticking their big noses into her business!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That would be the best "Farmers' Revenge" imaginable!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

"Please tell us more about the poor widow on a couple acres whose taxes went from $8000 to $25000. Even at $8000, it must be a helluva house ...or maybe just more bull"

What difference do the numbers make? Percentages are percentages.
Example 1 dollar last year, 3 dollars this year!

Remember what happens to your neighbor will happen to you.

BTW the widow you mentioned is an operating room nurse who in one hour in the operating room accomplishes more that our friends in DCDEI and the Chamber of Commerdace accomplish is a month or maybe in a lifetime. Right?