KEEPING TABS ON SPENDING THROUGH TAB

In 1819, in the landmark case of McCulloch v Maryland, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall wrote an opinion in which he stated, “The power to tax involves the power to destroy.”   Here in Delaware County, at the Crossroads of America, we citizens find ourselves at another type of crossroads, whether to survive by implementing new paradigms or be destroyed by excess taxation driven by out-of-control spending.

On April 1, 2008, in a special meeting called by Delaware County Council President Brad Bookout, the Council adopted a new paradigm by voting in favor of re-establishing the Tax Adjustment Board (TAB—also known as the County Board of Tax Adjustment).  The motion passed 4:3, with dissenting votes cast, largely down party lines, by Council members Ted Bowman, Mary Chambers, and Chris Matchett.

Although state government touted the passage of the most recent property tax bill (HB1001) as a “sweeping change,” this was nothing more than a temporary fix.  And we all know about temporary fixes.  After all, state government attempted a fix of property taxes in 1933, then again in 1963, and once more in 1973.  In the ensuing 25 years, property taxes swelled by some 450%, sales tax rose from 4% to 6%, income tax increased from 1.9% to 3.4%, and two more LOITS were brought on line.  The main question here is, how much time do we have until the next new tax or the next tax hike?

The upshot is that the focus—now more than ever—is on reduction and control of local spending.  Fortunately, legislation included in the bill allowed for the County Board of Tax Adjustment (TAB) to play a significant role in limiting spending.  This was particularly significant in that the Capital Review Board that was supposed to begin 1/1/09 was abandoned.  In its place, the TAB would be charged with review, possible revision and reduction of the budget, tax rate, and tax levy of each political subdivision filed with the county auditor.  Such entities would include townships, schools, city, county, library, airport authority, etc.  The statutory deadline for reinstatement of the TAB was April 1 of each year.

It was with foresight that Citizens of Delaware County for Property Tax Repeal (CDCPTR) began requesting the County Council to reinstate the County Board of Tax Adjustment three months prior.  On February 25, the Council rendered a favorable vote of 4:3 to reinstate the TAB.  On March 25^th, the ordinance required to reinstate the TAB was introduced, and that resulted in a favorable 4:3 vote as well.  Following that, however, a motion to suspend the rules so as to adopt the ordinance failed for lack of unanimous vote.  The dissenting votes, again, were cast—in ALL instances—by County Council members Ted Bowman, Chris Matchett, and Mary Chambers.  In a blatantly obvious attempt to become the eighth member of the Council, Don Dunnuck--acting far beyond his scope of responsibility and by way of making off-the-cuff remarks--asked questions, proffered observations, and questioned the authority of the County Board of Tax Adjustment to perform assigned duties without being an elected body itself.  Following the failed vote, and in concert with the law, Brad Bookout, acting in the best interest of taxpayers, crossed strict party lines and called for the special meeting.

There was, by some elected officials (Chris Matchett, to name one), outward resistance to the appointment of citizens to the Board.  However, it is essential to realize that the County Board of Tax Adjustment will be in a position to make economic decisions that individual political subdivisions often will not, leading to improved efficiency of the local taxing unit.  After all, such judgments can be made by the Board without undue influence of special interest groups.  In the pursuit of greater transparency and accountability in local government, citizen input might help defuse possible adversarial approaches and allow for greater nonpartisan participation.  The presence of the Board will also serve to lessen finger-pointing between state and local governments.  Most importantly, TAB can be a constant reminder that it’s the peoples’ money, NOT the government’s.

Effective cuts in and control of spending is the goal of the County Board of Tax Adjustment.  One only has to recall the 20-year Center Township Trustee who managed to hoard in excess of $5 million to understand the necessity of this Board’s function.  The discovery of those resources was, in fact, a revelation of a previous County Board of Tax Adjustment.  The Board’s ultimate demise by “political abolishment” could very well have been driven by the fact that certain political entities ultimately grew paranoid of that kind of “oversight” and saw to its elimination when the opportunity presented itself.  Thus, for the time being, the County Board of Tax Adjustment (or TAB) could be a very meaningful way to help keep a lid on escalating tax and spend free-for-alls.

Appointments to the County Board of Tax Adjustment (or Tax Adjustment Board, or TAB) were completed April 8.  Those members are:

TAX ADJUSTMENT BOARD APPOINTEES

Appointed By                          Name

County Council                    Brad Bookout

City of                             Mayor

  Muncie                                 Sharon McShurley

Muncie School Board         Kevin Smith

County Commissioners      Cecil Bohanon

(Citizen Appointments)      Teresa Clemmons

                                                 Doug Eckerty

                                                 Jeanine Lee Lake

We welcome the new members of the TAB, and know that the Board will act, as it did in the past, as an effective tool against fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

As a citizen lobbyist and volunteer for CDCPTR, I wish to acknowledge Brad Bookout for his willingness and courage to step across strict political lines for the benefit of ALL Delaware County taxpayers.  Thanks also to the other members of the Council for their yea votes to re-establish TAB.

By working together we can help make Delaware County a model for the rest of Indiana, perhaps for the Midwest, maybe for the entire country.

C.A. Bouslog