Like nothing else in recent memory, the past couple of weeks should prove the importance of local civic engagement.
That timespan amounted to a crash course in Government 101. Residents of this community should qualify for college credits. They also might vote in larger numbers, as a result.
It turns out that decisions by city councils, county councils, county commissioners, school boards and state legislators really do affect local daily life more so than those by officials in Washington, even though turnouts in recent elections don’t reflect that importance. Terre Haute’s 2015 municipal election drew the smallest number of voters in more than a century. Vigo County’s turnout for last November’s general election, with several county offices on the ballot, was the third-lowest in Indiana.
Nonetheless, the meter for interest in local government spiked this month. References to the word “millions” tend to rivet attention. A flurry of public events stirred debate and questions.
Pour another cup of coffee as we recap what’s happened.
• On Tuesday, the Vigo County commissioners decided to use 30 acres of a 62-acre former paper mill plant near the Wabash River for a new county jail. Commissioners touted the property’s proximity to the courthouse, cost and size. But it also sits across the road from the Vigo County Schools’ Aquatic Center, and folks behind the Riverscape initiative envisioned recreational amenities along that site.
• Late last month, a consultant told the Vigo County Council that the best funding source for that jail, projected to cost $68 million, is a local income tax. The consultant, Tim Berry, formerly served as the Indiana state treasurer and Indiana Republican Party chairman. The current local income tax in Vigo County of 1.25 percent could double, meaning a resident with a $35,000 annual gross income would pay an additional $437.50 a year in taxes. The council could designate the added tax for general fund purposes or public safety.
• On Feb. 10, the Terre Haute City Council endorsed by a 7-2 vote a proposal in the Indiana General Assembly to allow a $100 million-plus casino to be built in the city. The local panel’s blessing was required for the state bill to move forward, and the council responded with a resolution urging the governor to adopt “any and all legislation” in favor of a casino. A half-dozen citizens spoke against the idea.
In that same meeting, the council approved Mayor Duke Bennett’s plan to borrow $4 million against future tax receipts at a 4-percent interest rate, but rejected the mayor’s proposal to transfer $6 million in redevelopment funds, interest free, to cover other expenses. The city’s general fund has been in deficit since 2011, and that shortfall presently stands at an estimated $8.2 million.
• On Wednesday, the Indiana Senate Public Policy Committee voted down a casino for Terre Haute, with a 5-5 split. Sen. Jon Ford, a Republican from Terre Haute and a member of the Senate committee, pushed the bill, which would’ve resulted in 750 jobs at the Full House Resorts casino and hotel, $26 million in annual tax revenue, including $10 million shared by the city and county. Its economic impact on existing local businesses and concerns about increased gambling addictions, bankruptcies and divorces sparked opposition. Ford’s legislation could re-emerge in the 2018 legislative session.
• At Monday’s Vigo County School Board meeting, a representative from an Indianapolis architectural firm unveiled a feasibility study to upgrade the county’s three high schools. One option involves renovations and additions. The other includes significant reconstruction of the schools, which are now 56 and 45 years old. No dollar figures were mentioned, but it’s a safe guess the cost will exceed that of the jail.
OK, exhale. More coffee.
There’s much to unravel in all of that. Still, there’s a common thread.
Terre Haute needs to invest in itself to keep its existing businesses, attract new employers and employees, and keep a decent amount of our young people from leaving town after they graduate from college. Schools with 21st-century facilities, renovations and an added convention center to the 44-year-old Hulman Center, and modern public safety structures will give the community a chance to compete for relocating companies.
The city has avoided sustained investment in quality-of-life projects and infrastructure improvements, which are costly. That frugality comes at a price, though. With its diminished industrial tax base, Terre Haute ranked last among the state’s 18 metros outside of Indianapolis in the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute’s 2015 Fiscal Health Index. The family age population has declined rapidly. The Vigo County School Corporation’s enrollment exemplifies that drop, shrinking by 11 percent since 2005.
A reversal of that trend is crucial for the city to grow. Facilities need upgrades. The county’s existing jail is inadequate, and its constant overcrowding leaves the local government facing lawsuits. A new, properly equipped, well designed jail is a necessity.
Still, the public has a right to ask why it needs to be so big, whether a change in policies could reduce the number of low-income inmates awaiting trial and those needing treatment for mental illness, and whether it has to be built where the Riverscape initiative would put recreational developments.
As news about the jail, the high schools, the casino, the city finances and the local income tax flowed fast and furious this month, people got better informed about the inner workings of local government and where tax dollars go. That’s civic engagement.