There are a lot of discussions taking place about transparency in government at the local level.
State law dictates that local county, city and town units of government must discuss potential budgets and spending with input from taxpayers.
I have covered budget hearings over the years in Madison, Howard and Tipton counties, and it’s rare for members of the public to attend meetings and comment on expenditures.
At the state level, the Indiana Budget Committee meets on a regular basis in public to discuss requests for funding.
The biggest project ever undertaken is the Lebanon LEAP project that intends to convert 10,000 acres of farmland into an industrial complex.
The problem — which has been highlighted several times since the proposal was announced — is, where will the needed water for the project be obtained?
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. is proposing a 52-mile pipeline to ship water from the Lafayette area to Boone County and a second 50-mile pipeline from Indianapolis to Lebanon.
The projections are the development projects will require up to 25 million gallons of water daily.
During the Budget Committee hearing this past week, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. requested an additional $200 million.
Half of these funds are earmarked for a major industrial development in Kokomo.
The Budget Committee approved $50 million to allow for the issuance of bonds to pay for one of those pipelines.
State Rep. Gary Porter (D-Indianapolis) abstained from voting on the committee’s agenda.
“I’ve lost track of how many times the IEDC has come to this committee and asked for hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars with no transparency,” Porter said. “It’s too many times to count. There’s a clear disrespect for our taxpayers and their hardearned dollars.
“I’ve said it over and over again: The public has a right to know where their money is going and how it’s being spent.”
State Rep. Ed Delaney (D-Indianapolis) said that the IEDC has failed to disclose how the funds are being used.
“The Legislature and the public deserve to know where the hard-earned taxpayer money allocated to the IEDC is going,” Delaney said. “We cannot keep spending over the amount we budgeted for the IEDC without any sort of cap.”
Questions about the project remain unanswered. Where will be the wastewater from the development be treated and released? Where will any hazardous materials be disposed of, and who will pay?
The IEDC has already committed $1 billion to the project.
As with local government discussions, the IEDC should be providing taxpayers with answers regarding this project.
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