It’s not going to be a pleasant year at the General Assembly.  That much was evident from yesterday’s Organization Day. 

It never is when there’s no money to spend.  Indiana may be in better shape than a lot of other states, as a report from the newly-reconstituted Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute claims.  But the same report describes what’s coming as a “fiscal hurricane.”  State revenues are already starting to go into the tank, as laid-off Hoosiers pay fewer income taxes and the downturn in retail sales produces less sales tax revenue.  And it will likely get worse next month, when the state’s fiscal advisers make their new revenue forecast for the coming biennium.  That forecast is going to be ugly.

  All this is complicated by last year’s property tax fix.  Now that the state has taken over all school district general funding from property taxpayers, it’s the one that will have to come up with every penny for things like teacher salaries.  If there’s no money for any raises, teachers will raise hell.  And that will complicate passage of the budget. 

One of the first things every lawmaker does when the budget print-out and school funding formula hits their desks is to scan the schools in their districts to find out how much money they’re getting.  If they don’t like it, they’re not going to vote for the budget.  In past years when House Democrats needed every vote from their narrow majority to pass budgets, Mishawaka’s Craig Fry was famous for holding out until he got more money for Penn High’s district.  We may now see a lot more Craig Fry’s. 

Prayer Is Back

  House Speaker Pat Bauer is no longer doing the prayers this year.  Instead of him reading the lawyer-approved non-sectarian prayer, clergy are back to give the invocation.  Yesterday’s appeared to be non-denominational.  Over in the Senate, however, members are still doing the praying.  And Sen. Pat Miller made a reference to Jesus Christ, which is what a district court forbade in an order that was later overturned.  It’s possible that might bring another lawsuit, but not likely.  What stirred things up the first time was not a single prayer, but a full-fledged revival under then-Speaker Brian Bosma, with a clergyman backed by instrumentals singing about Walking With Jesus.  If legislators stay away from something like that, the ACLU probably won’t go to court again.

Bauer’s “Barber”

  This is something I should probably step lightly on.  But I’ve been getting too many comments and questions to ignore it.  Pat Bauer is, as one Democrat diplomatically described it, “seeing a new barber.”  It’s been evident in his last few appearances that he had less “hair” but it was, let’s say, more stylishly done.  The Speaker has apparently made the purchase many Hoosiers have wondered why he didn’t make for years.  Quick question:  Does this mean the Star’s Gary Varvel will have to stop doing the Minnie Pearl number, drawing Bauer with a price tag hanging from the back of his head?

This week’s property tax events here in Marion County once again highlight the need for some type of county government reform by consolidating offices as recommended by the Kernan-Shepard report. It’s obvious that there are so many cooks stirring the broth that not only is it spoiled, but it’s often impossible to determine who spoiled it.

On Tuesday, County Treasurer Mike Rodman held a news conference to explain the 2007 catch-up property tax bills, which were just being mailed to homeowners. Rodman and his aides gave a very detailed, informative presentation, which answered most questions. But he knew homeowners would have more, and he wanted them to know up-front that he didn’t have most of the answers.

What if I disagree with my assessment? Call Greg Bowes, the County Assessor. When can I expect my rebate check in the mail? Call Billie Breaux, the County Auditor. Why do I have to wait for the rebate check, when it would have been so much simpler and quicker to apply the rebate as a credit on the catch-up bill? See your House Democratic majority, which refused to even hear a bill to do just that.

All of those issues (except the House Democratic one) would be greatly affected by combining the offices of Treasurer, Auditor, and Assessor, as some reform proposals would do. It might not make the answers to those questions any more palatable to taxpayers. But it would at least put the onus on one official. And it wouldn’t matter if he or she was elected or appointed. The trail would still lead to one door, to one person who could be held accountable if things went wrong. If elected, that person could be tossed out of office. If appointed, his or her boss would be in hot water. But there would be no shifting of blame or questions or issues or anything else.

By the way, notice that all the people to whom Rodman transferred questions or criticisms (Bowes, Breaux, House Speaker Pat Bauer) are all fellow Democrats. It shows just how seriously our elected officials fear any revival of last year’s taxpayer revolt. Party loyalty is taking second place to self-preservation.