DLGF Holds Distressed Unit Appeals Board Hearing for Boone Township Schools

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO BE CONDUCTED BY THE 

DISTRESSED UNIT APPEALS BOARD REGARDING THE 

PETITION FOR NON-BINDING REVIEW OF A BOND 

REFUNDING FILED BY THE METROPOLITAN SCHOOL 

DISTRICT OF BOONE TOWNSHIP 

Notice is hereby given that on April 16, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. the Distressed Unit Appeals Board
(DUAB) will conduct a public hearing regarding the Petition for Non-Binding Review of a Bond
Refunding filed by the Metropolitan School District of Boone Township at One North Capitol,
Indianapolis, IN, 46204 in the ninth floor conference room.

The hearing is being conducted pursuant to IC 6-1.1-20.3, IC 5-1-2-2, IC 5-1-5-2.5, and the
Open Door Law IC 5-14-1.5 upon the Petition of the Metropolitan School District of Boone
Township.

http://www.in.gov/dlgf/files/DUAB_Public_Notice_04_16_14.pdf

Times Reports Portage Wins Excess Levy Appeal

From the Northwest Indiana Times:

City officials learned this week the state Department of Local Government Finance has granted the city its excess levy appeal.

That means, Portage Clerk-Treasurer Chris Stidham said, the city will be able to collect an additional $663,326 in property tax revenue in 2014.

Stidham said Portage filed the excess levy appeals after they lost property tax appeals to several businesses in the city, including U.S. Steel, over the past few years. The loss of those appeals caused the city to refund property tax money to the companies and reduced the city's tax levy -- the amount of money it can collect through property taxes.

Stidham said the state allows municipalities to try to recoup money paid in refunds.

Stidham said the city applied for excess tax levies for 2011, 2012 and 2013, but won the appeal only for 2013.

The granted levy appeal amount is not quite equal to 100 percent of the property tax refunds given last year, he said.

"It is going to help us build the cash reserve we are trying to build," Stidham said, adding the city entered 2014 on a solid financial footing.

The amount won in the appeal is about 5 percent of the city's total tax levy.

The downside, Stidham said, is that other taxpayers who have not reached their tax cap limits will see an increase in the property taxes paid to the city this year to compensate for the increased tax levy.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/portage-wins-excess-levy-appeal/article_37ca7f5c-d4ea-5024-908d-663a1f1331ea.html

Daily News Reports DLGF Approves Greensburg's Cumulative Capital Fund Increase

From the Greensburg Daily News:

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) on Tuesday granted approval to the City of Greensburg to move ahead with its proposal for the reestablishment of a Cumulative Capital Development Fund (CCDF).

The decision comes on the heels of an August meeting in which the proposal was met with opposition from more than 100 local taxpayers who had signed a petition objecting to the tax increase that would be necessary to finance the fund.

The approval allows the city to move forward with a tax increase from $.0264 per $100 of assessed valuation to $.05 per $100 of assessed valuation beginning in 2014.

A comprehensive document received Tuesday by the Daily News detailing the findings of the DLGF during their investigation concludes that the DLGF “has not been presented with any evidence that the City (of Greensburg) intends to use Fund (cumulative capital development fund) money for illegal purposes or that the Fund’s establishment was legally defective,” leading to the measure’s approval.

The Greensburg Common Council conducted a public hearing June 10 and adopted an ordinance to reestablish the CCDF a week later. This news was met with uneasiness from a group of local taxpayers who signed a petition that forced a public hearing on the matter.

Those opposed questioned the City’s use of the funds; the potential financial impact on families in a recovering economy; previous city projects and expenditures; and numerous other instances in which taxpayers could be negatively affected by the increase. The public hearing, which was conducted by DLGF staff attorneys Michael Duffy and David Marusarz Aug. 7, revealed that the projected annual increase paid by property owners who had signed the petition was slightly more than $7 each.

Part of the debate centered on whether the CCDF would serve as a means to realize the City’s needs or merely its wants.

A rather vocal group of concerned citizens expressed their fears the fund would be used for unnecessary projects in lieu of those in which the city is specifically in need.

In the end, the DLGF found in favor of the proposal stating the department found no evidence the City’s proposal was in violation of state laws. The notification detailing the DLGF’s finding also states a municipality may institute a CCDF “without first having exact plans for the revenue generated” and that the purposes of the may legally be used to fund certain city projects, such as Veterans Way and airport expansion. Greensburg Mayor Gary Herbert has previously told the Daily News the money generated by the reestablishment of the CCDF would not be used to fund either project, though both served as further sources of contention against the reestablishment of the CCDF.

...

http://greensburgdailynews.com/local/x1612844107/DLGF-approves-Citys-cumulative-capital-increase-proposal/print

DLGF Rules Against Franklin County Public Library in Taxpayer Action

From the Brookville American-Democrat:

Franklin County Public Library District will not receive its Capital Projects Fund for 2013.

After a petition was filed by several Franklin County citizens and a public hearing was held on June 21 in the Brookville Public Library’s meeting room, Indiana Division of Local Government Finance Commissioner Brian E. Bailey ruled in favor of the petitioners.

Five people spoke in favor of the petitioners, and one person, Kim Simonson, a library board member, spoke in favor of the library’s proposed tax rate during the June 21 public hearing.

Daryl Kramer, a Franklin County Council member, initiated the petition drive and led off the hearing portion. Kramer’s argument was used by Bailey in his decision.

According to the figures, the library district’s 2012 budget is $696,002, and the library has a cash balance for 2012 of $1,241,998, which is 178 percent of its annual budget. The district also has a Rainy Day Fund balance of $360,342.66 as of Dec. 31, 2011, which is 52 percent of the 2012 budget.

According to Bailey’s Findings of Fact, the Capital Projects Fund proposed tax rate is 0.0133 per $100 of the assessed valuation starting in 2013 to generate about $56,000 annually. That is the same rate as the library had for 2012.
...

In his Final Determination, Bailey states:

*“The Department finds that the Library’s operating fund cash balance and rainy day fund balance are persuasive evidence of the sufficiency of the Library’s current cash reserves.

*“The Department finds that given the amount of cash reserves the Library has available, a capital projects fund and corresponding tax rate are unjustified.

*“The Department finds that the Library’s documentation and testimony do not demonstrate why the Library’s current cash reserves are insufficient to cover the capital expenses it anticipates incurring in the next three years.

*“The Department also finds that the Library has not offered persuasive justification for the necessity or reasonableness of a capital projects fund and corresponding tax rate in light of the Library’s cash reserves.”

Thus, Bailey disapproved and denied the library’s proposed plan and corresponding tax rate.

See the full article here:

http://www.whitewaterpub.com/AAAissues/brookville/2012/30/story03.php