From the Northwest Indiana Times:
Lawyers for Calumet Township officials are challenging the constitutionality of a 2013 state law that could force them to cut millions of dollars in assistance to Gary's neediest residents.
Trustee Mary Elgin and Dwight Gardner, a Gary resident, have filed suit in U.S. District Court in Hammond contending the law, known as House Bill 1585, is improper special legislation to provide tax relief to the predominantly white town of Griffith at the expense of black Gary residents.
The law would reduce the millions of dollars paid annually to tens of thousands of township blacks to provide emergency shelter, rent, mortgage payments, transportation, utilities, health care, food and burial services to tens of thousands of residents requesting township assistance.
It also would permit Griffith, which provides much of Calumet Township assistance revenues, to hold a referendum to leave Calumet for another neighboring township and escape Calumet's high poor-relief tax rate -- more than 22 times the state average last year.
"HB 1585 fuels the flames and passions of prejudice to encourage and pit one community against another," the suit states.
It names Gov. Mike Pence and Micah G. Vincent, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, which would enforce the law, as defendants.
No court date has been set to resolve the dispute. Bryan Corbin, a spokesman for the Indiana attorney general, said Monday his office routinely defends state legislation against such suits. A DLGF spokeswoman didn't return a call seeking comment.
The disputed legislation culminated in years of lobbying by Griffith town officials to divorce themselves from a township trustee who they complained leans too heavily on their community to fund overgenerous social services in Gary, where more than 1 in 3 residents live below the poverty line.
A Times investigation last year found Elgin's office spent nearly $88 million between 2004 and 2010. Mandated state tax cuts already have forced the township trustee's office to lay off 155 employees since 2003. Most Indiana township trustees have only a fraction of her staff and budget.
Griffith officials say their taxpayers have supplied more than $1.7 million annually to support Elgin's poor relief operation, though the town's residents get back less than $11,000 of that for their own needs.
...
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/calumet-twp-suit-claims-griffith-secession-law-is-unconstitutional/article_012f8191-a35a-5fe1-a133-295e92895211.html
Showing posts with label Government Reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Government Reform. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Thursday, October 31, 2013
IBJ Reports on Indiana's Long Fight for Less Government
From the Indianapolis Business Journal:
Former Governor Mitch Daniels argued for years that Indiana had too much local government — a costly maze of overlapping townships, taxing districts and city and county entities that took shape before the Civil War. The Republican even recruited his Democratic predecessor to help make the case.
A prime example was the factory town of Muncie, seat of Delaware County. With 37 entities taxing a declining population and a projected deficit of $5.6 million next year, the county is “ground zero” for the problems Daniels targeted, Ball State University economist Michael Hicks said. Merging Muncie and Delaware County could save at least $7 million a year in efficiencies and improved services, he said, as Indianapolis and Marion County did by combining four decades ago.
Yet, when voters considered a merger last November, almost two-thirds said no.
“This is one of those issues where bipartisanship and a great good-government rationale isn’t enough,” said Daniels, 64, now president of Purdue University in West Lafayette. “It’s easy enough if you’re passionate in defending the status quo to persuade enough people to stand pat and not take a chance on something new.”
The failed referendum and other thwarted efforts in Indiana show how difficult it is to shrink local government, even with political support at the highest levels and obvious taxpayer savings. Before leaving office in January, Daniels, a popular two-term governor in a state known for its common-sense fiscal policies, pushed streamlining government for five years.
Entrenched interests
With entrenched interests protecting jobs, only a handful of changes were made. Most of the restructuring that Daniels and his allies sought either died in the legislature or was never seriously considered, and only two of five ballot measures to consolidate local governments have passed.
The commission also proposed reducing the number of school districts by setting a minimum student population of 2,000, an idea that went nowhere in a state whose celebration of small towns was immortalized in the basketball movie “Hoosiers.”
...
See the lengthy article here:
http://www.ibj.com/indianas-long-fight-for-less-government-has-politicians-protecting-own/PARAMS/article/44339
Former Governor Mitch Daniels argued for years that Indiana had too much local government — a costly maze of overlapping townships, taxing districts and city and county entities that took shape before the Civil War. The Republican even recruited his Democratic predecessor to help make the case.
A prime example was the factory town of Muncie, seat of Delaware County. With 37 entities taxing a declining population and a projected deficit of $5.6 million next year, the county is “ground zero” for the problems Daniels targeted, Ball State University economist Michael Hicks said. Merging Muncie and Delaware County could save at least $7 million a year in efficiencies and improved services, he said, as Indianapolis and Marion County did by combining four decades ago.
Yet, when voters considered a merger last November, almost two-thirds said no.
“This is one of those issues where bipartisanship and a great good-government rationale isn’t enough,” said Daniels, 64, now president of Purdue University in West Lafayette. “It’s easy enough if you’re passionate in defending the status quo to persuade enough people to stand pat and not take a chance on something new.”
The failed referendum and other thwarted efforts in Indiana show how difficult it is to shrink local government, even with political support at the highest levels and obvious taxpayer savings. Before leaving office in January, Daniels, a popular two-term governor in a state known for its common-sense fiscal policies, pushed streamlining government for five years.
Entrenched interests
With entrenched interests protecting jobs, only a handful of changes were made. Most of the restructuring that Daniels and his allies sought either died in the legislature or was never seriously considered, and only two of five ballot measures to consolidate local governments have passed.
The commission also proposed reducing the number of school districts by setting a minimum student population of 2,000, an idea that went nowhere in a state whose celebration of small towns was immortalized in the basketball movie “Hoosiers.”
...
See the lengthy article here:
http://www.ibj.com/indianas-long-fight-for-less-government-has-politicians-protecting-own/PARAMS/article/44339
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Lawrance: General Assembly Puts Brakes on Government Reform
By Mark Lawrance in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
If you thought efforts to consolidate local government had slowed down in the recent legislative session, you would be wrong. The legislators stopped their progress and made consolidation harder.
Senate Enrolled Act 343 requires a consolidation proposal to be separately approved by voters in each jurisdiction, rather than in a single election. Opponents of an unsuccessful 2012 effort to merge local government in Evansville and Vanderburgh County joined Gov. Mike Pence in the bill-signing ceremony this month, celebrating passage of a law that will likely ward off the next effort to deliver services more efficiently in southwest Indiana, in northeast Indiana or anywhere else.
The fact that the Vanderburgh opponents won their fight by a 2-to-1 margin last year is evidence the legislation was unnecessary. The next consolidation effort will face almost insurmountable odds, regardless of its merit.
Under a provision pushed by the Vanderburgh County Farm Bureau, a merger of city and county government would require county residents living outside of the city to constitute one voting group and county residents within the city another. City residents, who pay both city and county taxes, essentially would be denied a vote as county residents.
Mark Lawrance, senior vice president for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said the process for consolidating township and county government, established in 2006, already was difficult to implement. Since the law went into effect, only three mergers have been approved. He said S.B. 343 was pushed in the last session as a tool for reorganization when, in fact, it will make it more difficult.
An effort to change the structure of county government in Allen County also was blocked in the last session. Senate Bill 475, made specific to Allen County after objections were raised by county officials statewide, would have allowed the county commissioners to adopt an ordinance to change the executive and legislative structure of county government, with approval of a majority of voters. It would have created a single county executive and a seven-member council with legislative duties.
The House voted to send the issue to a summer study committee.
“I think it’s totally unnecessary to study this further,” Lawrance said. “This issue has been studied time and again. We think what the legislature is almost saying is, we want county government the way we have it right now – we don’t want counties to have the option to try another way of organizing.”
The new law is a disappointing hurdle to local government reorganization. Since the Kernan-Shepherd local government reorganization recommendations were released in 2007, the state has made small but encouraging steps toward changing a government framework designed for the 19th century. Changing the rules to discourage an honest effort to eliminate duplication and improve efficiency is a step backward.
Senate Enrolled Act 343 requires a consolidation proposal to be separately approved by voters in each jurisdiction, rather than in a single election. Opponents of an unsuccessful 2012 effort to merge local government in Evansville and Vanderburgh County joined Gov. Mike Pence in the bill-signing ceremony this month, celebrating passage of a law that will likely ward off the next effort to deliver services more efficiently in southwest Indiana, in northeast Indiana or anywhere else.
The fact that the Vanderburgh opponents won their fight by a 2-to-1 margin last year is evidence the legislation was unnecessary. The next consolidation effort will face almost insurmountable odds, regardless of its merit.
Under a provision pushed by the Vanderburgh County Farm Bureau, a merger of city and county government would require county residents living outside of the city to constitute one voting group and county residents within the city another. City residents, who pay both city and county taxes, essentially would be denied a vote as county residents.
Mark Lawrance, senior vice president for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said the process for consolidating township and county government, established in 2006, already was difficult to implement. Since the law went into effect, only three mergers have been approved. He said S.B. 343 was pushed in the last session as a tool for reorganization when, in fact, it will make it more difficult.
An effort to change the structure of county government in Allen County also was blocked in the last session. Senate Bill 475, made specific to Allen County after objections were raised by county officials statewide, would have allowed the county commissioners to adopt an ordinance to change the executive and legislative structure of county government, with approval of a majority of voters. It would have created a single county executive and a seven-member council with legislative duties.
The House voted to send the issue to a summer study committee.
“I think it’s totally unnecessary to study this further,” Lawrance said. “This issue has been studied time and again. We think what the legislature is almost saying is, we want county government the way we have it right now – we don’t want counties to have the option to try another way of organizing.”
The new law is a disappointing hurdle to local government reorganization. Since the Kernan-Shepherd local government reorganization recommendations were released in 2007, the state has made small but encouraging steps toward changing a government framework designed for the 19th century. Changing the rules to discourage an honest effort to eliminate duplication and improve efficiency is a step backward.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
NWI Reports Senate Panel Restores Right for Griffith to Leave Calument Township
From the Northwest Indiana Times:
Griffith has won back the chance to leave Calumet Township, but only if the township fails to reduce spending on its own next year and a subsequent state takeover also fails.
On Tuesday, the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee changed House Bill 1585 by restoring Griffith's ability to hold a referendum on whether to leave Calumet Township and join another.
A different Senate panel this month removed that provision from the House-approved legislation.
However, before Griffith could hold the referendum, Calumet Township officials would have one year to bring its township assistance property tax rate, generally used to support poor relief, below 12 times the state average.
Calumet Township's current township assistance property tax rate is 20.47 times the state average. The next-highest township is 7.94 times the state average.
If Calumet Township does not reduce its spending, the revised measure allows the Indiana Distressed Unit Appeals Board to automatically designate the township as “distressed” and appoint an emergency manager to essentially take over the township with broad powers to reduce spending.
If the emergency manager is not successful by 2015, then Griffith could hold a referendum on leaving the township.
...
See the full article here:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/senate-panel-restores-chance-for-griffith-to-leave-calumet-twp/article_61a37efa-fa70-51e7-8054-14d58dfd1119.html
Griffith has won back the chance to leave Calumet Township, but only if the township fails to reduce spending on its own next year and a subsequent state takeover also fails.
On Tuesday, the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee changed House Bill 1585 by restoring Griffith's ability to hold a referendum on whether to leave Calumet Township and join another.
A different Senate panel this month removed that provision from the House-approved legislation.
However, before Griffith could hold the referendum, Calumet Township officials would have one year to bring its township assistance property tax rate, generally used to support poor relief, below 12 times the state average.
Calumet Township's current township assistance property tax rate is 20.47 times the state average. The next-highest township is 7.94 times the state average.
If Calumet Township does not reduce its spending, the revised measure allows the Indiana Distressed Unit Appeals Board to automatically designate the township as “distressed” and appoint an emergency manager to essentially take over the township with broad powers to reduce spending.
If the emergency manager is not successful by 2015, then Griffith could hold a referendum on leaving the township.
...
See the full article here:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/senate-panel-restores-chance-for-griffith-to-leave-calumet-twp/article_61a37efa-fa70-51e7-8054-14d58dfd1119.html
Monday, October 29, 2012
Editorial Argues Unification of Vanderburgh County and Evansville will Attract Youth and Maintain Businesses
From YES! for Unification in the Evansville Courier & Press:
Vanderburgh County residents will vote Nov. 6 on a referendum on whether or not to consolidate Evansville and Vanderburgh County.
A unified government will improve the business climate of the area, and, thus, the local economy.
Businesses will be attracted to the area if the local government makes it easy to start up and expand; job opportunities will increase; and young professionals will stay in the area and be more willing to relocate here.
Ultimately, the local economy will benefit with a unified government.
Business climate, economy:
The EDC of Southwest Indiana Business Climate Survey results (March 2011) indicated that proactive leadership is one of the greatest needs for the region to enhance its global competitiveness. Survey participants stated their reasons of ranking the business climate poorly:
Local government lacks leadership skills.
Local government is not visionary.
Local politics is too partisan.
Lack of coordination between state and local government for new construction.
Also, the same survey reported one of the challenges businesses face is the "cumbersome startup/expansion process." A unified government will streamline processes for starting and expanding businesses because of centralized decision making and a unified voice and vision. Improving the local business climate will lead to job growth, attraction and retention of young professionals and, ultimately, a larger tax base for public services within and outside city limits.
Attract, retain young professionals:
Between 2000 and 2010, Greater Evansville lost more than 5,000 people between the ages of 20 and 34. During the same period Evansville gained more than 3,000 people older than 60. This means right at the age young professionals may become house owners, pay property taxes and contribute to the local economy, they instead are leaving the Evansville area and leaving primarily for greater job opportunities — both in terms of quality and quantity.
The Greater Evansville:
The Place for Young Professionals Task Force found in its survey (December 2011) huge gaps between what young professionals valued and how they perceived each in the area. According to the survey, young professionals highly value a stable economy with good jobs, a broad choice of places to work and an entrepreneurial environment. But that is not what they perceive Evansville offering. There need to be more job opportunities, and it needs to be easier to start businesses.
With a unified government and visionary leaders, the greater Evansville area could provide a more solid, unified and positive business climate within and outside the city limits. Then, more companies would locate here, job opportunities would increase, and more young professionals and young leaders would be more apt to stay and relocate to the Evansville area and contribute to the local economy.
Sixty percent of the survey respondents who are not from the Evansville area came here for job opportunities. Imagine if there were more jobs to attract even more young professionals to the greater Evansville area.
Now is the time for a unified government with visionary leaders making unified decisions that will enable the local economy to grow and prosper.
Friday, October 19, 2012
New Albany Votes to Establish Own Parks Department in Move to End Joint Agreement with County
From the Jeffersonville News and Tribune:
The New Albany City Council elected to form its own parks department, and approved on initial readings disbanding its joint venture with Floyd County for recreational services Thursday night.
By resolution, the council voted 5-4 to re-establish a New Albany parks department. The measure only required one reading.
The ordinance to abolish the joint New Albany-Floyd County Parks Department — which has been in operation since 1994 — was approved 6-3 on first and second readings. The final ballot will be cast during a Nov. 5 meeting.
Thirteen people, including state and local officials, parks board members and residents addressed the council about the Mayor Jeff Gahan-backed proposal to end the joint agreement. Only one person, Matt Nash, who writes a regular column for the News and Tribune but is not an employee of the newspaper, spoke in favor of forming an autonomous city parks system.
From higher operating costs to the threat of losing recreational programs for the youth and elderly, the other 12 public speakers offered reasons as to why the move could damage the community.
“This is a mistake, and I don’t know what’s going to happen to the city and the county when it happens,” said Letty Walker, a New Albany resident and long-time parks volunteer.
See the full article here:
http://newsandtribune.com/floydcounty/x1200636890/Parks-split-approved-in-New-Albany
The New Albany City Council elected to form its own parks department, and approved on initial readings disbanding its joint venture with Floyd County for recreational services Thursday night.
By resolution, the council voted 5-4 to re-establish a New Albany parks department. The measure only required one reading.
The ordinance to abolish the joint New Albany-Floyd County Parks Department — which has been in operation since 1994 — was approved 6-3 on first and second readings. The final ballot will be cast during a Nov. 5 meeting.
Thirteen people, including state and local officials, parks board members and residents addressed the council about the Mayor Jeff Gahan-backed proposal to end the joint agreement. Only one person, Matt Nash, who writes a regular column for the News and Tribune but is not an employee of the newspaper, spoke in favor of forming an autonomous city parks system.
From higher operating costs to the threat of losing recreational programs for the youth and elderly, the other 12 public speakers offered reasons as to why the move could damage the community.
“This is a mistake, and I don’t know what’s going to happen to the city and the county when it happens,” said Letty Walker, a New Albany resident and long-time parks volunteer.
See the full article here:
http://newsandtribune.com/floydcounty/x1200636890/Parks-split-approved-in-New-Albany
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Howard County Townships Support Consolidation
From the Kokomo Tribune:
The trustees for Liberty, Union and Jackson townships all voiced support for the consolidation of the three townships that could start in 2015.
The Howard County chapter of the League of Women Voters conducted the first of four informational meetings on the ballot referendum to consolidate six townships in the county on Thursday at the Greentown Public Library. About 20 people attended the meeting.
The recommendation by the Howard County Township Trustee’s Association is to consolidate Liberty, Union and Jackson townships into one based on the Eastern school boundaries and Ervin, Clay and Howard townships using the Northwestern school boundaries.
If approved, one trustee will represent the newly-created township and there will be three advisory board members instead of the current nine.
Voters in the six townships will determine if the townships will consolidate Nov. 6.
...
http://kokomotribune.com/local/x1023284223/Trustees-support-consolidation
The trustees for Liberty, Union and Jackson townships all voiced support for the consolidation of the three townships that could start in 2015.
The Howard County chapter of the League of Women Voters conducted the first of four informational meetings on the ballot referendum to consolidate six townships in the county on Thursday at the Greentown Public Library. About 20 people attended the meeting.
The recommendation by the Howard County Township Trustee’s Association is to consolidate Liberty, Union and Jackson townships into one based on the Eastern school boundaries and Ervin, Clay and Howard townships using the Northwestern school boundaries.
If approved, one trustee will represent the newly-created township and there will be three advisory board members instead of the current nine.
Voters in the six townships will determine if the townships will consolidate Nov. 6.
...
http://kokomotribune.com/local/x1023284223/Trustees-support-consolidation
Monday, August 27, 2012
From a lengthy article in the Muncie Star-Press:
With a November referendum on Delaware County government reorganization only weeks away, proponents and opponents are marshaling their forces and preparing campaigns to sway voter opinion.
The referendum — drafted last year — would literally change the face of local government: It would eliminate the positions of Muncie mayor, Delaware County commissioners and city and county councils, and replace them with a 14-member city-county council, and an elected county executive.
The revamped council would also contract with professional managers to run local government operations.
The current members of the city and county councils in June 2011 voted to put the measure on this fall’s ballot.
However, they also put a significant obstacle in its path — to be enacted, two-thirds of voters, rather than a simple majority, must support it.
Perhaps because of the challenge that must be overcome to pass reorganization, the pro-consolidation campaign has been low-key so far.
...
There’s a lot of skepticism about the reorganization among current officeholders.
“I have some very serious reservations about it.,” Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler said last week. “About the potential, I believe, of Muncie losing its identity as a community and a city.
“I think it's very important for us to have somebody that represents Muncie. Doesn't represent the county, doesn't represent the townships. Represents Muncie.”
...
The reorganization plan appears to be no more popular in the Delaware County Building than it is at City Hall.
“I’m opposed to it,” said Delaware County Commissioners President Todd Donati. “I don’t think it was properly put together. It doesn’t save any money.
“We’re not opposed to some kind of consolidation,” Donati added, noting an interlocal agreement between the city and county on animal control. “But it needs to be something that people who understand government work on, not people rushing to meet a deadline.”
...
See the full article here:
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012308260025
With a November referendum on Delaware County government reorganization only weeks away, proponents and opponents are marshaling their forces and preparing campaigns to sway voter opinion.
The referendum — drafted last year — would literally change the face of local government: It would eliminate the positions of Muncie mayor, Delaware County commissioners and city and county councils, and replace them with a 14-member city-county council, and an elected county executive.
The revamped council would also contract with professional managers to run local government operations.
The current members of the city and county councils in June 2011 voted to put the measure on this fall’s ballot.
However, they also put a significant obstacle in its path — to be enacted, two-thirds of voters, rather than a simple majority, must support it.
Perhaps because of the challenge that must be overcome to pass reorganization, the pro-consolidation campaign has been low-key so far.
...
There’s a lot of skepticism about the reorganization among current officeholders.
“I have some very serious reservations about it.,” Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler said last week. “About the potential, I believe, of Muncie losing its identity as a community and a city.
“I think it's very important for us to have somebody that represents Muncie. Doesn't represent the county, doesn't represent the townships. Represents Muncie.”
...
The reorganization plan appears to be no more popular in the Delaware County Building than it is at City Hall.
“I’m opposed to it,” said Delaware County Commissioners President Todd Donati. “I don’t think it was properly put together. It doesn’t save any money.
“We’re not opposed to some kind of consolidation,” Donati added, noting an interlocal agreement between the city and county on animal control. “But it needs to be something that people who understand government work on, not people rushing to meet a deadline.”
...
See the full article here:
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012308260025
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Consolidation Effort in Vanderburgh County Likely Headed to Court
From the Evansville Courier & Press:
A drive by opponents of Evansville-Vanderburgh County government consolidation to stop the Nov. 6 vote may be headed to court, if Vanderburgh County elections officials heed the state's advice.
But first the county election board plans to meet to hear out leaders of Citizens Opposed to Reorganization in Evansville, who leveled a flurry of charges Thursday against the process that initiated the Election Day referendum.
...
Dale Simmons, an Indiana Election Division attorney who answered legal inquiries by the League of Women Voters of Southwestern Indiana before it launched its voter petition drive on consolidation in 2009, said he and Division Co-Director Brad King advised Kirk on Thursday.
Simmons cited legislation passed in March 2006 to give local government units a framework to merge.
"Every step described in (the law's article on "government modernization") to get to where you are, has been done," Simmons said. "We don't see where the election board has any discretion whatsoever."
If the steps prescribed in the enabling legislation are completed, Simmons said, "it goes on the ballot."
"The only thing to prevent that is an action in a court of law," he said.
That's where Citizens Opposed to Reorganization in Evansville comes in.
The anti-consolidation group levels four charges against the process that led to this year's referendum, in two cases relying on a general statute that Simmons says is trumped by the 2006 enabling legislation — and in one case calling on the 2006 law. One of the group's charges — that the consolidation petition for which the League collected signatures "fails to accurately state issue for public consideration" — is unsupported by law.
...
See the full article here:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/aug/03/consolidation-herp/
A drive by opponents of Evansville-Vanderburgh County government consolidation to stop the Nov. 6 vote may be headed to court, if Vanderburgh County elections officials heed the state's advice.
But first the county election board plans to meet to hear out leaders of Citizens Opposed to Reorganization in Evansville, who leveled a flurry of charges Thursday against the process that initiated the Election Day referendum.
...
Dale Simmons, an Indiana Election Division attorney who answered legal inquiries by the League of Women Voters of Southwestern Indiana before it launched its voter petition drive on consolidation in 2009, said he and Division Co-Director Brad King advised Kirk on Thursday.
Simmons cited legislation passed in March 2006 to give local government units a framework to merge.
"Every step described in (the law's article on "government modernization") to get to where you are, has been done," Simmons said. "We don't see where the election board has any discretion whatsoever."
If the steps prescribed in the enabling legislation are completed, Simmons said, "it goes on the ballot."
"The only thing to prevent that is an action in a court of law," he said.
That's where Citizens Opposed to Reorganization in Evansville comes in.
The anti-consolidation group levels four charges against the process that led to this year's referendum, in two cases relying on a general statute that Simmons says is trumped by the 2006 enabling legislation — and in one case calling on the 2006 law. One of the group's charges — that the consolidation petition for which the League collected signatures "fails to accurately state issue for public consideration" — is unsupported by law.
...
See the full article here:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/aug/03/consolidation-herp/
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Hoosier Lottery Seeks Bids for Private Partner to Increase Revenue for State
From a lengthy article in the Indianapolis Business Journal:
The $791 million Hoosier Lottery wants to be among the fastest-growing in the country, and it’s looking to the gambling industry to help it reach that goal.
The lottery threw open bidding July 11 for a 10-year contract on marketing, sales and distribution services. The response from the private sector is likely to be enthusiastic, as Indiana will be one of the first states to enter a major outsourcing deal since the U.S. Department of Justice said states could engage in non-sports gambling online.
The $791 million Hoosier Lottery wants to be among the fastest-growing in the country, and it’s looking to the gambling industry to help it reach that goal.
The lottery threw open bidding July 11 for a 10-year contract on marketing, sales and distribution services. The response from the private sector is likely to be enthusiastic, as Indiana will be one of the first states to enter a major outsourcing deal since the U.S. Department of Justice said states could engage in non-sports gambling online.
...
The lottery typically returns more than $200 million a year to state coffers, but officials think there’s room for improvement. The commission’s stated mission is to be one of the top five lotteries in the country, as measured by year-over-year income growth.
While Indiana touts a $2 billion surplus, a major source of revenue—casino taxes—is on the wane. Revenue from casinos, which provided $660 million in 2011, will drop as neighboring states introduce competition, budget forecasters predict.
“You want to bolster revenues as much as you can to try and account for that,” said political analyst Ed Feigenbaum, who publishes the Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter. “This may be an opportunity to do it.”
Lottery income dropped 15 percent, from $210 million in the 2008 fiscal year to $178 million in 2009.
The trend is on the upswing again, with income forecast at $212 million for the year ended June 30 and budgeted at $226 million for 2013.
The earnings go into the Build Indiana Fund to offset vehicle excise taxes charged by local governments. The fund has also used lottery money to make contributions to pension and disability funds for police, firefighters and teachers.
...
While Indiana touts a $2 billion surplus, a major source of revenue—casino taxes—is on the wane. Revenue from casinos, which provided $660 million in 2011, will drop as neighboring states introduce competition, budget forecasters predict.
“You want to bolster revenues as much as you can to try and account for that,” said political analyst Ed Feigenbaum, who publishes the Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter. “This may be an opportunity to do it.”
Lottery income dropped 15 percent, from $210 million in the 2008 fiscal year to $178 million in 2009.
The trend is on the upswing again, with income forecast at $212 million for the year ended June 30 and budgeted at $226 million for 2013.
The earnings go into the Build Indiana Fund to offset vehicle excise taxes charged by local governments. The fund has also used lottery money to make contributions to pension and disability funds for police, firefighters and teachers.
...
See the full article here:
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Editorial Supports Cautious Privitization of Hoosier Lottery
From the Northwest Indiana Times:
Hoosier Lottery operations could be privatized, depending on how the bids come in. It's a big step for Indiana, one that must be taken only with extreme caution.
The Indiana State Lottery Commission this month released a request for information, setting two deadlines for interested bidders.
The first deadline, Aug. 1, is for background on the bidding company and all its employees. The Aug. 31 deadline is for the full bids.
Once the bids are in, the commission will evaluate the bids, weighing the information about who would be involved — the integrity question — along with the business plan and the net income proposed. A recommendation is expected by late September.
The lottery is a business, of course, so the income matters. Lottery sales revenue is a voluntary tax. Since its inception in 1989, the agency reports, it has generated more than $4 billion in profits for state government.
But also important are how the bidder plans to market products and that everyone involved have a sterling reputation. Privatization must bring the same level of scrutiny to the lottery as already exists for the state's casinos, dog tracks and related operations.
The same concerns about organized crime, largely based on the early history of Las Vegas, will no doubt surface again in Indiana if the state recommends a bidder to operate the marketing and sales of Hoosier Lottery products.
It's important to make sure the state retains careful control of all aspects of the operation, because gambling offers opportunity for unsavory dealings that could harm Hoosiers.
Structure this contract very carefully to make sure that doesn't happen, and that Indiana's reputation doesn't suffer. This is even more important than squeezing more money out of Hoosiers and visitors for get-rich-quick lottery dreams.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-lottery-privatization-could-be-a-winner/article_f5be6104-752e-571d-939a-d501beb1c88e.html
Hoosier Lottery operations could be privatized, depending on how the bids come in. It's a big step for Indiana, one that must be taken only with extreme caution.
The Indiana State Lottery Commission this month released a request for information, setting two deadlines for interested bidders.
The first deadline, Aug. 1, is for background on the bidding company and all its employees. The Aug. 31 deadline is for the full bids.
Once the bids are in, the commission will evaluate the bids, weighing the information about who would be involved — the integrity question — along with the business plan and the net income proposed. A recommendation is expected by late September.
The lottery is a business, of course, so the income matters. Lottery sales revenue is a voluntary tax. Since its inception in 1989, the agency reports, it has generated more than $4 billion in profits for state government.
But also important are how the bidder plans to market products and that everyone involved have a sterling reputation. Privatization must bring the same level of scrutiny to the lottery as already exists for the state's casinos, dog tracks and related operations.
The same concerns about organized crime, largely based on the early history of Las Vegas, will no doubt surface again in Indiana if the state recommends a bidder to operate the marketing and sales of Hoosier Lottery products.
It's important to make sure the state retains careful control of all aspects of the operation, because gambling offers opportunity for unsavory dealings that could harm Hoosiers.
Structure this contract very carefully to make sure that doesn't happen, and that Indiana's reputation doesn't suffer. This is even more important than squeezing more money out of Hoosiers and visitors for get-rich-quick lottery dreams.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-lottery-privatization-could-be-a-winner/article_f5be6104-752e-571d-939a-d501beb1c88e.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)