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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-05-04 Informal Meeting . INFORMAL MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL South Bend,Indiana 46601 The November 5, 2004 Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council was called to order at 11:35 p.m. by Council President Karen L. White in the Council Informal Meeting Room,pursuant to the Notice dated October 29,2004(copy attached). Persons in attendance included Council Members Kuspa, Puzzello, Kelly, Kirsits and White; Mayor Stephen J. Luecke, State Representative Ryan Dvorak, State Representative-Elect Jackie Warlorski, Commissioner Mark A. Dobson, Commissioner Cynthia A. Bodle, County Council President Rafael Morton, Police Chief Thomas Fautz, City Clerk John Voorde, City Attorney Charles Leone, Executive Director of the Department of Community & Economic Development Sharon Kendall, members of the news media, and Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand, Council Attorney. State senators and state representatives unable to attend included: Senator Kent Adams, Senator John Broden, Senator Joseph Zakas, Representative B. Patrick Bauer, Representative Craig Fry, Representative Thomas Kromkowski, and Representative Richard Mangus. Council President White thanked everyone for coming to join the South Bend Common Council in an Informal meeting and encouraged everyone to partake in the sandwich lunches. She noted that working luncheons of this type began when Council Member Charlotte D. Pfeifer was Council President a few years ago. She noted that it provides an opportunity to listen and share concerns important to our communities. An introduction of everyone present then took place. Council President White suggested that the time be best used to talk about critical issues facing our community,beginning with the topic of property taxes. Commissioner Dobson noted that the installment plan will help some of the taxpayers. However, as a realtor, he sees owner-occupied real estate in South Bend "falling off the table". He has properties priced below their market value, and they are still not being sold. Persons love the homes but are not willing to face their property taxes. County-wide rental properties average about 37%;howler South Bend's rental rate is much higher. State Representative-Elect Warlorski stated that during the campaign, property taxes were a huge issue among the property owners. Legislation which would offer homestead credit for owners of multiply income-producing properties may be a possibility since she sees them as small business owners. Commissioner Bodle noted that she had a short discussion with the County Treasurer and that approximately 900 individuals have applied for the payment plan as of November 3rd. November 22nd is the deadline and they anticipate being swamped with requests. She noted that state law restricts this procedure to only persons with homeowner exceptions. She believes that some type of additional relief needs to be addressed,since property taxes is one the biggest if not the biggest issue. Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council November 5,2004---Page 1 Council Member Pfeifer stated that she would like to see standards for property owners who are landlords, since there are too many slum landlords who are terrible. She believes that slum landlords are not entitled to any type of relief and should go out of business. She estimated that 10-15%of landlords are slum landlords. Council Member Kuspa noted that there was a question on the ballot regarding property taxes. Council Member Kirsits noted that that issue passed overwhelmingly. He stated that it would give the legislature the ability to pursue further exemptions, but the economists were against it. State Representative-Elect Warlorski stated that one of the concerns is the danger of placing more of the burden onto farmers. She thought that there would be "sweeping changes" in the next 2-4 years in light of the new state administration. City Clerk John Voorde noted that reinvestment credit or maintenance allowances are items which could be implemented through the township assessors. Council Member Pfeifer suggested that there need to be more public conversations on property taxes. Town Hall forums with Q & A's with good media coverage would be very helpful since many persons are confused and very upset. Council Member Puzzello also suggested that more public venues be pursued which address property taxes. Council Member Kelly stated that he agreed in principle with the Indiana Supreme Court opinion which held that market rate should be used for property taxes, however believes that the implementation of it was crazy. Council President White stated that the overall impact of the Court's decision on properties should be reviewed, and suggested that it would be very helpful to see a map of the areas most significantly affected in the state. People need information which needs to be shared in public forums,and neighborhoods need to be assured that they will be safe. City Clerk John Voorde suggested that the California model should be looked at since it uses an assessment value at sales price with a%as a ceiling. County Council President Morton stated that the topic of property taxes is not going away. He stated that the situation is "not bad, it is terrible". He questioned whether there was any evaluation of the impact of the assessment before it was implemented. Commissioner Bodle noted that a phased-in program should have been considered; and noted support for John Voorde suggestion to look at the California model. Council Member Kirsits noted that at the last luncheon Senator Broden noted that there are many areas of the state which are not affected at all. He stated that all options should be discussed by the state legislature with an emphasis on fairness and ways to help inner cities. Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council November 5,2004---Page 2 Commissioner Dobson stated that every neighborhood is "getting in over their heads" since many purchased more expensive homes in light of low mortgage rates. Commissioner Bodle noted that many mortgage companies encouraged maximum amounts of loans and then the property owners got hit with high taxes. Council Member Puzzello noted that there is a perceived unfairness with the current system. She suggested that the state legislature look at a system similar to that used for motor vehicles--newer the car more taxes you pay. She noted that there is a terrible burden on inner cities which may result in less maintenance being done. Mayor Luecke congratulated State Representative-Elect Warlorski on her election win and state that he looks forward to working with her. He noted that he works closely with Indiana Cities and Towns (IACT). He noted that flexibility allows fairness in a system, and that currently taxes are a burden and not spread fairly. There has been a shift from businesses agriculture to residential real estate. He noted that the former system was unfair to businesses and that was the reason for the court order. He stated that as we look to the future we need to look at the big picture. Tax abatement and tax incremental financing have been tools for municipalities which have been used to create jobs. Perhaps tax abatement should be changed to be called a tax phase-in system. He stated that both of these tools should remain and that the cities need to be aggressive in light of the sunset provisions currently in place in the state law. State Representative Dvorak stated that he is at the "gathering ideas stage". Ideas of consolidating functions and the inconsistency of the process have been raised to date. He noted that different counties have different needs. Commissioner Bodle noted that the new system was to fix the subjectivity. Commissioner Dobson noted that productivity and efficiency are issues, and that Mayor Luecke sits on the study commission. The Connect Report should be reviewed. He suggested that more flexibility is needed. State Representative Warlorski noted that the smaller counties may have more consolidation options in light of the efficiency model.SHe thought it would take 12-18 months to work through the issues addressing efficiency. Council Member Kelly suggested that large counties also need to look at consolidation of operations. If things can be done more efficiently and less expensively, then they should be considered. He gave the example of metro communication which was very frustrating. Council Member Pfeifer inquired whether any progress has been made in interfacing crime data between Mishawaka, South Bend, and the county; noting that when she worked in probation that it was a real problem. Chief Fautz noted that some progress has been made, but not enough. Commissioner Bodle added that computerization has helped in this area. Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council November 5,2004---Page 3 Mayor Luecke confirmed that he sits on the state commission study efficiency. They have focused on such items as the township system, noting that many township officials work out of their homes. Additional costs may be involved when"human costs" are reviewed. It is a complicated issue which needs flexibility, local decision-making, consistency, fairness and constituent participation. If these factors are not involved he believes that trust will be undercut. Commissioner Bodle noted that the mind-set is changing citing that communications in the fire area. The Council Attorney noted that another example of cooperation between Mishawaka, South Bend and the county is the anti-terrorism committees which have resulted in positive results for each governmental entity, including the sharing of homeland security funds. State Representative Dvorak stated that he believes that assessors have been fair, especially when you see the number of appeals which have been filed. He welcomed any ideas and encouraged that there be more meetings of this type and that delegations come down to Indianapolis. Commissioner Bodle noted that poor relief laws are antiquated. She, County Council President Morton and the Council Attorney each voiced concerns of the current state law being overly broad which leads to inconsistency and unfairness among the townships. Council Member Kuspa noted that he has many 80-90 year old residents facing gigantic tax bills,many of which are widow or widowers. He urged that something be done to help them at the state level. In response to a question from County Council President Morton, State Representative Dvorak stated that the Indiana Supreme Court did not allow a phase in process for real estate taxes. He added that there has been a huge costs to counties to implement the new process. County Council President Morton noted that the bigger issue now is where do we go from here. Is there something that really is going to be done at the state level. Commissioner Dobson stressed that South Bend real estate is not selling, and that will result in a real problem for continued development of South Bend. State Representative Dvorak noted that the blame game has gone on, but people need to come together and have a"unified understanding". City Attorney Charles Leone stated that the city is working with the TACT Legislative Committee. He noted that there is a "burden of supporting all of the not-for-profits in the city, but there is also a benefit". Not-for-profits provide a source of good paying jobs, however they sit on alot of no-taxable properties,and this needs to be addressed. State Representative Dvorak noted that often developers would rather plow up more corn fields than locate in the city. • Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council November 5,2004—Page 4 Mayor Luecke noted that development and job growth have been points of emphasis for the city,and that they have had inside/outside strategies. Council Member Kirsits noted that he is aware of an individual who purchasing properties in the city, rehabs them and then sells them. However, in light of the current real estate situation,he may have to go into new construction instead. State Representative-Elect Warlorski stated that people are very open to ideas, since revenue is needed and areas need to be broadened with the focus being not just the property owners. Mayor Luecke noted that the Commission on which he sits is a 2-year Commission. Council President White then asked if there were any other issues which should be discussed. Council Member Kelly raised the issue of school funding, especially in light of all-day kindergarten which he supports. He noted that he sits on the South Bend Education Foundation and that successful results are emanating from programs at Lafayette and Hay schools. Commissioner Dobson noted that many teachers do not see all day kindergarten as a benefit. Council Member Puzzello noted that the last two (2) years of her teaching career were spent as a teacher of English as a 2nd language. She noted that that program is very beneficial, as well as the benefits of all-day kindergarten. State Representative-Elect Warlorski noted that ISEP programs need to be reviewed, since our citizens need to be prepared to compete in a global economy. Questions of how to pay for all-day kindergarten; the current state debt; and how do we fairly fix the system are all critical issues. Commissioner Bodle suggested that exemptions for the elderly also need to be addressed, especially those on fixed incomes. Council Member Kuspa suggested that a summary of how properties have been affected along with pictures would be helpful. Commissioner Bodle stated that the County Engineering Department is currently working on such a system. Council Member Kirsits inquired about the sewer districts. Commissioner Dobson stated that they are addressing areas with environmental problems such as those in Wyatt where there was raw sewage, and then will be expanded to problematic areas in the county. Council Member Kelly inquired about current septic regulations in the county. Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council November 5,2004---Page 5 Commissioner Dobson noted that they were revised when Dr. Carson came on board,and are being updated again. He added that the Brothers of Holy Cross do not have suitable soils for a septic tank system. Council President White thanked everyone for coming and hoped that those in attendance found the working luncheon with the South Bend Common Council to be informative. She noted that another informal luncheon meeting would be called again in the near future. Mayor Luecke noted that the City Attorney had copies of IACT's "Legislative Update & Advocacy Plan"for those who were interested. Council President then adjourned the Council's Informal meeting at 1:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen L. White,Council President South Bend Common Council KCF:kmf Attachment Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council November 5,2004---Page 6