The Times reports that the Indiana House accomplished very little so far, with our Governor being even more specific ""It's a good thing they don't give out midterm grades," Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said of the work led by Democratic House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend. "The budget bill is of almost no use at all." After the Republican-ruled Senate cut compromises to keep alive portions of the governor's proposed local government makeover, Bauer quipped that the Kernan-Shepard reform agenda had lost its shepherd and arrived in the House a wounded animal.
After all, the bill to eliminate townships no longer would eliminate townships -- just the three-member township advisory boards. And an effort to streamline counties would exempt Lake County and could give rise to a patchwork quilt of up to five different forms of county government.
So, question number one: What will be your approach, on Saturday afternoon, to working with our legislators? Will you ask them to back the governor's reforms? Do you see the role of chairman of the party as important enough to engage these issues immediately? Our own First District chair, Senator Landske voted against many of the Governor's reforms, and personally got Lake County exempted from reorganization laws ... will you demand that she step down as district chair?
The Post-Trib reports that when many Porter County residents received their property tax bills, mind you these are the 2007 taxes, which should have been payable in May of 2008, but we are just now getting bills in March of 2009 ... there was a mixture of surprises with significant increases in values on of the most prevalent."I need to get a form for an appeal," Don Turner told the deputy assessor as he walked up to the counter. The Valparaiso resident saw his assessed value go up $34,000. He and another dumbfounded man from Washington Township shared their assessment figures while standing in line. "That's the way they're getting the (tax) caps, huh?" Turner muttered.
So, your second question for the day: After you get done appointing your leadership team for the party and determining where the party will have it's offices (call that Monday) setting the date for Lincoln Day and your first precinct meeting (maybe Tuesday) on Wednesday then how will you approach the difficult issue of our county mess? Who will you interview to gain an thorough understanding of the mess we all call the county administration? I'm not asking where you will land yet on reorganization, but what process will you use to get acclimated?
