Dear Friends,
Recently, you received a letter from Commissioner Robert Harper listing a number of his beliefs with regard to the upcoming referendum to create a Regional Transportation District, which he erroneously calls a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA).
First, we must remember that among Mr. Harper’s many roles is that of criminal defense attorney. In that role, his first and foremost objective is to create doubt. He really does not need to prove anything to get his client off. He just needs to create doubt in the mind of a jury. This is the tactic he has applied in his recent letter, Internet musings, and throughout his government service.
He states he “…believes that we need to provide public transportation for our senior citizens as well as those that require on-demand rides. Moreover, he believes we are obligated to provide buses for people to get to and from work when there is great enough need to justify it.”
If he really believes what he says, has he ever, publicly addressed:
1. How he would pay for these systems without raising taxes?
2. How he would manage them and coordinate schedules?
3. What measures he would use to determine when there is enough need to move forward?
4. His ability to willingly work toward solutions to these questions with other units of government?
Or, has he constantly undermined and spread doubt about the ideas of others?
Actually, Mr. Harper is quite famous for creating factoids instead of researching facts. (A factoid is a speculation or assumption that is repeated or reported so often that it becomes accepted as fact when it is in actuality erroneous information.) Let’s examine the factoids set forth in his recent letter.
Harper Factoid #1:
“The legislation creates no less than five new separate regulatory boards.”
Truth:
In the legislation, two boards are re-organized not “created.” The Regional Bus Authority, which governs buses, and the NICTD, which governs the South Shore, are reorganized to have only elected officials as voting members. A third board is established, the Regional Transportation District (RTD), which is made up of members of the train and bus boards designed to resolve disputes, coordinate schedules and accomplish long range planning and funding. Three current bus boards are eliminated.
The remaining two entities are advisory committees with absolutely NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY whatsoever. Members of these committees are riders, handicapped persons, and labor union representatives giving input to the train and bus boards. Do you find it somewhat curious that Mr. Harper calls that arrangement for formal input from users a bureaucracy?
Actually no giant bureaucracy is created, as Mr. Harper’s fantasies would have us believe, the current bureaucracy is made smaller, more efficient, more inter-active, and more accountable reporting not only to the taxpayers, but also to the state legislative budget committee and the governor.
Harper Factoid #2
“The board that can pass the tax will be made up of elected officials from various counties. Because on the board are members from several counties, people will not be able to clearly retaliate at the polls if taxes are passed again and again. It will be hard to show your displeasure at election time.”
Truth:
The NICTD board is currently and has for many years been made up of appointed and elected members from multiple counties where there is little or no accountability to the voters. The current Regional Bus Authority is made up of all appointed members. The legislation requires voting members of the managing boards to be elected to create greater accountability to the taxpayers. Is Mr. Harper afraid of more direct accountability? What is his suggestion for better governance or is he once again just trying to create doubt in the mind of public opinion so he can show everyone that he is in charge in Porter County?
Harper Factoid #3 (ABSOLUTE DELIBERATE DECEPTION)
Mr. Harper rambles about the amount of money the Lake County municipalities receive from gambling revenue and that supporters say the bus systems need help. He says, “With all this money, how can the citizens of Porter County be asked to help support these systems?”
Truth:
THE CITIZENS OF PORTER COUNTY ARE NOT BEING ASKED TO SUPPORT THE BUS SYSTEMS OF LAKE COUNTY!!!! Mr. Harper should be well aware that the legislation is clear in building a fence around each county’s transportation tax dollars and using them proportionately to each county’s use. The law says “…the board shall allocate the capital costs according to a formula established by the board that REFLECTS THE BENEFIT RECEIVED BY THE COUNTY FROM THE CAPITAL COSTS IN FACILITATING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.” “The annual OPERATING EXPENSES …to be allocated to each member county ...using the total number of passengers and miles traveled by individuals using public transportation within each member county…”
Harper Factoid #4
“The only reason Porter County is in the bus service area at all is due to the bus lines that have been started in Valparaiso.”
Truth:
The Regional Transportation District concept is focused on relieving congestion and addressing the future transportation needs of Northwest Indiana. Porter County is the 9th largest and 5th most rapidly growing county in the state from 2000 to 2008 census data. Porter County has one of the most rapidly growing senior citizen populations in the state. Traffic on our major thoroughfares is projected to increase exponentially in the next 20 years. Whether Mr. Harper likes to admit it or not Porter County citizens are and will be closely tied to jobs, shopping and medical care in Lake County and Illinois for a long time.
The future mass transportation needs of Porter County are much larger than the present Valparaiso system. While Valparaiso has made some attempt to address the issue of future mass transit needs, the system is in its infancy and Portage has only begun to think about its future transportation needs. Mr. Harper has attacked the Valparaiso effort since its inception. <
Harper Factoid #5
“Although the tax is starting out at 0.25%, you can rest assured it will grow.” “...No one has stopped to figure out just how much this will cost and they are beginning with a small tax that will not be nearly enough.”
Truth
Some basic numbers are as follows: The additional dollars needed for the local match to extend the South Shore was calculated at $300M, the bond payments on that amount are between $24M and $30M depending on the market. The latest estimate for a local match to consolidate the three Lake County bus systems and operate basic service is approximately $12M. A 0.25 income tax would pay for that and significantly more.
The operating subsidy for the South Shore comes from state sales tax, not from local taxes. As the economy and incomes grow the revenue from 0.25% tax yield would increase without raising the tax rate to meet future needs. The State legislature would need to approve any income tax increase above 0.25%, as would the RTD. <
South Shore management has demonstrated that their cost estimates for the proposed extension are not yet stable after four years of work. Better oversight and accountability are essential before any extension can be contemplated further.
Mr. Harper seems to be saying that he is the only one in the state smart enough to analyze the cost of mass transit!!!! What evidence does he present to substantiate such a claim? How does he know that no one has figured out what anything will cost? He has consistently used questionable techniques to rationalize and over simplify his unsubstantiated fears. He attacks every study as inadequate, yet has no transportation, finance or management experience to claim any expertise in the area of public transportation
Harper Factoid #6
“If the referendum is passed as well as the resulting tax, it will be the third income tax that Porter County will have had within the last 10 years, If we have had three in ten years, what will the local income tax be in thirty years? County income taxes that were supposed to be kept at 1% have grown and grown throughout the state…”
Truth
First, the tax is not automatic with the passing of the referendum. An income tax of 0.25% or less MAY be passed by a board made up of county commissioners, county council members and mayors most of whom have never voted for a tax increase before. Second, the RTD is required by law to create a master transportation plan for the district and allocate costs by county proportionate to use before passing any tax.
Once again criminal defense attorney Harper plays fast and loose with the truth to create doubt. When he says County income taxes were supposed to be kept to 1%, one must ask, “Where is that written?” The truth is the legislature has provided tools for local government to reduce the burden of property taxes on small business and those on fixed income as the cost of local government in Indiana has grown twice as rapidly as state government.
Some facts found in any entry-level economics textbook, income taxes place a greater burden on those who have growing incomes and property taxes will rise with the cost of government independent of any change, positive or negative, in the taxpayer’s income.
In nearby Jasper County, officials had the courage take responsibility and be accountable to their constituents passing 3% income tax because they decided to redistribute the cost of local government from those least able to pay to those most able to pay, while Mr. Harper, in his current position in Porter County government, has blocked the use any tool that could make him accountable for the cost of local government. He and his friends are in a pitched battle to remove the Porter County property tax relief associated with the RDA legislation. As a high-income criminal defense attorney, Mr. Harper seems very motivated to keep property taxes high and income taxes low.
In summary
Mr. Harper and his small group of followers have conducted an all out war against any attempt to create jobs, rebuild our economy, or improve our basic infrastructure in a futile, nostalgic attempt to keep Porter County the way it was before he moved here from Lake County. He has consistently tried to divert people’s attention from dealing with the inevitable growth of our county due to its strategic location at the tip of Lake Michigan and close proximity to the third largest economy in the nation, through exaggeration and fear mongering.
The real issue in the referendum of November 3 is whether you think it is time to create the planning and accountability systems that are necessary to meet our future transportation needs or whether you would rather wait until we have a greater economic and congestion crisis, slapping something together at the last minute.
We urge you to ignore the fear tactics of Mr. Harper and vote YES on November 3 with a hope for creating future jobs, a better economy, and greater mobility for the citizens of our county through accountability, cooperation and planning.
