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With the effects of Senate Enrolled Act 1 on the horizon in the next few years, Indiana Sen. Ryan Mishler provided an update on it - as well as the possibility of the Bears coming to Indiana, Toll Road increases and U.S. 30 - Saturday while he was at the Kiwanis Pancake and Egg Breakfast in Warsaw.
“Most of the discussion this last year wasn’t even about the property taxes themselves. It was about the LIT (local income tax),” he said. “So I think most of the changes we made this year were on the LIT. It was just kind of a discussion on how much should go to the county - like what percentage the county should get, what percentage the city should get. I don’t think we landed quite there yet, so they just did some temporary changes just to kind of let them status quo on the LIT.”
As for the property taxes, he said he thinks they’ve gotten there to just about where it needs to be. The issue seems to be the LIT.
Mishler said, “The one big issue I have is, which ties them together, is - and I was opposed to this part - by getting rid of the business personal property tax, it gives the companies a break, I get it, but our corporate tax rate is already low. But, the problem is, to make up for that, the only way to make up for it is an income tax and the only people that pay the income tax are homesteads. That’s the part I do not like because I feel like then, if they want to make up for the business personal property tax, the only way to do it is on the back of the homeowner with the LIT.”
He said he was OK with shifting from property tax to income tax on homesteads because “if I’m benefitting, it’s me. But now you give the benefit to the corporations and then the homeowners might end up paying - I’m not saying they will. But if a county decides to make up some of that revenue, the only way they really can is through a LIT.”
Of course, every single year the state legislature makes adjustments to property taxes, Mishler acknowledged. “I would assume nothing different in the next year. We do it every year,” he said.
On the property taxes, he said the legislature is trying to get to a rate-based system.
“So an example would be - and I agree with this part - so in Marshall County where the county lowered their taxes, and so they thought everybody would get a break. Well, no, the library ate it up,” Mishler said. “So, it’s a shift. You’ve got to stop where they can shift. Your piece of the pie is this. If you lower your rate, then your pie gets a little smaller, but don’t allow somebody else to take it. Let the taxpayer see a break.”
He said he agrees to getting to a rate-based system where other taxing units can’t take up any relief that a taxing unit provides.
“That’s where we’re heading, but there might be some tweaks that might need to be made along the way because that’s probably a four-, five-year phase-in to do something like that,” Mishler said.
The Bears
During the past legislative session, Indiana made an offer to help locate a new Bears stadium in Northwest Indiana. Senate Bill 27 created the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to enable state involvement in the project. Meanwhile, Illinois has been making an effort to keep the football stadium and team there.
Mishler on Saturday related an interview with a reporter from Forbes who had been working on the story for three years. After he explained the Senate Bill, the reporter asked Mishler why he thought the Bears would come to Indiana.
“I said, ‘Well, you say you’ve been working on this for three years now.’ I said, ‘Did you take note that we put something together in under three months?’ It’s a good point,” Mishler recalled.
He acknowledged Illinois is working on something to keep the Bears there, and he thinks the Bears do need to see what Illinois can offer as it would be tough for them to leave the state.
“Even if they decide to move, I think they at least have to say, ‘Hey, we waited for Illinois to try to do something. They couldn’t do it.’ Whatever,” Mishler said. “The other thing would be, it’s these mega projects. That’s what I don’t understand. And all this (SB 27) is, is to give the locals the ability to negotiate property taxes with big projects and - I said in the last interview - I said what I don’t understand is, in our deals, the way we do these lease specs, there is no property taxes in it. So I don’t even think it’s apples to apples what they’re trying to do.”
The Illinois General Assembly recesses May 31.
“They did have something barely pass out of committee,” Mishler said, but he heard they didn’t have the votes to do it. “So I don’t know. We’re just kind of watching. We continue to have discussions with them. I know they continue watching, I know they were watching budget committee the other day. From what they tell me, they’re very impressed with how we operate, how we work together to get things done and they’re not used to a government that operates that way. So I took that as a great compliment.”
He said the Bears organization has been great to work with.
“I have to tell you, whether they come here or not, they’ve been nothing but respectful. (Bears owners) the McCaskey family, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Warren, the CEO, they’ve been great to work with,” Mishler stated.
He’s talked to the Indianapolis Colts and said there’s no competitive spirit between them and the Bears. The Colts understand the Bears are in a totally different market and won’t interfere with them. It may actually complement them.
Mishler estimated everything with the Bears will be resolved by May or June because the Illinois legislature recesses in May. The Bears want to be in their new stadium by 2030, and it takes about three years to build a stadium, he estimated.
“Knowing they have something here. Knowing they told me in a meeting that they know they would save millions of dollars a year in taxes just crossing the line. And I say, ‘Yeah, and just think how much your players are going to save, too,’” Mishler said. “They know, from a business perspective, that’s the best deal to come across the line for a business. So I think once they see what plays out in Illinois, we’ll have an answer May, June.”
Toll Road
The state of Indiana has agreed to let the Indiana Toll Road’s private operator increase tolls on all vehicles twice a year, in exchange for payments totaling $700 million, according to a story Wednesday by the Indiana Capital Chronicle. The Indiana Finance Authority on Tuesday approved a resolution authorizing changes to the 75-year lease with ITR Concession Company.
Mishler said the toll road decision was separate from the efforts to try to lure the Bears to Indiana. About five or six years ago, the state did another amendment to the toll road.
“They can do it every so many years. That was being discussed before the Bears even came and talked to us. So that was already being discussed about allowing that to happen, let’s figure out how much money and we’ll put it into road infrastructure,” he said. “Now when the Bears thing came up, it was like, ‘Well, if we do the Toll Road thing, it says it may be used - some of that money may be used - for infrastructure.’ And it says the whole cash payment may be used in Lake County for road infrastructure and things. It’s not for the state, it’s for infrastructure. If that’s the case, then it has to be paid back by Lake County and the stadium folks to the other six Toll Road counties. Because the money would go to the Toll Road counties, so the other ones would see all of it, so the other six would divide all ($700 million) because they feel like, Lake County shouldn’t get a portion because they’re going to use it for a while, make something out of it. So the other ones would get their money over time until the other six are paid the full $700 million.”
He said all the counties up there would see money for road infrastructure like it used to be before the Toll Road lease.
Discussion on the increases in the tolls started during the previous Indiana administration of Gov. Eric Holcomb. Mishler reiterated that the toll increases and the Bears are two separate things, but it’s another option for the state to use for something up there.
Mishler said he’s not heard any criticism about the toll rates rising because they go up anyway every so often. He said it probably affects the trucking industry more, but most of those are probably out of state.
U.S. 30
Mishler said he and state Rep. Craig Snow were just with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) on Wednesday.
“We talked to them about 30. We put some proposals that we feel they should have here. I just told them I will have a watchful eye this next budget session on what they plan to do with 30,” he said, adding that something has to be done.
“I have lived in this area my entire life, this region, and first of all, there are a lot of safety concerns on 30. I mean, every time I pick up (the local news), there’s an accident on 30. Parker Street, that is a mess. I come in that way a lot. Something’s got to be done,” Mishler stated.
There’s reasons for safety, and there’s also reasons for what he termed economic development.
“I think there’s two things to look at. Some of them you have to have for safety. Some of them - they want to develop that corridor going to Slate (Auto), you’ve got have something on 30. Once you put something on 30, I think you see a huge thing of development come in around that area. Rep. Snow has put a lot of time in to putting some maps together, and I’ve just gone to present it. He’s done a lot of footwork to actually put some ideas (together). He’s met with some landowners. I think what we’re working on together would be a really good plan moving forward for this area. A lot of development, a lot of growth, but it starts with 30,” Mishler stated.
