When property tax caps officially became a part of the Indiana Constitution in 2010, the biggest concern raised by local governments centered on how basic services, like public safety and public works, would be funded.  After all, the property tax is the financial lifeblood of local Indiana government entities.

Lindsey Erdody has a front page story in the November 30-December 6 edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal with a thoughtful exploration of how these tax caps have impacted the availability of moderately-priced housing in Hamilton County.  Corby Thompson is President of Boomerang Development, a business involved in the development of subdivisions throughout Hamilton County, including Fishers.  Thompson told IBJ the need for local governments to have higher-priced housing in order to generate enough property tax revenue is “…a little frustrating.”

“We’re at the point now where we can’t develop new housing for people of modest or below-modest incomes,” Thompson told reporter Erdody.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness is quoted in several parts of the story.  He bemoans the impact to local governments of the homestead deduction because his city needs “as much assessed value as possible.”

Fadness says the Fishers City Council doesn’t evaluate housing developments by comparing the tax revenue expected with the city’s cost of services, but he and council members are generally aware of the balance required to keep the books balanced.

Some Hamilton County officials told IBJ the area could be saturated with homes costing $200,000 to $400,000.  Fadness seems less concerned about that in Fishers, because the city contains older housing inventory along with the latest developments.

You can read Lindsey Erdody’s story at this link.  (Note:  IBJ limits the number of free accesses to its stories if you are not a subscriber)