A story posted on the New York Times Web site June 3rd caught my attention, because it deals with infrastructure and White House plans to deal with that issue.  The story basically says the president will unveil a plan this week shifting infrastructure funding away from the federal government.

My first thought was, could this impact Fishers?  Why would that come to my mind? Because many of the infrastructure projects in Fishers are funded by the federal government, sometimes by as much as 90%.

Would the Trump plan to shift funding away from Washington toward local governments reduce the number of infrastructure programs Fishers can fund?  There are a couple of things to keep in mind as this moves forward.

The Times story emphasizes that details are not yet developed.  Anyone familiar with issues such as infrastructure will tell you the devil is always in the details.

What concerns me is the fact that Indiana has a provision in the state constitution providing property tax caps.  Even if a place like Fishers lost federal funding and wanted to raise the money to do so from local taxpayers, the state constitution would not allow a property tax increase of any size (there are a few exceptions).

I’m making no judgment as to whether property tax caps are a good or bad idea, but it is a fact that could hamstring local governments if federal funding ends. The only remaining source of funding in that case is the Indiana General Assembly.

State lawmakers did pass a provision allowing local governments to enact a wheel tax to fund local road and street projects.  The Fishers City Council enacted the $25 annual levy on each vehicle, which goes into effect in 2018.

It is way too early for fretting over a tax change that has no details and is a long way from being enacted (if it ever is passed).  But be aware that if federal funding ends and there is no replacement money available, growing cities like Fishers could be throttled in funding needed infrastructure projects.