Hamilton County Reporter

The Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) certified Hamilton County’s 2018 budget order and tax rates on Feb. 14, paving the way for on-time property tax bills. The budget certification puts the county in a position to have taxes due on Thursday, May 10.

“The certification of the budget order allows local governments to better plan for their operations for 2018 based on the approved budget and anticipated revenue figures. In addition, the certification of the budget order and tax rates sets the stage for on-time property tax bills, which is important for the predictable administration of the property tax system,” DLGF Commissioner Wesley R. Bennett said. “A tremendous amount of collaboration between local and state officials is required to ensure property tax bills go out on time, and it is rewarding to see all the efforts pay off.”

The first step in the assessment to tax billing process is the completion of the property assessments, which culminates with the submission of a ratio study. A ratio study is a comparison between property sales prices and assessed values in the county to ensure that market values are being used to determine assessed values. Typically, these should be submitted to the state by March 1 and approved shortly thereafter in the year prior to tax billing. Hamilton County’s ratio study was submitted on March 9, 2017.

Once the DLGF approves the ratio study, the assessor sends the gross assessed values to the county auditor, who applies exemptions, deductions, or abatements to determine the net assessed values – the values upon which tax rates are based. That information was statutorily due to the DLGF by Aug. 1, 2017. Hamilton County’s certified net assessed values were submitted on Aug. 10, 2017.

Now that the 2018 budget has been certified by the DLGF, the next steps are handled at the county level. The county auditor is to calculate tax bills, which the county treasurer should mail to taxpayers no later than Friday, April 13.

A copy of the Hamilton County budget is available at this link.

March is Disability Awareness Month, and here is episode 7 in my mini-podcast series…

Spring is a time when the weather begins to warm and Fishers residents began to get their homes and yards into shape for the summer.  It’s also a time to inventory your electronics that are no longer useful and papers than need to be securely destroyed.

Fishers is once again sponsoring Keep Fishers Beautiful, an annual mid-April Saturday to get some of those chores done, and much more.

Ritchey Woods and neighborhood groups are also a big part of that day, set this year for Saturday, April 14th 830am – noon.

If you need more information, would like to get your neighborhood involved or would like to volunteer yourself, the details are available at this link.

March is Disability Awareness Month, and here is my 6th in a series of mini-podcasts with people telling their own personal stories

When roughly 90 people gathered to begin planning the Spark!Fishers summer festival, one group began working on a new logo for the event.  The planning committee released the logo Monday morning (shown above).

A city news release says the logo showcases a traditional typeface while injecting fresh colors and a modern style into design element.

“While brainstorming our vision for Spark!Fishers, it became clear that we sought to illustrate how Fishers’ history has propelled us toward the future and innovation,” according to Spark!Fishers PR Committee Co-Chair and local business owner, Jocelyn Vare.

The Spark!Fishers organization is taking applications for vendors and parade units through March 30th.  You can get more information at this link.

“Spark!Fishers is truly a community-led event, from start to finish,” says PR Committee Co-Chair and Nickel Plate District business leader, Erik Braden. “Whether through entertainment, sponsorships, the parade, or volunteerism, there are countless ways for the community to get involved and contribute to the creation of the inaugural event.”

The Spark!Fishers Festival was organized following the decision by the Fishers Freedom Festival organization not to sponsor the event in 2018 after the city decided to fund other nonprofit organizations instead of financially supporting the Freedom Festival.  The Fishers Freedom Festival has been held the weekend prior to July 4th since 1989.  The Spark!Fishers event is scheduled for Friday, June 29th and Saturday, June 30th, 2018.

March is Disability Awareness Month and I am featuring a daily mini-podcast with people talking about their connections to Disability Awareness.  This is mini-podcast episode #5

Fishers has new people moving into the city and area every day, so there are likely a number of families with students in the Hamilton Southeastern School District that may not be familiar with the name Carrie Colglazier.

The short story is that her promising life was snuffed-out in 2003 when she was tragically killed as the result of someone else driving while under the influence.  Carrie had graduated from HSE High School in 2002.

Carrie was a standout athlete in soccer and track, and was active in the local Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization.

A scholarship has been created in Carrie Colglazier’s name.  In order to receive one of the scholarships, the committee looks at this set of criteria:

– Must participate in Girl’s Soccer, Girl’s Track, be a Member of FFA or National Honor Society
– Must participate in the community service work day throughout High School
– School Activities
– Academic Achievement
– Community Service
– Leadership Roles

Over a four-year period, about $12,000 in scholarship money has been handed-out by this fund.

But all scholarship funds are in need of one thing in order to be successful – money!  On March 24th, you have the opportunity to hire a student to help out with getting your place ready for the spring season and benefit the scholarship fund.  You can hire a student to mow the lawn, babysit, organize & clean your house and a number of other chores.  You can hire the student(s) for up to 8 hours (8am-4pm) and you are asked to provide a minimum donation of $25 per student volunteer (but, of course, you can always give more).

To register, go to www.carriecolglazier.org

But don’t wait too long, employers are scheduled to be matched-up with students on March 18th.

Hamilton County Reporter 

The Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency hosted a Saturday training session for storm spotters. Training was provided by Dave Tucek of the National Weather Service. Tucek’s presentation included Doppler Radar interpretation, thunderstorm basics, squall lines and damaging winds, super cells and tornadoes, reporting procedures and storm safety.

Hamilton County Emergency Management offers opportunities for members of the community to become involved in the county’s emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. To learn more about Hamilton County Emergency Management and volunteer opportunities visit their website at hamiltoncounty.in.gov/229/Emergency-Management.

In addition, Hamilton County EMA encourages all county residents to download the agency’s app to access local forecasts, monitor travel advisories, identify open shelters and report storm damage. The free app can be found in Google Play or the App Store.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com) 

Another local election campaign is nearly upon us. It is too often overlooked by voters because it does not attract the attention of major media outlets like national and state politics do; this does not mean local elections are unimportant.

Many day-to-day decisions affecting our citizens are made by local officials. Road construction and maintenance, public hospital facilities, the number and quality of sheriff’s deputies, the operation of local courts, health inspections, weights and measures inspections and operation of county parks are among the functions controlled by local elected officials.

This year there will be state legislators, local judges, a prosecutor, county commissioner, county councilmen, and township trustees elected who will have a lot to say about Hamilton County’s direction in the next few years. Candidates for these offices will be asking for your vote either through a personal approach, a newspaper ad, a yard sign or a mailing.

Our county primary is most important because most, if not all, public officials will be chosen in the Republican primary. Democrats will not have candidates for many major offices and any opposition candidates usually do not win. In addition, voter participation is low in off-year primaries, so folks who do vote make a bigger impact on the outcome.

In our primary election on May 8 there are important issues such as the illegal drug epidemic, the ongoing need for more roads and bridges, the fair distribution of 911 communication costs, perhaps mass transit, a county training center for public safety personnel and a zoning philosophy in the face of continued urban sprawl.

You may have an opinion on one or more of these issues or by looking into these and other issues you may develop an opinion and then look for the candidate who shares your views.

As the candidates hit the campaign trail, we should not be satisfied to let them tell us only things like how long they have lived in the county or how many cute kids they have. They should be asked questions on the issues pertaining to the office they are seeking and qualifications they have for the position.

So, the message is: tune into the process and inform yourself because thousands of our fellow residents will not participate or even know what’s going on. As a reader of this newspaper you already know much more about our political situation than most county citizens. You can very likely make a difference.

Hamilton County Reporter

A two-vehicle crash Friday in the eastern part of Hamilton County left two people injured. Deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the intersection on State Road 32 and Cyntheanne Road at 2:45 p.m. on March 2 on reports of a crash with one vehicle on fire.

Deputies reported a white 2004 Dodge Ram truck, driven by David Crane III, 18, Fishers, was southbound on Cyntheanne Road at the intersection with SR 32. Brandon Park, 23, Fishers, was traveling eastbound on SR 32 in a brown 2001 Buick LeSabre. When the Ram entered the intersection, it struck the LeSabre causing it to run off the road where it struck an electric fence. The LeSabre caught fire and was destroyed during the incident.

Park was taken by air ambulance to St. Vincent Hospital on 86th Street with multiple injuries to his legs, chest and face. A passenger with Park, Gabriel Espinoza, 29, Indianapolis, sustained burns and cuts in the collision and was taken by ground ambulance to Riverview Health for treatment. Crane was not reported as injured in the crash report.

This incident is under review by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Crash Investigation Team. Anyone with information pertaining to the crash should contact the team at (317) 773-1282.