Traversing the area of 146th Street and Allisonville Road has not been easy with all the construction. Be aware of a coming road closure.
Below is the guidance from the Hamilton County Highway Department.
For more on other work in the area, see this update from Hamilton County.
As I write this piece on October 29, we are about 10 days away from the November 7th election day. Early voting has already started.
I wrote a piece posted on this blog July 16, discussing the HSE Schools referendum and the support it has garnered among local elected officials. I also tried to sift through many issues surrounding the ballot measure.
The local school board voted 6-0 (with an abstention from Tiffany Pascoe) authorizing the ballot measure and rate to be placed on the election ballot. If passed, the referendum would generate an estimated $24 million per year for the district. The referendum rate, if passed, would be .1995. The current referendum rate, passed in 2016, is .2275. So, if the referendum passes, the referendum rate would decrease slightly.
Advance HSE, the Political Action Committee advocating for passage of the school referendum, has an online calculator to compute what your 2024 property tax amount would be if the referendum passes, at this link.
Many of the comments posted on my July 16th story took me to task for not looking at the tax situation for property owners in the HSE District should the referendum fail. Since there is no organized opposition to this referendum as I write this, no one has done a deep dive into what property tax savings you would recognize, but your property taxes would go down without the referendum rate.
However, keep in mind that the issue of increased property valuations would not go away if the referendum fails. You would have a lower school tax rate, but that does not impact potentially higher property tax valuations that can impact your bill.
Some comments say the increase in assessed valuation of property, a big driver of increased property tax bills, is not being considered in this discussion. In my coverage, it has been discussed, but the local school board has no control over that system. The Indiana General Assembly has the final say on the property tax system outside the setting of local rates.
It should be noted that state lawmakers have enacted an additional deduction for property tax bills owed in 2024. For more details, see this article from the Indiana Capitol Chronicle. As noted in the story, this additional property tax deduction is a temporary 3-year relief measure.
Indiana’s property tax system is very complex. There is the rate, but there are deductions and other adjustments.
There is one thing we know for certain. If the referendum fails, the HSE Schools will lose about $24 million annually in future years. That will result in fewer teachers, larger class sizes (particularly in the lower grades) and cutting back or elimination of many educational programs.
As a voter, this is your choice as you cast your ballot in the November 7th election.
By the way, don’t forget, there is an important city election with the city clerk, at-large city council members and all but one district seat on the city council up for grabs. Your local city government is the closest government to you and has a major impact on the life you live in Fishers. Vote in the school referendum and city election when casting your 2023 general election ballot.
Director of School and Community Relations Emily Abbotts introduced her Snapshots of Success presentation as one the Mayor of Fishers, Scott Fadness, should be present to see. He always wants Fishers to be smart, vibrant & entrepreneurial. She says Tiger Bites, a snack shop, is a great example of entrepreneurship at Fishers High School.
Teacher Jeremy Guler oversees the endeavor run largely by students in his entrepreneurship class. Proceeds from the shop help fund the schools DECA Club.
Guler and three of his students talked with the local school board and answered questions about Tiger Bites. Below is a video shown at the Wednesday school board meeting.
The road construction season is winding down at this time of year, but the weekly update on Fishers-area construction provides the latest on the I-69 % I-465 project south of us, as well as the latest on the county project at 146th Street & Allisonville Road.
Here is the update, as provided by the City of Fishers:
Continue reading Fishers road construction for the work week starting Monday, October 30th
After being away from Fishers for about a week, there are some news items announced by the city that I have not yet posted. Here are some of those items.
There have been times in the past when I have been critical of the Indianapolis Star, particularly during periods of time when the newspaper’s owner, Gannett, has laid-ff journalists. The Star’s staff of journalists is much smaller than years ago.
I am going to compliment the Star here and now. I am issuing kudos for the reporter Rachel Fradette and the Star’s editors that provided her the time to write a long-form piece about the Hamilton East Library Board.
The Board made international news recently when best selling author, and Indianapolis area native, John Green publicly took issue with the Board’s policy of reviewing every book in the young adult section based on standards the board wrote about content in those books.
Reporter Rachel talks to a number of sources in this piece, published on the Star’s Web site Thursday morning. One important source she cites are teens themselves. She points out that the library has a teen advisory group that was never consulted about the young adult book section review.
Anyone interested in the Hamilton East Libraries, serving Fishers & Noblesville, should read this article. In fact, anyone interested in libraries and their policies should read this piece. It is well sourced and well written.
You can read the article at this link.
The only reason the Star is able to produce this kind of journalism is because people subscribe. I have seen many comments about the rising cost of a print subscription to the Star. However, online IndyStar subscriptions are not that expensive. In order for the Star to continue with coverage like this, it needs subscribers. Once again, I urge everyone – subscribe to your local media!
The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board gave final approval to the $300.6 million 2024 spending plan Wednesday night, on a vote of 5-2.
Board member Tiffany Pascoe cited several reasons for her “no” vote. She objects to spending tax funds on mental health and wellness “regardless of the (mental health) grant.” She also opposes spending funds on DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion). She points to payment amounts going to athletic advisors and objects to a lack of a third-party “municipality group” to work financial matters on behalf of board members.
Suzanne Thomas cast the other “no” vote on the 2024 budget. She says there is no “confirmation” of funding for support staff pay raises and other educational programs.
Chief Financial Officer Katy Dowling says the final total budget number for 2024 is $300.6 million. This is a “not to exceed” number. Dowling earlier cited a total budget of $296 million for next year, but says there is no additional spending, the change in the overall figure reflects required transfers between the education and operations fund.
Dowling also says there will be a 3.89% decease in the HSE District property tax rate in 2024.
The Hamilton Southeastern Education Association and the district administration held their first bargaining session and the board has scheduled a board meeting at 6pm Wednesday, November 1st, to review an anticipated tentative agreement on a new teacher collective bargaining contract.
Here is the link to the video version of the podcast interview with Julie Moorehead, Executive Director of the nonprofit organization More Than A Phone.
Victims of domestic violence often find barriers to leaving an abusive relationship. A Fishers nonprofit group, More Than A Phone, works at getting cell phones and data plans for these victims to allow safe, secure communications when leaving an abusive situation.
Julie Moorehead is Executive Director of More Than A Phone. She joins Larry in this podcast discussion about her organization and an upcoming fund-raising event October 29th.
For more on More Than A Phone, use this link.
For details on tickets for the tailgate fund-raising event, use this link.
Listen to the podcast at the link below.
My blog is a one-man-band so when I am out-of-town, I miss a few things. I was on the road heading back to Fishers from visiting family in South Dakota when I found out a news conference was afoot Tuesday.
Turns out it was big news. The Indy Fuel Hockey team will be a major tenant of the new Fishers Events Center currently under construction. Team owner Jim Hallet announced the Fuel organization is fielding an indoor football team to play in the Events Center.
Since I missed the news conference, you can read more about it from Fox59 at this link.
I will have more on this story in the future.