A SHADOW GOVERNMENT'
A powerful Republican lawmaker told a Senate panel Wednesday the state needs to rein in redevelopment commissions like the one Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard used to build the lavish Palladium concert hall.
"Over time, redevelopment commissions have become a shadow government controlled by the mayor where unelected officials are making long-term decisions about the future of the city," said Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Kenley's bill would stop redevelopment commissions from spending large amounts of money without city council approval.
Brainard has taken Carmel $140 million deeper into debt the past four years without council oversight -- including $50 million in 2011 -- City Council members testified. Mayors appoint the majority of members to redevelopment commissions, which can spend commercial property tax dollars on redevelopment projects.
The bill passed the Senate Committee on Local Government, and it now will go to the full Senate. Kenley sought a similar measure in the Indiana General Assembly's 2011 session. It passed the Senate overwhelmingly but failed to receive a hearing in the House.
Kenley said some House Republicans viewed the measure as targeting one community -- Carmel. But this year, he believes, there's more recognition for statewide reform.
Greg Walker, R-Columbus, the bill's co-author, has said commissions in Columbus and Franklin also have been criticized for spending money without enough oversight from elected officials.
"It's becoming a larger problem as time goes by," Kenley said. "Other areas see these things and tend to copy these practices."
The bill also would require commissions to report their annual budgets to city councils, and it would clarify that commissions -- like other governmental entities -- are subject to audit by the State Board of Accounts and are covered by public meetings and open records laws.
Carmel council members Rick Sharp and Luci Snyder said passing the legislation is important, because their city's redevelopment commission spent $50 million last year but hasn't given a full public accounting of how that money was used.
Brainard could not be reached for comment. But he has argued that redevelopment commissions are vital for economic growth and are accountable to mayors, who are elected.
The arguments went beyond open government Wednesday. Three financial advisers testified that bonds backed by redevelopment commissions are riskier to buy than those backed by city governments.
"In the case of default, the taxpayer is left holding the bill," said Don Bates Jr., a Richmond-based financial adviser who is running as a Republican for the U.S. House in Indiana's 6th District. "Taxpayers, however, are not the only victims; bond holders are left holding debt that many times is worth less than half its face value."
Two groups defended redevelopment commissions.
Kay Nelson of the Northwest Indiana Forum said there's no need for statewide legislation because of the issues raised in one community.
"I'm not sure it's an epidemic," she said.
Alan Tio, of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., said current state law grants commissions appropriate powers that give them the latitude to work quickly to make decisions.
Source= Indianapolis Star 19 Jan. 2012, |