Watchdog Indiana Home Page

Watchdog Indiana provides information about the revenues, spending, and long-term debt assumption of Indiana local and state governments. An online community is established where Hoosier working families come together voluntarily to help control government growth. 

Watchdog Indiana is a non-profit, non-connected, and non-party advocate for good government that focuses on the state and local tax burden of Hoosier working families.
Watchdog Indiana was founded by Aaron Smith on November 14, 2001.

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  Good Guys   Unknown Guys   Bad Guys  

The foundation for genuine property tax relief is a meaningful homeowner property tax cap amendment to the Indiana Constitution. A meaningful constitutional homeowner property tax cap will enable Hoosier working families to reasonably predict their property taxes so they do not become an unaffordable burden that could lead to the loss of the family home. A meaningful cap ends the legacy of failure where (1) we suffer permanent tax increases for temporary property tax relief and (2) property tax caps disappear.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 passed the Indiana Senate 40-7 and the Indiana House 79-20 on March 14, 2008, and was signed by the Governor on March 19, 2008. SJR 1 again passed the Indiana Senate 34-16 on February 9, 2009. SJR 1 amends the Indiana Constitution to cap homeowners' property tax bills at 1% of assessed value, rental and agricultural property at 2%, and business property at 3%. For property taxes first due and payable in 2012, 90 of Indiana's 92 counties must have a homeowner property tax cap that is 1% of the gross assessed value. Until 2020, existing debt service prior to July 1, 2008, is exempted from the 1% homeowner gross assessed value cap in Lake and St. Joseph counties ONLY. The result of these two existing debt service exemptions equates to a 1.88% homeowner cap in Lake County and a 1.52% homeowner cap in St. Joseph County. The homeowner caps for Lake and St. Joseph counties must become 1% in 2020. 

The exact same version of SJR 1 that passed in 2008 must again pass the Indiana House in 2009 or 2010 to put the 1% constitutional homeowner property tax cap amendment on the 2010 ballot. We the people can then vote to make the 1% homeowner property tax cap a permanent part of the Indiana Constitution. 

Never has it been so easy to separate the Good Guys from the Bad Guys. A State Representative who pledges to vote for the exact same version of SJR 1 that passed in 2008 is a Good Guy, otherwise the legislator is a Bad Guy. The State Representative who does not respect his or her electorate enough to clearly declare whether he or she is for or against SJR 1 is an Unknown Guy. The identification of Good Guys versus Unknown Guys versus Bad Guys is listed next. 

HOW TO IDENTIFY AND CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE PUBLIC SERVANTS: (1) Go to Who's Your Legislator? at http://www.in.gov:80/apps/sos/legislator/search/ to find your Indiana House District Number. (2) Click on the name of your State Representative below to obtain his or her mail address, phone number, and E-mail contact information.

Good Guys

District 4: Ed Soliday     District 11: Dan Stevenson     District 15: Donald J. Lehe     District 16: Douglas L. Gutwein     District 18: David A. Wolkins     District 19: "Shelli" Rochelle VanDenburgh     District 20: Tom Dermody     District 21: Jackie Walorski     District 22: William J. "Bill" Ruppel     District 23: William C. Friend     District 24: Richard "Rich" McClain     District 26: Randy Truitt     District 28: Jeffrey A. Thompson     District 29: Kathy Kreag Richardson     District 32: P. Eric Turner     District 33: Bill J. Davis     District 34: Dennis Tyler     District 35: L. Jack Lutz     District 38: Jacqueline "Jacque" R. Clements     District 39: Jerry Torr     District 40: Gregory E. Steuerwald     District 41: Timothy (Tim) Brown     District 45: Bruce A. Borders     District 46: Vern Tincher     District 47: Ralph M. Foley     District 48: Timothy Neese     District 49: Wes Culver     District 51: Richard A. Dodge     District 52: David Yarde II     District 53: Robert "Bob" Cherry     District 55: Tom Knollman     District 58: Woody Burton     District 59: Milo Smith     District 63: Mark B. Messmer     District 65: Eric A. Koch     District 67: Cleo Duncan     District 69: David Cheatham     District 72: Edward D. (Ed) Clere     District 78: Suzanne Crouch     District 79: Matthew S. Lehman     District 82: Jeff Espich     District 83: Matt Bell     District 84: Randy L. Borror     District 85: Phyllis J. Pond     District 87: Cindy Noe     District 88: Brian C. Bosma     District 90: Michael B. Murphy     District 91: Robert W. Behning     District 92: Phillip D. (Phil) Hinkle     District 93: David N. Frizzell     District 100: John J. Day   

Unknown Guys

The following State Representatives are Unknown Guys because they decline to clearly declare whether they are for or against Senate Joint Resolution 1. We The People deserve legislators who respect us enough to fully inform us on their SJR 1 position. Please contact these State Representatives and ask them to be Good Guys by pledging to vote for the exact same version of Senate Joint Resolution 1 that passed in 2008.

District 2: Earl L. Harris     District 3: Charlie Brown     District 7: David L. Niezgodski     District 10: Charles "Chuck" Moseley     District 14: Vernon G. Smith     District 17: Nancy Dembowski     District 30: Ron Herrell     District 31: Joe Pearson     District 36: Terri Jo Austin     District 37: Scott E. Reske     District 42: F. Dale Grubb     District 50: Dan J. Leonard     District 57: Sean R. Eberhart     District 64: Kreg Battles     District 66: Terry Goodin     District 68: Robert J. Bischoff     District 71: Steven R. Stemler     District 73: Dennie Oxley     District 77: Gail Riecken     District 80: Phil GiaQuinta     District 81: Winfield C. Moses     District 94: Cherrish S. Pryor     District 96: Gregory W. Porter     District 98: William A. Crawford     District 99: Vanessa J. Summers

 Bad Guys

The following State Representatives have indicated that they will be Bad Guy messengers for the property tax spenders by NOT pledging to vote for the exact same version of Senate Joint Resolution 1 that passed in 2008. Please contact these State Representatives and ask them to be Good Guys by pledging to vote for the exact same version of Senate Joint Resolution 1 that passed in 2008.  

District 1: Linda C. Lawson     District 5: Craig R. Fry     District 6: B. Patrick Bauer     District 8: Ryan M. Dvorak     District 9: Scott D. Pelath     District 12: Mara Candelaria Reardon     District 13: Chester F. Dobis     District 25: Jeb Bardon     District 27: Sheila Klinker     District 43: Clyde Kersey     District 44: Nancy A. Michael     District 54: Thomas E. (Tom) Saunders     District 56: Phillip C. Pflum     District 60: Peggy Welch     District 61: Matt Pierce     District 62: Sandra Blanton     District 70: Paul J. Robertson     District 74: Russ Stilwell     District 75: Dennis T. Avery     District 76: W. Trent VanHaaften     District 86: Edward O. DeLaney     District 89: John F. Barnes     District 95: John L. Bartlett     District 97: Mary Ann Sullivan                

Immediate action needed!
06/27/2009: Please keep reminding your elected public servants that the General Assembly needs to pass NOW the constitutional property tax caps in Senate Joint Resolution 1. You need to contact your State Representative, your State Senator, and House Speaker Pat Bauer. Contact information can be found at http://www.finplaneducation.net/general_assembly_ratings.htm.

Did You Know?
06/27/2009: You must lease ACT NOW and let your State Senator and State Representative know that you expect them to cast their special session vote for the Taxpayer Friendly Senate budget! Contact information for your State Senator and State Representative public servants can be found at http://www.finplaneducation.net/general_assembly_ratings.htm.

Hot Topics.

Indiana General Assembly & Governor Ratings: Watchdog Indiana provides the only ratings of state legislators and the governor based on how their votes on key legislative proposals from 2002 to the present affect the state and local tax burden of Hoosier working families.

NEW! Property Tax Caps: How They Operate: Some Hoosiers, particularly small business owners and farmers, do not fully understand how the 1%-2%-3% property tax caps operate. Any property tax revenue shortfalls generated by the caps cannot be shifted to other taxpayer classes that have not reached their cap threshold. 

Property Tax Caps K-12 Schools Impact: The net effect of 2010 property tax caps on the total expenditures of Indiana's K-12 public school systems will be negligible.

Property Tax Caps Municipal Impact: The 2010 property tax caps will have NO significant impact on essential service delivery by the great majority of Indiana's 566 cities and towns. Of Indiana's 92 counties, 17 counties MAY need to consider a local option income tax in lieu of finding less expensive ways to maintain essential municipal services for many citizens. Anyone who uses property tax caps in the other 75 counties to justify the imposition of a LOIT is mistaken or intentionally misleading you.

NEW! Property Tax Caps Public Debate Challenges: Watchdog Indiana challenges every opponent of the constitutional property tax caps in Senate Joint Resolution 1 to debate the merits of their position in public outside the Statehouse shadows. Many SJR 1 opponents falsely claim that General Assembly members need more information before they can cast a responsible SJR 1 vote. This false claim calling for more SJR 1 information is nothing more than a delaying tactic based on a cynical belief that public interest will wane and the old ways of doing business can return - a burdensome property tax on working families no matter how much other taxes go up. The following SJR 1 opponents have accepted the Watchdog Indiana Property Tax Caps Public Debate Challenge: Franklin Township (Marion County) Community School Corporation.

Property Tax Assessment Issues: There are those who question the importance of the 1% homeowner property tax cap because the cap is based on the gross assessed value of the homestead property, which is allowed to fluctuate. Homeowner property tax assessments will likely CREEP UP over time, but these assessment increases BY THEMSELVES are NOT expected to cause homeowner property taxes to LEAP UP. In other words, the 1% homeowner property tax cap in Senate Joint Resolution 1 is the foundation for genuine property tax relief even if homeowner property tax assessments increase because of market value increases.

2008 House Bill 1001: IF the constitutional property tax caps in Senate Joint Resolution 1 are passed, this comprehensive property tax relief bill will make the state and local tax burden of Hoosier working families more fair and affordable by moving away from property taxes to sales and income taxes.

Jeff Thompson Property Tax Replacement Plan: In addition to using variable local option income taxes to replace the revenue lost to property tax caps, House Bill 1548 gives every local taxing unit the option of providing a 100% property tax credit for their working families. As shown by Accurate Property Tax Math, the average Hoosier working family spent 4.1% of their state taxable income to pay their 2006 property tax. The Jeff Thompson Property Tax Replacement Plan Impact is a real eye-opener!

Property Tax Betrayal & Incompetence 2002-2007: Indiana General Assemblies and Governors have turned a promised 16.3% homeowner property tax reduction in 2003 into a decrease of just 2.4% in four years. Details regarding the betrayal and incompetence over the years are included in the General Assembly Property Tax Legislation.

Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network: If you or someone you know is behind on the mortgage, or even in danger of falling behind, please contact the IFPN, a statewide program to provide free mortgage foreclosure counseling and education to at-risk homeowners. All Network services are free, and all Network counselors are certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. 

IHCDA University: The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority has a free online course to educate prospective homebuyers on the home purchasing process.

Watchdog Indiana 2009 Legislative Agenda: Watchdog Indiana has established a 2009 Legislative Agenda of fifteen Indiana General Assembly bills that have the potential to significantly impact good government from the standpoint of the state and local tax burden of Hoosier working families. These important bills are in four categories: (1) Constitutional Property Tax Caps, (2) State Budget (3) Local Government Reform, (4) Other Significant Legislation. Please contact your state legislators and ask them to support the Taxpayer Friendly bills and oppose the Taxpayer UNfriendly bills.

NEW! INvest.in.gov: Indiana has established a website to help Hoosiers determine how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funds will be distributed in Indiana and what kinds of projects and programs are eligible for the funds. 

Townships Sit on $200 Million of Your Cash: Indiana's 1,008 townships have amassed more than $200 million in taxpayer money that is stashed in reserves, yet no one - township officials, state officials, or lawmakers - has made any effort to curb the property tax collections that generated the surplus. Most townships have cash balances at equal or greater value than what they spend each year. You can go to http://www.indystar.com/data/government/township_spending.shtml to find out how much tax money is being spent and saved by the townships in your county.

"Major Moves": The 2006 Indiana House Bill 1008 is Taxpayer UNfriendly because it authorizes a toll road for an I-69 extension between Martinsville and Evansville. 

Watchdog Indiana Topics Index
Click here for access to the various Watchdog Indiana web pages related to 25 different topic areas.

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This page was last updated on 07/01/09.