Do me a favor. Show me one person who is 100 percent pleased with the condition of our country. Seems to me we’re all fed up for different reasons – we can’t point to one particular thing, but we know something is wrong.
Here in the Hoosier Heartland, I think something is wrong in Noblesville, specifically with its leadership.
The Reporter published a story this week about a program city officials have put in motion through a partnership with MakeMyMove and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Essentially, the plan incentivizes out-of-state folks to move to Noblesville by giving them several perks and memberships at city amenities, as well as a $5,000 “relocation grant.” Certain stipulations on minimum income and current careers are part of the agreement for a family to make the move.
It’s a fascinating idea. Cities have an interest in promoting population growth of well-off residents, primarily to increase the tax base and provide better services. Many smaller towns could benefit from such a scheme.
Surprisingly, population growth is a top reason city officials gave when The Reporter asked about potential benefits to Noblesville by taking part in the program. Isn’t Noblesville’s population growing rapidly already … like every other part of Hamilton County?
What’s critical to point out is the program requires spending a good deal of money, and if you couldn’t guess, the money comes from current taxpayers – just like all subsidies.
I can’t help wondering if this is a sensible use of taxpayers’ hard-earned money – regardless of economic class.
Here’s a statistic: the city’s poverty rate sits at 5.2 percent as of July 1, 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s quite low, but it’s a significant number of struggling people – nearly 4,000. Food and medical costs keep rising, and there’s little to nothing city government can do about it. Housing costs, on the other hand? Oh, buddy. You better believe bringing in more folks who are clearly not impoverished will continue to drive up the prices of houses and apartments.
What if the new residents don’t buy homes to contribute property taxes? What if they don’t shop local? The program specifies they all must work remotely, so what if they tend to do most of their shopping online as well? We can’t fault them for their habits, but isn’t it a tad silly to presume they’ll fully immerse themselves in the local economy on Day 1? What if they move away after a year? Tough to take part in a community if you’re not in it.
Let’s set aside the numbers. The way I see it, the fundamental question isn’t about the amount of money the city spends; it’s why the city is spending it on this venture at all.
A mayor’s job is to do good work for his or her city. No question. In fact, I’d say a mayor has an obligation to do his or her best to take care of residents’ interests first. Not also, and not by the way. First.
Does high-quality leadership mean taking from the people one leads, giving to those one doesn’t, and telling the first group eventually they’ll be better off? The Reporter’s readers are smart; they can answer that question themselves.
Mayor Jensen & Co., no matter how you present this program to voters, the fact is it’s not in the interest of any of them for you to take their money and give it to people who don’t need it. (Remember, the poor pay taxes, too!) If others want to live here, they can get here on their own dime.
Here’s another fact: if you do good work for the citizens already here, they’ll reward you. More people will move here simply because it’s a good place to live, not because they were paid.
It’s time to stop doing things to voters, Mayor Jensen. Start doing things for them.
Isaac Taylor is the circulation director and page designer for the Hamilton County Reporter. You won’t find him anywhere online, so don’t bother looking. However, he welcomes your comments on his columns at ReadTheReporter.com.
It’s called ‘gentrification’ of the population in Noblesville, (with their own tax dollars), same as a number of other projects near & dear to (hopefully soon the ex-) mayor of Noblesville. Those that live in the City Limits drop another $25 per year to register our vehicles to build a two-lane road that will supposedly help those from outside the City have better access, among other ‘quash the undesirables’ of Noblesville. Who has the worst time in their day-to-day? Those residing within City limits, dodging dump trucks, the spilled loads, the metal screws, nails & chunks of rebar left in the streets.
For the first time in my life, (holding my nose as I type this), I’ll be voting Democrat in the next election for every ‘blue’ candidate running.
I love the article. You’ve summed up what many of us are thinking. I sent a message to the city inquiring about this program and received no feedback.
This program makes no sense. Pay to being 30 residents when we’re sure to get 100 others. And, yes, no guarantee all the projected spending will stay in Noblesville.
Follow the donor money and you’ll see where Jensen’s motivation lies. It’s a list of engineering, developer, real estate, and construction firms.
Quote, “Do me a favor. Show me one person who is 100 percent pleased with the condition of our country. Seems to me we’re all fed up for different reasons – we can’t point to one particular thing, but we know something is wrong.”
Our country is a mess because the 2020 and 2022 elections were tampered with. Voters are not confident in our elections.
Those who voted for Biden have helped expand the mess we are in. Nuclear war is on the other side of the hill because of the “blues” It is no wonder we have so many people who are depressed especially our children and young folk who know their future is very uncertain.
MakeMyMove is funded by Elevate Ventures. The founder of that is Ting Gootee, a Chinese woman from Peking.
Very interesting.
Hamilton County is the fastest growing county in the state with the population set to hit half a million by 2050 and the Noblesville leaders are using tax money to pay more people to move here? Makes little sense. Traffic is a nightmare now and set to get worse. What are these people thinking?
Noblesville does not need more residents. Paying people to move is a political scheme to change the community, invented by people whose only motivation is power. This is just a new way to speed up the process that changed Colorado to Californado, Washington to Californington, and is destroying economic and social stability in Idaho.
The mayor isn’t “wrecking” Noblesville. He’s championing projects that are improving the city and preparing for growth. I’m sorry but the town you grew up in for 80 years can’t stay the same. Compare Noblesville to the other major cities in the county and we’re lacking in amenities, infrastructure and basic improvements that make this a desirable place to live. I’m not in favor of paying others to move here, but it’s refreshing to see leadership that is forward thinking and not afraid to tackle big projects that make out city better.
In all fairness:
https://elevateventures.com/ting-gootee/
https://techpoint.org/ting-gootee-named-new-techpoint-president-and-ceo/
Hmmm…what statistics can you share about the crime rates in Carmel and Westfield compared to Noblesville and help me understand how the improvements happening in Noblesville will lead to increased crime? I’m sure those facts are also an oversight.
My comment was comparing Noblesville to the the other major cities in the county. It would not make sense to compare dissimilar cities anywhere in the country. By the way, the crime rates in Noblesville are considerably higher than Carmel and Westfield and have been for several years before current leadership. My point is Noblesville is well behind those cities and needs the investment in growth. I clearly stated I was not in favor of paying people to move to the city. Finally not everyone relocating to Noblesville or any other city for that matter is a criminal.