Elise Neishalla: “From six cents to common sense”

By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com

“We’re working hard going from, as I like to say, lake to shining river, to get out the vote and to tell the great financial turnaround story for the state of Indiana,” Indiana Comptroller Elise Nieshalla told The Reporter during an interview about her election campaign.

Nieshalla was appointed to the office by then-Governor Eric Holcomb on Dec. 1, 2023, following the resignation of Tera Klutz. Nieshalla is now involved in her first campaign for the office she currently holds.

That is not a new situation. Nieshalla’s predecessor, Klutz, was appointed to the position in 2017. Kultz then won an election bid in 2022 before resigning in 2023.

The State Comptroller fulfills the duties of the Constitutional Office of State Auditor. The public name of the office was changed in July 2023 by legislative act signed into law by Gov. Holcomb. The formal title of the office remains the same and can only be changed by a future state constitutional amendment.

“We handle the accounting and the reporting of the state’s funds,” Nieshalla said. “We distribute the taxes collected on behalf of counties, cities, towns, and school districts to them to get those dollars put to good work serving Hoosiers. We also handle the state’s payroll. We pay the state’s bills. We also distribute funds to the state agencies. And we also administer the deferred compensation plan for the state of Indiana and administer the Indiana Transparency Portal shining the brightest sunlight in all of Indiana’s finances.”

Indiana’s finances in the 21st century 

“Twenty-plus years ago, if you remember, our state was struggling financially,” Nieshalla said. “In fact, in the year 2002, they closed the books with only six cents in general fund reserves. They had spent down the other reserve funds by 74 percent, in addition to delaying hundreds of millions of dollars of payments to our schools. This was under the leadership of Democrats.

“Then Mitch Daniels came along, and he had this depth of fortitude to turn this state around financially, and the legislature followed. Now after a long  string of solid Republican, fiscally conservative, and disciplined leadership, we’ve gone from six cents to $1.86 billion in that general fund reserve. And as I like to say, we’ve gone from six cents to common sense.”

According to Nieshalls, Indiana is the fourth-lowest debt per capita state in the nation.

“We have a AAA credit rating now,” Nieshalla said. “We have a balanced budget amendment that’s the gold standard among the [other] states. We are only in a position to be able to do a gas tax holiday because of the reserves that we have in place. When we closed the fiscal year’s books for ‘26, we had just under $4 billion in total reserves. You certainly couldn’t offer a gas tax holiday in a state like a neighbor of ours.”

When asked what the fourth-lowest per capita debt in the nation looks like in terms of actual dollars, Nieshalla told The Reporter it is $169 per resident. By way of comparison, the State of Illinois has $2,330 per capita debt.

“We have well-funded pensions and that is a real turnaround story as well,” Nieshalla said. “Particularly when you look at the pre-1996 teacher pension fund: that was at 24 to 27 percent funded just a handful of years ago. Now we’re looking at being fully funded in just a year or two. That is remarkable.”

Public service experience

Nieshalla served in local government as the president of the Boone County Council and the president of the Indiana County Councils Association.

“As a member of [the Boone County Council], we were responsible for the budgeting and all the financial side of county government,” Nieshalla said. “I now have the privilege of being in the office that distributes those funds to the local units of government so that they can put those tax dollars to good use. I still have the opportunity to work with all of my colleagues in local government. We’re just at the service side as far as distributing those funds to them. It’s a joy to get to work with them.”

Final thoughts

When asked to tell our readers something most people may not know about her, Nieshalla told The Reporter about her relationship with a book most people know only as a musical.

“I absolutely love the book Les Misérables,” Nieshalla said. “I read it when I was probably 14 years old. That book has always been an inspiration to me. It has an incredible story of redemption. And as a 14-year-old, it gave me insight into the depths of suffering that we can face as humans and the power of forgiveness and redemption in our lives.”

Nieshalla said she believes it is Republican leadership that has gotten our state to the financial position it holds today.

“Remember from where we come as a state and how it is Republican leadership that has turned this state around financially,” Nieshalla said. “We’ve gone from six cents to common sense. Indiana – we might as well call ourselves a sunshine state, too, because we are shining that bright sunlight, which is the best disinfectant on any fraud, waste, or abuse that may be there.”

Nieshalla said Indiana serves the nation as a template for how to handle taxpayer dollars.

“Given that Indiana has become this model of fiscal responsibility, let’s make America like Indiana. Given that it’s this model of fiscal responsibility and the situation financially with the federal debt, let’s make America like Indiana. We are a bright, shiny beacon of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and discipline, not only in the Midwest, but for the country.”