Letters to the Editor do not reflect the opinions of The Reporter, its publisher or its staff. You can submit your own Letter to the Editor by email to News@ReadTheReporter.com.
Dear Editor:
Come May 7, you better vote your pocketbook.
It seems that some candidates getting elected don’t have an understanding of what it takes to run a city. People need to wake up and get their facts straight before they vote. On May 10, our property taxes are due, and if you haven’t looked at your tax bill yet you are paying a lot more than the 1 percent cap that was placed on residential properties.
I read a recent article written by Mike Corbett that hits the nail on the head. He referred to a pyramid as being what our fiscal house should be built on, and he is exactly right.
The base of that pyramid or foundation represents our corporate tax base of which everything is to be built on. This is so the tax burdens don’t fall so much on residential property owners as it does today. Information obtained through the county assessor’s office indicated that of all the assessed properties in the incorporated areas of the City of Noblesville, 69.4 percent are residential and only 30.6 percent commercial or industrial.
As stated in Mike Corbett’s article, this pyramid is upside down. The largest portion of the tax burden should fall on commercial and industrial. Residential should be at the top of the pyramid, not the bottom.
When I look at my tax bill, my $260,000 house should be capped at $2,600, per the 1 percent cap. Instead, my tax bill is $2,926.
Chris Jensen, you stated at the Mayor’s forum at Noblesville High School you were the only candidate on stage that had reduced our taxes. Noblesville has the highest base rate between Carmel, Fishers and Westfield. I have yet to see you vote against a tax abatement for any businesses even when they were unnecessary. Why?
We need elected officials who know how to grow our commercial tax base and who know how to spend our money wisely. They should be looking at the ROI (return on investment) instead of projects that look good but offer little or no return.
The only people I see running who understand these concepts are Mike Corbett for Mayor and Mark Hall, Rocky Shanehsaz, Mark Skipper and Mark Boice for City Council. People, this is not a popularity contest, so wake up and do your research.
Let’s make Noblesville strong and proud!
Rick Smith
Noblesville