Voters in Central Indiana are being asked to remember that they must let their voice be heard on both sides of their ballot on Election Day.
Voters will be able to choose candidates for public office on the front side of their ballot. However, the other side will have a series of public questions offering voters the chance to vote on important issues related to schools, property taxes and state courts.
“We have many important offices on the ballot this year, but let’s not forget to flip the ballot over and answer the public questions,” said Cornell Burris, president of the Greater Indianapolis Branch of the NAACP.
Voters living in certain townships in Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks and Johnson Counties will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on whether they should keep their township assessor. In other words, if they vote “yes” the responsibility for assessing taxes in the voter’s neighborhood would be transferred from their township assessor to their county assessor.
Supporters of the measure believe that it would save taxpayers money and streamline local government because only one official, the county assessor, will be responsible for assessing property taxes. Opponents believe that voting “yes” would lead to higher costs and longer commute distances for citizens.
The Indiana General Assembly recently eliminated assessors in 965 townships, and is leaving it up to voters to decide what to do in townships that still have assessors.
The question reads as follows:
“Should the assessing duties of the elected township assessor in the township be transferred to the county assessor?”
Voters will also be asked whether to retain (keep in office) certain state judges, including Indiana Supreme Court Justices Randall T. Shepard, Theodore Boehm and Brent E. Dickson, as well as Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Carr L. Darden and Indiana tax court Judge Thomas G. Fisher.
An example of these questions reads as follows:
“Shall Justice Randall T. Shepard be retained in office?”
The final question will give voters a direct opportunity to impact funding for Indianapolis Public Schools. Voters will be asked if they approve IPS entering a lease (bond) to borrow up to $278 million for renovations and repairs for classrooms, air conditioning systems, libraries and building structures such as leaking roofs.
By selecting “yes,” voters would agree to a slight increase in property taxes to fund the improvements over the next 20 years. Voting “no” would leave the facilities as they are.
Opponents say the question does not specify how financing for the improvements works, while supporters argue that the improvements will improve conditions for students and help them concentrate more on their studies.
This question will read as follows:
“Shall Indianapolis Public Schools enter into a lease to finance all or any portion of the construction and/or renovation of schools to meet students’ academic and health needs as part of an ongoing capital improvements program with a total project cost not to exceed $278 million?”
This question will affect several schools in the IPS system as well as thousands of students and their teacher and families.
For more information about these public questions call your county clerk’s office.
