Slick Ads, Slick Talk...Higher Taxes

Remember 2007 when an upstart quartet ran for the Zionsville Town Council?

Remember those slick mailers that arrived in your mailboxes promising change?

Under that mantra, Matt Price, Michelle Barrett, Tim Haak and Mark Plassman promised `"our property taxes will go down.''

One of Price's mailings stated, `"Zionsville taxpayers don't have a say in many of the decisions that affect our school district - and our tax bill. On the council, Matt will take a proactive approach to controlling growth, giving us a voice in the decisions that affect our schools and our wallets.'' That sentiment was also echoed in the Times Sentinel's Candidate questionnaire.

Well folks, 60-80 percent of your Zionsville tax bill goes to the Zionsville Community School district. (Check out your property taxes here.)

And yes, the Town Council has no control over school spending.

But, with a referendum looming in November for the school district to increase taxes 29.5 cents on each $100 of assessed value, where is the Town Council? Not a peep, nary a discouraging word, na da about what could be a whopping extra $1,000 in taxes on a home valued at $300,000.

One would think that the Price administration would take a stand on the referendum if it were really concerned about taxes as they appeared to be in 2007. Could it be that the schools are fodder for the development industry, which dumped thousands of dollars into the campaigns of Price et al? Don't bite the hand that fed us. After all, there are empty schools to fill up.

It's a given that good schools attract people. Zionsville's schools are among the best in the state, so folks with children keep coming, new homes and multi-family housing go up, and who bears the burden? Look in the mirror.

And, where is the Price administration as Zionsville's school debt approaches $240 million? His council is focusing on major issues - $50,000 for a new town logo; $30,000 for a new town website; $20,000 for an annual report, and it goes on and on. And, don't forget the weeds on Main Street.

One would think that the more affluent Zionsville residents have money trees in those spacious well-groomed yards. There seems of be an apathy about the referendum, except for those backing the school referendum - the school administration's controlled lackies and its well-oiled propaganda machine.

Don't say that Zionsville Confidential didn't sound the warning bell when the tax bill rolls around and you wonder where the money went.

Horsefeathers

Whoa hoss.

Want to send the horse country gentry galloping into a lather?

Mention the possibility of an interchange with Cooper Road and I-865.

Over the past six months, the Zionsville Transportation Plan Steering Committee has been discussing alternatives to get traffic in-and-out of Zionsville. It's all part of updating the Transportation Plan to fit with the town's revised land use plan.

The engineering firm of HNTB is under contract with the Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) to develop the updated transportation and land use plan for Zionsville. The MPO is a quasi-governmental body comprised of representatives of Marion, and the doughnut counties, which passes on transportation projects to the Indiana Department of Transportation and federal highway agencies.

Members of the steering committee are: Tim Haak, Art Harris, Judith Essex, Chad Sweeney, Chad Pittman, Larry Jones, Jim Longest, John Ottensman, and Sanjay Patel; together with MPO members Stephanie Belch, Cat Schoenherr; Ed Mitro, Lance Lantz and Terry Jones, of the town's staff; John Myers and Matt Miller, of HNTB.

The interchange at Cooper and I-865 was ``introduced as part of the long-range transportation plan'' in 1988 and has been pretty much dormant until this latest go-round.

Since then, residents of southwestern Boone County, who have large tracts of land devoted to raising, training and boarding horses, have sought to protect the bucolic landscape. This was accomplished by the creation of special zoning - R-E1 - and having the area declared a rural historic district by Indiana Historic Landmarks, all of which was privately funded by the landowners.

One of the prime jewels of the area is the internationally acclaimed, annual Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show, which has been privately sponsored and organized over the years by the Johnson family - the late Sylvester Johnson, his wife, Liz and son, Johnny.

Cooper Road dissects the heart of this equine district, dead ending at Indiana 334 - its northern terminus. South of I-865, Cooper Road ends at 88th Street in Marion County.

Residents of the country north of I-865 are concerned, and rightly so, that the traffic generated by an interchange at Cooper Road will not only greatly decrease property values, but seriously damage what they have created. They can honestly argue that gas stations at an interchange won't lend to the bucolic atmosphere.

Viewing the interchange and what will surely follow from a strictly transportation perspective, the interstate connection makes sense because it would siphon vehicles away from Ford and Zionsville roads and reduce traffic congestion in the village.

But, when and if the plan is accepted, the results would be disastrous to the area - the eventual widening of Cooper Road to accommodate increased traffic volumes - driving a stake through the heart of a special part of rural Zionsville and Boone County.

But, before getting too exercised, the Transportation Plan will have to be approved by the Zionsville Town Council. And, if the Price administration turns a deaf ear to the horse country folks and approves the plan, bet the farm that money will be no object in funding opponents to oust those voting for it.

Pay to Play in Zionsville

Ever wonder how some of Zionsville's town business is engineered?
It doesn't hurt that your campaign consultant is a big shot lobbyist, or you were all clubby members of the Zionsville High School Class of '86.

Back in 2007 when upstarts Matt Price, Timmy Haak, Michelle Barrett and Mark Plassman set their sights on the incumbent Crane administration, a hired-gun named William F. Stuart was brought into the stable to run their campaign, according to a highly placed confidential source, Stuart was the brains that got three of the four elected, at an astronomical cost of $80,000, for a town council spot that paid a council member $5,000 a year.

The possible return on the investment must have been mouth-watering to the development interests.

Stuart, a long-time Democrat operative, and a registered agent for the engineering firm of Beam Longest and Neff - (BLN) - worked hand-in-hand with a San Francisco firm of Terris Barnes Walters to design the expensive campaign brochures, and media ads.

Campaign filings show that Price, Plassman, Haak and Barrett paid over $38,000 to the firm for campaign services and mailings.
Those same documents show that Price paid $6,000 to Maple Hill Consulting of Fishers for "consultation.'' The resident of the Maple Hill address is William F. Stuart.
Coincidentally, the San Francisco company's web site also listed Jim Longest as a client along with Zionsville's Reorganization, and several Indiana Democrat legislators. (The reference to Jim Longest's campaign has been taken down now.)
That's the same Jim Longest who is president of Beam Longest and Neff, and a current member of the Zionsville School Board, and also a member of the Class of '86, along with Price and Haak.

And good old ZHS buddy Longest dumped $950 to Haak's campaign coffers, and Longest's brother Tim coughed-up $500 to Timmy.
Fast forward to 2009 when the contract for the town's engineering services was up for renewal.

The engineering firm which had the town business for over 25 years was HNTB, a highly-respected Indiana company, but the newbies pushed for BLN, despite the fact they could find nothing wrong with HNTB's work.

So along with the new council mummy-dummies Judie Essex and Candy Ulmer, (defacto members because of the newly constituted consolidated government) BLN was awarded the contract a few months ago, which is worth approximately a half million dollars yearly.

Did Haak recuse himself from voting for a firm, whose officials gave him $1,450?
Guess again.

Stay tuned for more Pay-to-Play Zionsville style.

Talk about the Pay-to-Play Chicago style!

The Lobbyist for Everyone - Almost

Guess who's doing extra duty these days, in addition to looking after the Town's business?
None other than Matthew M. Price, the current president of the Town Council.
Aside from that thankless job, which incidentally pays Mr. Price $10,000 annually, as an attorney with the powerhouse Indianapolis law firm of Bingham McHale, he also registered as a ``compensated lobbyist'' with the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission on Jan. 1, 2010, according to documents on file there.
In his filing, Mr. Price also noted that W. Tobin McClammroch, is the managing partner with Bingham McHale. Mr. McClammroch is not an unknown name to Boone County government.
Under a section of the form, Mr. Price was asked to list all subject matters ``for which you anticipate performing lobbying activity on behalf of this employment.''
When asked to identify the topics that he anticipated he would be associated with in his lobbying efforts, Mr. Price checked off 44 boxes.
Those included: AIDS, Business, Construction, Education, Housing, Infrastructure, Licensure, Medicaid/Medicare, Nursing Homes, Pharmaceuticals, Property Tax, Teachers, Alcoholic Beverages, Commerce, Consumer, Gaming, Homeless, and Human Services.
And more - Local Government, Medical Records, Municipalities, Public Safety, Regulation, State Government, Telecommunications, Budget, Community, County Government, Economic Development, Energy, Finance, Health Care, Hospitals, Industry, Legislative Ethics, Managed Care, Mental Health, and Reproductive Rights.
And finally - Safety, Taxation, Utilities, Welfare, Other and lastly but not least, Women's Issues.
Gadzooks, that's certainly a full plate in addition to tackling the many weighty issues Mr. Price has to deal with as Town Council president, such as weeds on Main Street.
But, Zionsville Confidential would wager its collective soul he can pull it off.