2015 may-june actionlines magazine

ACTIONLINES

MAY / JUNE 2015

INDIANA ASSOCIATION OF CITIES AND TOWNS MAGAZINE

IACT lays out the Top Bills of the 2015 Legislative Session

ACTIONLINESMAY / JUNE 2015 3

CONTENTS

Actionlines (ISSN 1092-6259) is published by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns. Statements of fact and opinion are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an official opinion on the part of the officers, staff or membership of IACT. Indiana elected municipal officials receive an annual subscription to this publication through payment of their munici-pality’s membership dues. IACT Associate Members receive an annual subscription to this publication through payment of their annual membership dues. The annual subscription rate is $50. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Actionlines, 125 W. Market St., Suite 240, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

ACTIONLINES

IACT OFFICERS

Duke Bennett President

Terre Haute Mayor

Greg GoodnightFirst Vice President

Kokomo Mayor

Lloyd WinneckeSecond Vice President

Evansville Mayor

Matthew GrellerExecutive Director &

Chief Executive Officer

REGULAR STAFF CONTRIBUTORS

Rhonda CookDeputy Director and

Chief Federal and State Policy Officer

Brian GouldField Services Manager

Natalie HurtSpecial Events & Conferences Director

Jennifer SimmonsDeputy Director & Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Justin SwansonAssistant Government Affairs Director and Legislative Counsel

Jodie WoodsGeneral Counsel

ADVERTISING

Anne TrobaughCorporate Relations Director

Indiana Association of Cities and Towns125 W. Market St. Suite 240 Indianapolis, IN 46204 Phone (317) 237-6200 Fax (317) 237-6206www.citiesandtowns.org

VOLUME 18 / ISSUE 3MAY / JUNE 2015

COVER STORY: IACT explains the top bills from the 2015 Legislative Session.

DEPARTMENTSIN ACTION

5 CONNECT WITH IACT Learn about some ways you can connect digitally with us!

8 MUNICIPAL DEADLINES

8 QUESTION OF THE MONTH What does the Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) chip card mean for municipalities?

IN PLACE

15 IT’S FESTIVAL TIME! Festivals are in full swing, and the opportunities for Hoosiers to experience and explore are endless.

IN WRITING

20 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Your calls and emails to legislators made a difference

IN BRIEF

30 BY THE NUMBERSIACT breaks down facts from the 2015 Legislative Session

IN VIEW

10 MEMBER NEWS

11 CALENDAR & EVENTS

13 MUNICIPAL LAW SEMINAR

16 Q&A Lance Angle, Councilmember, Plainfield

22


INACTION

INSIDE• Municipal Deadlines• Question of the Month

Connect With IACT!There is a lot to be said for

being in the same room with other town council members and talking about how you have addressed a recent challenge. It’s hard to top the great conversation and person-al interaction with peers that can happen at IACT events. For some, the challenges lie not only in the job of leading a municipality, but in the effort to connect with each other and with IACT.

• I don’t have a support system in place and can’t leave the office to attend training.

• My schedule is too busy to travel to Indianapolis to learn more about the bills being considered at the State House.

• Our budget is way too small to spend money on registration fees.

• We can’t afford to send everyone who needs infor-mation to all of the right workshops.

• I need information fast and can’t wait.

Do any of these apply to you? If so, what are your options for connecting and staying connected with the people and information that can help you?

- Jennifer Simmons

Here are some ways to connect!

-Multiple email list-serves for connecting

with peers and gaining

advice and best practices

-Municipal Dispatch to

inform members about

upcoming events, im-

portant and timely legal

matters, State of Indiana

news, grant information

and much more

-Twitter

@INCitiesTowns-Facebook www.facebook.com/

INcitiestowns

-Website (www.citiesandtowns.org)

-Weekly Legislative Summary right to your

inbox

-Webinars (more than 18 in 2014), low cost,

convenient ways to get valuable continuing

education

-Issuu.com (search: Actionlines) – Read Actionlines right

from your computer, tablet or smart phone

-IACTGo! (detailed event infor-

mation, Legislative Summary

and emergency alerts right on

your phone or tablet)

ACTIONLINES MAY / JUNE 20156

IN ACTION


IN ACTION

QUESTION OF THE MONTHMajor credit card companies are transitioning from magnetic cards to the Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) chip card in order to secure consumer transac-tion. In fact, the United States is the last major market in the world to make this switch. What you will notice about these new credit cards is they include a small gold chip on the card, which acts as a security firewall for the consumer. What does this mean for municipalities that accept payments by credit cards?

ANSWER: The major change for municipal-ities is the shift in liability with identity fraud or counterfeit claims. Starting in October of 2015, if your point of sale machines have not been changed to accept the EMV card, the municipality, not the card issuer, will assume all responsibility for fraudulent activity. That means if a card holder is a victim of fraud due to using your non EMV point of sale machine and they have $15,000 of fraudulent charges, the city or town would be responsible for those charges. EMV’s being issued today can be used at any point of sale retailers as the EMV cards also have the more common magnetic strip. Contact your point of sale distributor to find out more about these new devices.

?This feature should not be considered a complete list of deadlines. If you know of an important deadline, please submit it to Jennifer Simmons at [email protected].

!MUNICIPAL DEADLINES

JUNE

1 Last day to certify names of persons who have money due them for salaries, wages, or other reasons to the county treasurer for determining if such persons owe delinquent taxes. [IC 6-1.1-22-14]

1 Last day for cities and towns with population of 20,000 or more to file Annual Operational Report of Motor Vehicle Highway Fund with State Board of Accounts, 302 W. Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204

20 Last day to report and make payment of state and county income tax withheld during May to Department of State Revenue, Indianapolis.

JULY

1 Last day for the county assessor to deliver the personal property assess-ment data to the auditor. IC 6-1.1-3-17(b).

1 Last day for the county assessor to deliver the real estate book (i.e., roll and balance 2014-pay-2015 gross assessed values) to the county audi-tor. IC 6-1.1-5-14.

15 Last day for a Redevelopment Commissions to report available TIF sur-plus AV or shortfall to county auditor.

20 Last day to report and make payment of state and county income tax withheld during June to the Department of State Revenue, Indianapolis.

31 Last day to make report and complete payment of federal tax and F.I.C.A. (Social Security Tax) tax withheld in the second quarter of the year to the District Director of Internal Revenue.

31 Make report and file quarterly unemployment compensation report with the Indiana Employment Security Division.

31 Last day for a Redevelopment Commission to file a report on each tax increment finance district with the fiscal body of the unit.

• Plymouth recently broke ground on Freedom Park, a new all-inclusive park facility.

• A new partnership between Franklin College, Franklin and B2S Labs will give students access to additional experiential learning opportunities and mentors in biochemistry. B2S Labs will have access to local government and student internship programs.

• Michigan City and Hitchcock Design Group an-nounced a 2015 Hoosier Planning Award for the Lake Michigan Gateway Implementation Strategy in the category of Outstanding Plan. The Indiana Chapter of the American Planning Association presented the award during its Spring Development Conference in Muncie.

• Depauw based Fred Smith Store Fixtures Inc. an-nounced plans recently to open a second Indiana facility in Corydon, creating up to 40 new jobs by 2018.

• Downtown Terrace, a collaborative effort between Petersburg, Pike County Progress Partners, Jim Higgs Associates, Myszak + Palmer, and Flaherty & Collins Properties, features 42 affordable senior apartment homes. The project opened earlier this

year.• Pickleball, North America’s fastest growing sport, is

coming to Cyntheanne Park in Fishers with courts opening in early summer.

• In March, Whiting celebrated the completion of a $3.2 million renovation project. The new Whit-ing Family YMCA ribbon cutting will be held this afternoon at the newly-renovated Historic Whiting Community Center

• T&B Tube Company, Inc., a manufacturer of cut-to-length steel tubing, announced plans to relocate its South Holland, Illinois operations to Gary, creating up to 100 new jobs by 2017.

• This spring, Newburgh’s Victoria National Golf Club hosted its fourth United Leasing Champion-ship golf tournament. This and other major tourna-ments are significant economic engines for the town and Greater Evansville region.

• Tech Castings LLC announced expansion plans at its Shirley facility. The turbine engine components manufacturer will add more than 40 jobs by 2019.


INVIEW

INSIDE• Member Q&A• Calendar• Webinars• Events

MEMBER NEWS

CALENDAR

A, P

B

Q

N

H

I

D-G, L-M

C

J-K

IACT CALENDAR

MAY

A 21 Annual Budget Workshop, Huntingburg

26 Webinar – Understanding Human Rights Ordinances and Considering Your Community’s Options (see IACT website for more details)

B 27 Annual Budget Workshop, Fort Wayne

C 28 Annual Budget Workshop, Munster

JUNE

D 18-19 Municipal Law Seminar XXXII, Indianapolis

25 Webinar – Impact of Changes to National Flood Insurance Program

JULY

9 Webinar – Fraud and Theft Detection and Prevention Practices

E 21 Legislative Committee Meetings, Indianapolis

F 21 IACT Board of Directors Meeting, Indianapolis

G 22 Workshop – Growing your Community: An Overview of Indiana’s Annexation Laws, Indianapolis

MAY

H 22 Northern Mayors Roundtable, Plymouth

I 22 Southern Mayors Roundtable, Princeton

JUNE

J 3 Trust Local Golf Outing, Kokomo

K 3-5 ICOM Annual Meeting & IACT/IU-SPEA Mayors Institute, Kokomo

L 7-11 ILMCT 79th Annual Conference & State Board of Accounts School, Indianapolis

AFFILIATE CALENDAR

AFFILIATE CALENDAR (con’t)

M 18 IMLA Annual Meeting, Indianapolis

19-22 83nd Annual Conference of Mayors, San Francisco, CA

N 26 Northern Mayors Roundtable, Mishawaka

JULY

O 10 North Central & South Central Mayors Roundtable, Indianapolis

P 17 Southern Mayors Roundtable, Huntingburg

Q 24 Northern Mayors Roundtable, Auburn


IN VIEW

Participation in workshops and webinars is eligible for IACT Municipal Management Institute (MMI) credit. Thank you to Wessler Engineering, the 2015 sponsor of the IACT Municipal Man-agement Institute. The IACT Municipal Management Institute (MMI) was created to provide inno-vative, quality education programs to municipal officials across Indiana. Institute participants are given the opportunity to sharpen their management and leadership skills, learn new techniques for tackling common local issues and improving services for citizens, all while working toward certification as an IACT “Certified Municipal Official” (CMO). As officials complete each MMI level they are recognized by the Association, and, more importantly, will benefit their community with the knowledge and experience that they gain.

MMI CREDIT

IACT MUNICIPAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

IMPACT OF CHANGES TO NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAMJUNE 25, 2015The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA) became law in 2014, but changes to how the federally-offered flood insurance premiums are calculated had already been put in place and more are planned as implementation continues for both the new law and the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. Designed to soften the blow (rather than rolling back) the Biggert-Waters reforms, the HFIAA in fact added more sections while rolling back only a couple. While there are very valid reasons and a real necessity for these changes, flood insurance affordability continues to be an issue and threatens to undermine the economic viability of several areas within impacted communities. The presentation will cover the major changes to flood insurance rates as a result of both the 2012 and 2014 Acts, discusses the initial

findings of the recently released flood insurance premium afford-ability study by the National Academy of Sciences, and will go over strategies and actions that can be taken by the communities and the policyholders to help reduce flood insurance premiums.

FRAUD AND THEFT DETECTION AND PREVENTION PRACTICESJULY 9, 2015Fraud and theft can cost a business its profitability. In the public sec-tor the costs are even more highlighted. It will make the news and impact public confidence. There will likely be unreimbursed costs incurred to prove and recover a loss. Reputations will be tarnished and general employee morale will likely suffer. There are practices and controls available though to reduce the risks. Some could even be mandated. Register for this webinar to help your community to identify areas of concern and address them appropriately.

WEBINARS

WORKSHOP

GROWING YOUR COMMUNITY: AN OVERVIEW OF INDIANA’S ANNEXATION LAWSJULY 22, 2015INDIANAPOLISThis workshop will offer a detailed overview of the administrative process for conducting an annexation, including any changes made to the law during the 2015 legislative session. Attendees will also hear best practices from several community leaders who have undergone recent annexations.

REGISTER TODAY!

Visit our website at www.citiesandtowns.org for details and registration for these events and more!


IN VIEW

MUNICIPAL LAW SEMINAR XXXII

JUNE 18-19, 2015INDIANAPOLIS MARRIOTT NORTHMunicipal Law is a seminar designed to keep the local government attor-ney current on important legislative and case law changes, both state and federal, over the past year and to provide up to 9.5 hours of continuing le-gal education (CLE) credits. The workshop sessions are focused strictly on local government law issues and are designed to make the role of the local government attorney easier. As a participant, you will receive access to ex-cellent resources from all seminar speakers, and text and forms drafted by government practitioners. Attendees will be given the opportunity to meet, network and exchange ideas with other local government attorneys and

earn a better understanding of the major issues facing local government attorneys. Highlights of this year’s seminar include a presentation from Public Access Counselor Luke Britt on recent developments in ODL & APRA and a Section 1983 Claims Litigation Forum. Seminar sessions will benefit the experienced and the new city, town or county attorney by covering ad-ditional topics, such as, economic development under the property tax caps and tax sale nuts and bolts. There will be an hour of CLE ethics on Friday. Application for 9.5 CLE credits pending. This event is offered in partnership with the Indiana Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA). Visit the IACT website for additional information and to register.

THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Registration

9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Welcome and Announcements • Lawrence Murrell, President, IMLA• Matthew Greller, Executive Director &

CEO, IACT • Andrew Seiwert, Corporation Counsel,

Indianapolis

9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

State Legislative Update • Karen Arland, Ice Miller LLP• Rhonda Cook, Deputy Director and Chief

Federal and State Policy Officer, IACT• Ryan Hoff, Director of Government Affairs

& General Counsel, Association of Indiana Counties

• Anthony Green, General Counsel, Indiana Public Retirement System

11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.

Recent Developments in ODL & APRA • Luke Britt, Public Access Counselor

12:25 p.m. – 1:25 p.m.

Luncheon Speaker: Public Corruption Initiatives • Doris Anne Sadler, Indiana Attorney

General’s Office

1:25 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.

Municipal Case Law Update (Federal)• Douglas C. Haney, City Attorney, Carmel

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Municipal Case Law Update (State) & Federal Legislative Matters • Mark J. Crandley, Partner, Barnes &

Thornburg LLP• Carolyn Coleman, Director, Federal Rela-

tions, National League of Cities

3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Dessert Break

3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

CONCURRENT SESSIONS Tax Sale Nuts & Bolts: Blighted Properties and Municipal Liens • Alex Bruggenschmidt, General Counsel,

SRI• Rhonda Cook, Deputy Director and Chief

Federal and State Policy Officer, IACT TIF: Economic Development Under the Property Tax Caps • Buddy Downs, Partner, Ice Miller LLP • Gary Malone, CPA, Partner, Umbaugh

4:50 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

IMLA Annual Meeting

FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Registration, Welcome and Announcements • IMLA Lawrence Murrell

8:30 a.m. – 10:35 a.m.

First Annual Litigation Forum: Prosecuting and Defending 1983 Claims• Ken Falk, Legal Director, American Civil

Liberties Union of Indiana• Aimee Rivera Cole, Staff Counsel, Travel-

ers Insurance Companies• Julie Havenith, Senior Counsel, Travelers

Insurance Companies

10:35 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

Coffee Break

10:55 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.

Local Government Lawyer Ethics • Alice Morical, Partner, Hoover Hull Turner

LLP• Anne Ricchiuto, Partner, Faegre Baker

Daniels LLP


IN VIEW

LANCE ANGLE COUNCIL MEMBER, PlainfieldQ&A

Following the staggered term election last fall there are more than 100 new town councilmembers statewide. IACT would like to congratulate Lance Angle, one of the newest councilmembers of Plainfield, on his successful campaign and thank him for his service to his community.

After moving from Cincinnati, OH in 2005 he quickly became active in Hendricks County. As a member of the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce since 2005, he was elected and served as president in 2012. He also served on the Hendricks County Tourism Commission since 2010, where he was President in 2014. Lance is a graduate of Leadership Hendricks County program as of 2013. His family also continues to be active members of the Plainfield Christian Church.

Why did you choose to run for office and what are your priorities your first term?Friends and family have told me several times over the years I should run for office; I never thought I would be qualified to handle such a responsibil-ity. When my family and I moved to Hendricks County in 2005 and realized how special the Town of Plainfield is, I felt compelled to get involved. The people that live and work in Plainfield have made the quality of life extraor-dinary and that prompted me to play a direct role in protecting its future. The first year of my term will be spent listening, learning and understand-ing processes and procedures, but I have set a few priorities to keep me focused on the future 1) Preserve & advance Quality of Life, 2) Sustain infrastructure and 3)Participate in the 10 year comprehensive plan.

You have been very involved in your community since moving to Plainfield, how do you feel your past experience will help you in your new role?Serving as the President of the Tourism Commission in 2014 for Visit Hendricks County gave me a lot of hands on experience in a government environment. Being involved as a constituent and business operator with the Towns various departments and boards since moving here has allowed for an easier transition to the council and getting up to speed with current projects.

Quality of Place was mentioned as a reason for choosing to move to Plainfield 10 years ago. How do you plan to not only maintain but increase the Quality of Place in Plainfield?The number one comment from folks around Plainfield during the cam-paign was to please help manage the growth and keep our small town feel. Quality of life can mean something different to each individual, but continuing to work hard implementing the Town’s comprehensive plan for infrastructural needs like advanced sewer and drainage systems, new roads and providing opportunities for developers to want to build housing options for every individual are just a few ways I plan on playing a role in the process.

Attracting a talented workforce is one of the driving factors in economic development. Aside from Quality of Place projects, what is the town doing or planning to do to attract this population to locate in Plainfield?

Working closely with like-minded developers in a transparent way to achieve both our goals and objectives helps Plainfield stand out from other communities. We pride ourselves in making sure our partners understand the need to manage growth and meet the needs of not only todays resi-dents, but tomorrow’s as well.

You mentioned an interest in updating the 10 year comprehensive plan for Plainfield once you took office. Why do you feel a compre-hensive plan is so important to a community and how can the council help shape this plan?One of the things I promised myself before the campaign was that even if I did not win the election I still wanted to be involved in the comprehensive plan somehow. This plan gathers direction and input from all aspects of the community through open forum gatherings, online surveys and invited guest meetings with Q&A sessions. This direct feedback along with the expertise, tenure and guidance of our outstanding staff at the Town of Plainfield is what makes the plan such a complete road map to success for the council to use.

Plainfield has one of the most experienced and tenured town manag-ers in the state. How does the relationship between a town council and town manager help serve the best interest of the community?Mr. Carlucci’s insight and perspective are so valuable to the council. I know I have sought out his advice on many occasions to help understand an issue or situation happening within the Town. His service as a liaison between the many different departments and residents helps the council gather facts and information to make better decisions.

When you’re not at work or council meetings, what do you like to do with your spare time?Faith, Family and Finance are my core values. The family and I regularly attend Plainfield Christian Church and are blessed to live in a Community of Values. I truly enjoy being involved in the lives of our youth through vol-unteering at the schools, coaching sports or organizing events for our local kids. I’m known to take in a round of golf or two a year as well and make a decent fourth for scrambles or outings.

Lance Angle


INPLACE

It’s Festival Time!It’s that time of year again in the Hoosier state. Festivals and community events are in full swing and the opportunities for Hoosiers to experience and explore are endless. » Page 18


IN VIEW IN 2015 THERE WILL BE MORE THAN

600 FESTIVALS AND EVENTS CELEBRATED IN THE HOOSIER STATE, with a majority of them happening in cities and towns. This includes events as well known as the covered bridge festival in Parke County, which attracts 1.5 million visitors each year and Pierogi Festival in Whiting, which attracts 250,000 visitors to the city of 5,000 residents. In all there will be more than 9 mil-lion visitors to these events, many of them coming from outside the state of Indiana. While these events are not only great for tourism, they also serve as excellent quality of place events for residents and an opportunity to high-light everything your community has to offer. These events also provide local officials an opportunity to get creative with promoting their hometowns.

One of the newest festivals in Indi-ana is sure to make your mouth water. The Indiana Bacon Festival located in Delphi held their inaugural event in August 2014 and attracted more than 6,000 visitors in their first year. Need-less to say this was a huge success for a one day event and a no brainer in the hometown of Indiana Kitchen. At-tendees had the opportunity to indulge on endless bacon wrapped foods, ba-con flavored drinks and bacon topped deserts. You haven’t lived until you devour a bacon cinnamon roll hot out of the oven. Music and entertainment was provided as well as a bacon cook off while attendees enjoyed refresh-ments from local breweries. Not only was this an event to promote quality of place and support a major local business, businesses in the downtown area saw average daily sales increase by as much as 400% and the festival raised $30,000 for local organizations. The 2015 Bacon Festival will be held in Delphi this year on August 29th so be sure to sign up for the bacon eating contest soon.

The Touch of Dutch Festival in De-motte is a 40 year tradition that draws approximately 4,000 visitors for a two day festival to celebrate Dutch culture and traditions. The event is kicked off with a parade and offers attendees mu-

The Indiana Bacon Festival located in Delphi held their inaugural event in August 2014 and attracted more than 6,000 visitors in their first year.


IN VIEW

sic, entertainment, food, vendors, an antique car show and the opportunity to participate in a 5k race. A jam packed day full of fun activities for people of all ages and the ability to spend some quality time with family and friends serves as the basis for this heritage focused event. The event concludes with a fireworks display that rivals the best of July 4th displays. This is the type of event that will take on a life of its own as it con-tinues to grow each year. Peggy Michelin, Demotte Clerk Treasurer said “new things keep popping up every day” as more and more people want to get involved with this event.

As the summer draws to a close more than 10,000 visitors will attend the Aurora Farmers Fair for the four day event. This event has celebrated more than 100 years of drawing visitors to Aurora (pop. 3700) for the state’s oldest sidewalk festival. One of the largest parades in the state along with rides, entertainment, river boat activities and two stages for live entertainment are just a few of the attractions that draw visitors. City Manager Guinevere Emery says, “The hallmark foundation efforts of

the Aurora Lions Club, multiple organizations and volun-teers have made the Aurora Farmers Fair resonate region-ally within the tri-state area of Southeast Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky bringing in over 10,000 visitors annually”.

Sarah Kesterson, of the Cumberland Christmas Festival and Board Member for the Indiana State Festivals Associations, emphasized why these events are so imperative to Quality of Place. “Indiana Festivals are an impor-tant part of our communities, providing economic income for many organizations to finance their community endeavors throughout the year. Festivals are a time for families and friends to have fun, fellowship and enjoy food; giving local artists and craftsmen outlets to sell and display their artistic endeavors. These events bring community leaders together

with local government officials to become one in promoting their community; and most importantly giving a wonderful sense of community pride in the accomplishment of a suc-cessful festival.”

- Brian Gould

Pierogi Fest photo by Anne Swoboda


INWRITING

COLUMNS• From the Executive Director

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO MATTHEW C. GRELLER

Your Calls and Emails to Legislators Made a Difference

Following each legislative session I like to take a step back and think about the session in broad terms. Of course we toile over what each bill says and the direct impact on our members. That’s paramount. But I also ask myself, how did we do? What can we learn from it?

It can get hard to have an objective after-action exami-nation without focusing solely on the specifics of each bill and potential results. Sometimes if feels much better to just shake my head and lament what happened and curse those who did it. I’ve realized, however, that while there is some short-term relief gained from venting and commiserating, the best use of my time is spent thinking about what we can learn to prepare for the next legislative session.

It’s repetitive - you’ve heard it in my emails, articles and speeches for years. You’ve heard it from our lobbyists and our communications team. But, my chief take-away from this year’s session is that your calls and emails to legislators matter. When you rallied and sent your opinions to legisla-tors in any form, it mattered.

You created a buzz and creating a buzz at the State House matters. When you called or emailed legislative staff they noticed and they told each other and their legislative supervisors. They even jokingly asked us to stop because

they were getting so many! Did it mean things always went our way? No, it didn’t. But things rarely go 100 percent of anyone’s way inside the limestone. However, it almost always meant legislative movement in a direction that was at least more favorable than it had been heading.

Another important lesson-learned is that every city and town official does not need to stop what you are doing to become experts on each piece of legislation that needs your assistance. As long as you have base knowledge of the topic at hand your input matters. Messages that were as clean and simple as “Vote No on HB 1264” or “Support ONLY the Truitt Amendment” were sometimes all you needed to have your voice heard and make a difference. Many times all that’s required is to state your case, not make your case.

In recent weeks we’ve drawn another important conclu-sion. Relationships and continuing to develop mutual un-derstanding between municipal officials and legislators has never been more important. Building trust and establishing an open dialogue will account for something – it accounted for a lot this past session.

As you are faced with implementing some of this year’s more challenging pieces of legislation, it’s critical that you communicate in real time the actual impact these new laws


IN WRITING

IACT would like to thank its

2015 Strategic Partners:

The Municipal Law Group at

www.cchalaw.com

are having on your ability to govern the people both you and your lawmakers serve. Hearing these important details from you, now, when they are not in the throes of a legislative session will be a key step towards building trust.

And, finally, the notion that a good defense = a good offense rings very true in legislative circles. We enter each session incredibly prepared and this year we were perhaps more prepared with proactive measures than ever before. There is always room for improvement, though. So, we’ve started already dissecting the bills that just passed and have begun developing our strategies for working with lawmak-ers and other stakeholders to make improvements where they are needed. You can and should be a part of that.

As you read this edition of Actionlines and the full IACT Statehouse Report on our website, www.citiesandtowns.org, please let us know what you think needs to be done in these coming months to be prepared for next year and make positive, proactive and reasonable changes for betterment of Hoosier cities and towns.


COVER STORY

2015 LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP


2015 LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP


THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION ADJOURNED ON APRIL 29, 2015. Several issues critical to IACT were in play right up to the final hours including the annexation bill, SB 330. As for the IACT 2015 initiatives, we had success on several issues! Read more about the top pieces of legislation impacting cities and towns below. For a full recap of all of the bills that IACT was tracking, visit our 2015 Statehouse Report at www.citiesand towns.org. Thanks to all IACT members who took the time to contact legislators and voice your opinion. Your input made a difference!

Update on IACT Initiatives

HEA 1001 – Road Funding /State Budget Bill – Every two years, IACT is closely watching the budget bill and encourag-ing legislators to allocate more money for local road funding. In 2013, locals saw a significant increase. In this year’s bud-get, however, local road funding remained flat. Read more about the budget bill below.

HEA 1044 – Food and Beverage Tax – Rep. John Price (R-Greenwood) authored HB 1368 at IACT’s request. The bill called for statewide food and beverage taxing authority up to 1% for all municipalities. While HB 1368 did not receive a hearing in Ways & Means, HB 1044 passed. HEA 1044 calls for an interim study committee to examine whether statewide food and beverage taxing authority should imple-mented. It also provides food and beverage taxing authority for the Town of Rockville and for Orange County.

HEA 1475 – Uncoupling the Public Safety LOIT – Al-lowing the county council or the county income tax council to adopt the public safety local option income tax without having to adopt a property tax relief LOIT first has been an IACT Cornerstone Initiative for a number of years. The hard work paid off and this year it passed in HEA 1475. Read more below about this bill that also deals with public service answering points and 911 funding.

HEA 1603 – Notification of Tax Appeals - Requiring the county to provide notice to municipalities when a major taxpayer appeals its assessment was the goal of HB 1603. The bill also allows a fiscal officer to keep a separate fund to challenge appeals or make refunds.

SEA 567 – In an effort to promote more transparency of tax increment financing (TIF), over the past few years several pieces of legislation have been passed requiring additional TIF reporting. The reporting requirements were cumber-some and duplicative. To simply the TIF reporting require-ments, IACT worked with the Redevelopment Association of Indiana, the Department of Local Government Finance and Senator Pete Miller, the author of SEA 567.

Electric Utility Territories SEA 309 – Crider, R-Greenfield; Koch, R-Bedford

Seventy two municipalities have municipal electric utili-ties and if they annex territory, this new law applies to them. The law provides that after May 19, 2015, a municipality that owns and operates an electric utility and annexes an area beyond the assigned service may not petition the utility regu-latory commission (IURC) to change the assigned service area of the municipally owned electric utility to include the annexed area.

Annexation SEA 330 – Boots, R-Crawfordsville; Negele, R-AtticaThe push to reform annexation began last summer when

the Interim Study Committee on Government took up the issue. After hearing nine hours of testimony, the Study Com-mittee made 18 recommendations to the Indiana General Assembly. Even before legislators reconvened in January, there was a strong push to pass an annexation bill this year.

At the beginning of session, six bills were filed on an-nexation. The bills that moved were SB 330 and HB 1561. The Senate and the House proposals took vastly different approaches to annexation reform. While HB 1561 made annexation more difficult and remonstrance easier, SB 330 turned the process on its head. At the 11th hour of the deadline for House Bills to pass the House, HB 1561 died when it was not called for a vote due to unexpected opposi-tion from the Farm Bureau. That same week in February, SB 330 passed the Senate in a form that would have severely limited the ability for cities and towns to grow.

As it passed the Senate, SB 330 was a terribly concerning proposal that would have changed the process for an-nexation entirely, requiring cities and towns to get 51% of landowner’s signatures to support the annexation in order for the annexation to proceed. It would have eliminated re-monstrance waivers (including making void existing waivers) and forced the annexing municipality to assume all county debt when annexing county infrastructure or improvements. When SB 330 was debated in the House, IACT was once again engaged in the process, and legislators successfully amended the bill to provide a more balanced approach. The bill went to Conference Committee, where the House and Senate attempted to reach an agreement on the final form of the bill. With just a few hours left before Sine Die, SB 330 passed both chambers.

With the passage of SB 330, annexation will be much more difficult and costly for cities and towns. There are many provisions we oppose, but the bill could have looked much worse.

SB 330 does the following:• Requires six months of upfront community outreach

by the municipality before an annexation ordinance may be adopted;

• Requires more detailed information in the fiscal plans;

• Lowers the threshold for remonstrance signatures needed to go to court from 65% (current) of land-owners signatures to 51% of landowner signatures (or 60% of assessed value);

ACTIONLINESMAY / JUNE 2015 25Photo by Frankie LeonPhoto by Frankie Leon


• Removes the court – stops an annexation altogether – if at least 65% of landowners sign a remonstrance petition (or 80% assessed value);

• Provides an Economic Development Protection Provision that allows an annexation involving an economic development project to go to the courts, even if 65% of landowners sign a remonstrance peti-tion, with a delayed effective date of January 1, 2017 (See below for more on this provision!)

• Requires the municipality to provide a place for remonstrance petitions to be signed;

• Requires remonstrance petitions be filed with the county auditor instead of with the courts;

• Prohibits a court in a remonstrance hearing from considering personal finances or business finances of an owner or resident of land as a factor for determin-ing whether the annexation will have a significant financial impact;

• Prohibits any amendment of a fiscal plan once a re-monstrance petition is filed, without consent of 65% of the remonstrators;

• Allows remonstrators that prevail to recover reason-able attorney’s fees from the municipality up to $37,500;

• Makes the agricultural exemption apply for all an-nexations so that farmers do not pay any municipal taxes if they are annexed and their property is classi-fied agricultural for property tax purposes;

• Limits remonstrance waivers going forward to 15 years;

• Requires a municipality with existing remonstrance waivers with a deed recorded after June 30, 2015 to provide written notice to property owners that the waiver exists;

• Requires the municipality to assume county debt or make payments to the county in certain circum-stances;

• Requires the County Executive to approve an an-nexation of any land property by a County RDC;

• Specified circumstances under which a public rights-of-way of a public highway may be annexed; and

• Requires a municipality to notify video service pro-viders of the addition of property as a result of an-nexation for the purpose of franchise fee payments.

The Economic Development Protection Provision is extremely important to ensuring a few landowners are not able to stop an economic development project without due process as the bill states that 65% of the landowners can block an annexation entirely from going to court. This pro-vision became a negotiating point at the end and language was added that is problematic. Unfortunately, the economic development protection provision that we fought for is not useful for a while. The provision has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2017, so that it can be studied further before taking effect. We greatly appreciate the support of so many businesses and organizations who signed on to a statement of support.

Abandoned Housing SEA 415 – Merritt, R-Indianapolis; Clere, R-New Al-

banyInitially, SB 415 was introduced to address a drafting er-

ror in a law that passed last year which enabled abandoned properties to be sold outright at tax sale rather than having a redemption period. SEA 415 corrects that problem, but also does several other things. It allows a county, city or town to adopt an ordinance to allow a tax deduction for abandoned properties that are rehabilitated. It provides a mechanism for city and towns or the county to take control of an abandoned property when the minimum bid is not received. It also prohibits owners of property that was found to be vacant or abandoned from buying property at tax sale and requires the attorney general to include these owners on the tax sale blight registry. It requires that notifications of unsafe building law orders state that a property may be de-termined to be abandoned during administrative proceedings and provides for hearings to review civil penalties imposed at enforcement proceedings. It also provides for civil penal-ties if a property owner does not comply with a repair order when a hearing was not requested and for administrative ap-proval of costs of emergency action. It extends the mortgage foreclosure counseling and education court fee until July 1, 2017 and allows the disposing agent of any county to sell or transfer certain properties for no compensation or a nominal fee to a nonprofit corporation created for agricultural, educa-tional, or recreational purposes.

State and Local Taxation / Dark Store Assessments SEA 436 – Hershman, R-Buck Creek, Brown, R-Craw-

fordsvilleLegislators said reaching an agreement on how to address

the dark store issue was more difficult than negotiating the budget! Fortunately, all parties came together and language was passed that limits the use of vacant or “dark” stores


as comps when determining assessed value of commercial non-income properties (with an effective age of ten years or less) to one year vacant or five years vacant for industrial properties, along with some other excluding factors such as: restrictive uses, arm’s length transactions and change in use. These new limitations apply moving forward and to appeals currently before the PTBOA and IBTR, and will help ensure stores that have been vacant for many years are not used as a way to lower the value of properties in-use. The act also changes how assessed value is determined for “big box” stores moving forward so that for first ten years of effec-tive age, a cost approach is utilized and clarifies that that land value must be determined separately from the structure. One of the challenges brought to light as a result of the Meijer case is that in making its decision, the IBTR may only choose one appraisal: the taxpayer’s or the assessor’s. There was a large difference (more than 40%) between Meijer’s as-sessed value claim and the Marion County Assessor’s claim. However, the IBTR could only choose one as the victor. SB 436 requires any pending appeal (as of May 1, 2015) to settle or go to mediation if there is a difference of 25% or more be-tween the appraisals. Finally, there is positive TIF language in the act that specifies a redevelopment commission may enter into a written agreement with a taxpayer in which the taxpayer waives review of any assessment of the taxpayer’s tangible property that is located in an allocation area.

Without these changes, local units stood to lose up to $100 M per year in tax revenue with a $50 M shift to other taxpayers, if the “dark store” theory was applied to all com-mercial properties. This issue will likely be discussed more during the interim in study committee. In addition, SEA 436 has a provision which eliminates the small business personal property tax for taxpayers with less than $20,000 of total business personal property in a county. It requires that the owner seeking the exemption to submit a certification that is notarized and signed under penalties of perjury. This tax cut is projected to result in a net loss to local units of around $8 M annually. To help offset the loss, legislators passed a provision in HEA 1472 that will allow a county council to adopt a replacement fee up to $50.

Nursing Home Moratorium SEA 460 – Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis; T. Brown,

R-CrawfordsvilleIACT opposed the passing of this law which puts a

three year moratorium, with a few narrow exceptions, on the Department of Health from approving the licensure of comprehensive care health facilities, new or converted comprehensive care beds or the certification of new or con-verted comprehensive care beds for participation in the state Medicaid program.

Filling Clerk-Treasurer VacanciesSEA 514 – Clerk Treasurer Vacancy (Charbonneau, R-

Valparaiso; Price, R-Greenwood)SEA 514 is a result of the Public Integrity Commis-

sion, which met last summer and fall under the direction

of the Attorney General’s office. During the commission’s meetings, the members dealt with the question of what to do if a town Clerk-Treasurer leaves office and the council is unable to fill the vacancy after all efforts to replace the Clerk-Treasurer have been exhausted and public notice is provided. SEA 514 gives towns options to fill such a vacancy by allowing a town council member to serve as ex-officio town clerk treasurer for the remainder of the term, without additional compensation. If a council member is serving as ex-officio town clerk treasurer, then it allows the town to either: 1) Enter into an inter-local agreement with another town clerk-treasurer, or 2) Contract with a CPA to assist the town legislative body member with the clerk treasurer duties for the remainder of the term.

TIF Reporting Consolidation SEA 567 -- P. Miller, R-Brownsburg; Truitt, R-West

LafayetteSB 567 was an IACT initiative bill. It aims to consolidate

the multitude of TIF reporting deadlines to make reporting easier and more efficient for local governments. The bill was amended to provide a couple other helpful clarifications. It allows a redevelopment commission or authority to hold its organizational meeting on any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday (current law requires the meeting to be held on the first day of January that was not a Satur-day, Sunday or legal holiday). It also clarifies that the fiscal officer of a redevelopment commission may disburse funds only after the disbursement is approved by the commission. We thank the members of the Redevelopment Association of Indiana for helping with the drafting of SB 567.

Budget Bill Containing Regional Cities FundingHEA 1001 – T. Brown, R-Crawfordsville; Kenley, R-

NoblesvilleThe Indiana General Assembly passed a $31.5 B bien-

nial budget that includes a projected $84 M to implement the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s Regional Cities initiative that passed in HEA 1403. The bill also calls for a $480 M increase in funding for k-12 education. INDOT is slated to receive an additional $200 M, but local road funding remained at existing levels. Also contained in the budget is the increase in State Board of Accounts audit fees from $45 a day to $175 a day, with a provision that requires audit fees be kept in a separate fund for greater transparency. If this was the “Year of Education,” all signs point to 2017 as the “Year of Roads.” INDOT is expected to release a study this summer of infrastructure needs, including local govern-ment shortfalls, which will begin the conversation. Another notable budget detail is that the Rural Community Develop-ment fund under the Office of Community and Rural Affairs was not funded in the budget despite the agency’s ask for $1.2 M per year. We are still evaluating the impact of this change and how it will affect the Main Street Program.


Elimination of Common Construction Wage and Public Works Issues

HEA 1019 – Torr, R-Carmel; Yoder, R-MiddleburyIACT remained neutral on HB 1019 which eliminates the

need for the 5-member board that is currently required to establish wages on public work projects costing $350,000 or more. The act also prohibits a public agency from establish-ing, mandating, or otherwise requiring a wage scale or wage schedule for a public works project unless required by state or federal law and implements several new requirements on contractors that work on public works projects.

State Board of Accounts HEA 1104 – Rep. Lehman, R-Berne; Sen. Head, R-

LogansportThis law pertaining to the State Board of Accounts

permits the agency to determine the frequency with which it will conduct financial examinations based on risk based cri-teria. It eliminates the requirement that the state examiner must annually furnish forms and instructions to reporting officers. It specifies that certain examinations by the SBOA may (rather than must, under current law) be made without notice. It provides that the SBOA may only release examina-tion work papers and investigation records to certain per-sons and provides a procedure for a public entity (other than a school corporation, a university, or a consolidated city) that has an internal control officer and an internal control department to have examinations performed by a certified public accountant instead of the state board of accounts. It adds provisions for allowing a public entity to have an examination: (1) conducted outside the time frame provided for by statute or state board of accounts guidelines, due to federal requirements, continuing disclosure requirements, or as a condition of a public bond issuance; or (2) conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. It provides that the results of an examination of the SBOA are confidential until approved and released for publication by the state examiner, however, it permits disclosure under cer-tain circumstances. It allows an executive or a fiscal officer of a unit to establish a fraud hotline telephone number that the public may use to report suspected fraudulent activity concerning officers or employees of the unit. It also con-tains language regarding the audit of prepaid wireless sellers in regard to 911 funds.

Volunteer Firefighters and GAAP ReportingHEA 1264 – Koch, R-Bedford; Holdman, R-MarkleHEA 1264, an internal controls bill, will require locals

to do more training and checks to protect public funds. It was amended during conference committee to add language from SB 446 and HB 1433. The concept included from SB 446 requires municipalities with populations of 75,000 or greater to file annual reports according to GAAP/GASB standards by certain graduated deadlines. If the reports are not filed accordingly, the units would not be permitted to issue bonds. We opposed this proposal because we think it needed further study on what SBOA “accepts” as GAAP

reporting and the cost impact on the units. In addition, language was added from HB 1433 which would reverse the conflict of interest statute for volunteer firefighters and allow them to serve on a city/town council or as the executive. If a volunteer firefighter serves, he or she is not permitted to vote on the city/town budget and if there is a majority of volun-teers on the council, the unit’s budget may not change while the majority exists. The caveat to adjusting a budget when a majority of volunteer firefighters serve on a council is that the city/town must petition the county council and ask for an increase or additional appropriation. The county council is required to hold a public hearing and may grant or deny the petition.

IACT is opposed to the county council having control over municipal budgets in any way. This oversight defeats the purpose of having city/town council elected officers to serve its citizens. We must work to get this provision changed next year!

Wireless Communications and Tower Siting

HEA 1318 – Koch, R-Bedford; Hershman, R-Buck Creek

As originally introduced, this bill would have eliminated nearly all local regulation of wireless towers. Thankfully, most of those troubling provisions were removed due to IACT’s lobbying work. HEA 1318 does the following: 1) Speeds up the time allowed for local units to review and approve or deny a new wireless tower construction applica-tion; 2) provides for consolidated applications for multiple collocation requests and for small cell networks; and 3) provides a framework for uniform statewide applications for new towers, substantial modifications and collocation requests. The bill outlines what is considered a “complete” application. However, it leaves in place local discretion for what conditions to apply when approving or denying an application. This was a critical point for IACT. The bill does place restrictions on locals adopting fall zone requirements that exceed the engineering requirements. However, local units may still adopt setback requirements, which was also a critical point for IACT. Another major change in this bill is the addition of “communication service providers” (CSP) to the definition of public utilities under 8-1-2-1(a). Most CSP’s are public utilities (or contract with public utilities) today. It will be important for all municipalities to evaluate their ordinances managing public utilities in ROWs as allowed by 8-1-2-101, and to examine their ordinances regulating wireless towers. IACT successfully advocated for a delay in effective date of the bill to January 1, 2016.

PSAPs, 911 and Public Safety LOIT HEA 1475 – Karickhoff, R-Kokomo; Hershman, R-Buck

CreekIt has been an IACT initiative for a few years now to “un-

couple the public safety LOIT.” What we mean by this is to change the law so that it is no longer a requirement to adopt a property tax relief LOIT first before the .25% public safety LOIT can be adopted. We are happy to report that HB 1475


passed with this language included! The act also extends the sunset date for the 911 fee to be collected on telephones un-til 2020 and raises the fee on telephones to $1.00 (previously the fee was $.50 for prepaid phones and $.90 for contract cell phones and land lines). Now, local governments that consolidate PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) may petition the Department of Local Government Finance for levy adjustments. The act changes the 911 fee distributions, however, units are held harmless at the 2014 distribution amounts. There is also a provision in the act that allows a county income tax council or county council to adopt a resolution to distribute up to 100% of new Public Safety LOIT tax revenue to a PSAP that is part of the statewide 911 system.

Simplification of Local Option Income Taxes HEA 1485 – Thompson, R-Lizton; Hershman, R-Buck

CreekHB 1485 was an effort to simply the local income tax

statute. It calls for a transition of CAGIT, COIT, CEDIT and various other local income taxes for special purposes to be renamed “Local Income Taxes” with three different rate components. The transition would occur in 2017, so there is more time to study the effects and make changes next session. The Office of Management and Budget is slated to study the effects of the transition and report to the legislative council in 2015.

Performance BondsHEA 1508 – VanNatter, R-Kokomo; Holdman, R-Mar-

kleUnder this act, a local unit may not adopt an ordinance

to require a land developer of Class 1 or Class 2 structures to obtain a performance bond before the date on which the land developer records an approved secondary plat. Howev-er, locals can still require a performance bond before an ap-proved secondary plat is recorded if the area under develop-ment is within the existing right-of-way or related to erosion control. It also limits a maintenance bond to three years for a land developer of Class 1 or Class 2 structures. It authorizes a unit of local government to require the land developer, as a condition precedent to recording the secondary plat, to obtain a performance bond or other surety for incomplete or unfinished streets, sanitary piping, storm water piping systems, water mains, sidewalks and ornamental landscap-ing in common areas and erosion control. It also specifies that an ordinance requiring a land developer to obtain a performance bond or other surety must include a provi-sion for the release of the performance bond or other surety upon completion to the satisfaction of the local unit and the partial release of the performance bond or other surety in accordance with a written agreement by the local unit and the land developer.

Gaming HEA 1540 – Various Gaming Matters (Demondy, R-

LaPorte; Alting, R-Lafayette)HEA 1540 specifies the process for entering into tribal-

state compacts concerning Indian gaming. It authorizes riverboats to move inland to adjacent properties meet-ing certain requirements and makes the promotional play deduction for riverboats and racinos permanent. It caps the number of gambling games offered by a licensed owner or an operating agent at the greatest number of gambling games offered since January 1, 2007, regardless of whether the licensed owner relocates gaming operations to an inland ca-sino and authorizes table games at the racinos beginning in 2021 if approved by the Indiana gaming commission. It pro-vides for the use of AGR attributable to table games to sup-port the horse racing industry and provides a licensee may not offer more than 2,200 gambling games on the premises of a licensee’s racetrack after January 1, 2021. It provides that after June 30, 2015, the racino wagering tax is based on 88% of adjusted gross receipts (rather than 91.5%, under current law). The bill contains several provisions relating to French Lick and West Baden Springs. It repeals a requirement that the gaming commission study the use of complimentary pro-motional credit programs and urges the legislative council to assign to an interim study committee certain study topics related to gaming.


IN BRIEF

By the Numbers Actionlines breaks down some facts from the 2015 Legislative Session

1,260269

2 6

19

Big Wins for IACT Initiatives: LOIT De-coupling (HB1475), Assessment Appeal Notice (HB1603), TIF Reporting Con-solidation (SB567) (Other 2 initia-tives: Food & Bev sent to Study Committee and Road Funding topic delayed by legislature until next budget session)

3 big wins!

Joint Resolutions passed (SJR2 - Right to Hunt & Fish & SJR 19 - Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment)

Annexation bills filed, 1 passed

(SB330)

$1 B – Road Funding Gap, Annually. Next Budget

Session will focus on In-frastructure Needs. Talk to

your legislators now!

$37,500 – Amount a city or town may have to reimburse annexation remon-strators if they pre-

vail in court

bills/joint resolutions filed

bills/joint reso-lutions passed

$120 M

3

Amount one study projected local units would lose annu-ally without SB436 that ad-dressed Dark Store Assess-ment problem

Summer Studies to watch: Statewide Municipal Food & Beverage Tax, As-sessment Issues & Economic Devel-opment re. Annexation

15 yearsHow long an annexation remonstrance waiver lasts moving forward

51%

Percentage of signatures needed on remonstrance annexation petition to go to court

Freshman Legislators

$


IN ACTION

2015 may-june actionlines magazine

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