Worth Every Penny

Let me be perfectly clear about one thing - Bill Wendt is a genuine hero. He most certainly is not the villain that some in LaPorte County Government  are attempting to portray him as.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to the public forum put on by Mike Conner and the Michigan Township Citizens for Fair Taxes Inc. about Mr. Wendt’s ongoing  challenge to  LaPorte County’s  highly flawed property tax assessment process.  In my opinion, there was no better way to celebrate Bill of Rights Day than to go and see grassroots activism at its absolute finest.   For about two hours yesterday, a few hundred concerned taxpayers heard firsthand details from Mr. Wendt and Mr. Conner and their very well qualified consultants, Mark Phillips and Bob Denne.  Unlike the $1900 tax increase  I received from Assessor McDaniel, the forum was worth every cent of the $100 fee and I suspect that most others in the room also felt their money was wisely invested.  A lot of very interesting information that never hits the newspaper was shared about the qualifications of those we have elected to office - apparently sworn legal depositions are truly amazing things when those officials have to actually speak for themselves instead of using a taxpayer financed, attorney-generated press release.  We learned some interesting information about the apparent no-bid contractual relationship between the Nexus Group and LaPorte County.  Personally, I appreciated seeing that LaPorte County Councilman Earl Cunningham and State Senator Jim Arnold were present at the forum to gather information firsthand so they can better serve all of their constituents which include not only  Democrats, but Republicans, Libertarians and Independents as well.   

 Like the St. John’s case a few years ago, Mr. Wendt’s action is  no ordinary challenge and the stakes are very high not only for those who live in Michigan Township but for all of us who live in LaPorte County and the entire state of Indiana as well.  I can certainly understand why Assessor McDaniel, Attorney Friedman, and others connected to LaPorte County Government are trying to once again create a political smokescreen to cover the asses of those involved.  But trying to launch media driven class warfare certainly is not a role that those in or connected to  public government should be using our tax dollars to do.

Residents of Michigan Township believe that they have been wrongly and unfairly assessed and that puts a disproportionate property tax burden on them compared to those who have been under assessed.  I believe they are right and the property tax bills that are being levied against them are absolutely outrageous.  The inherently flawed ”fair market value” assessment standard currently used must be restored to the ”uniform and equal” standard that is mandated by the Indiana Constitution.  Property tax assessment should be reasonably tied to an actual value of government services delivered (user fee) - it should not be based on how nice or well maintained a government paid  assessor of questionable qualifications thinks your  home is.  Perhaps Assessor McDaniel and Attorney Friedman can better explain to us why someone with an 1100 sf  house in Michigan Township should pay $10,000 more in property tax than someone living in a 1700 sf house in Noble Township.  That 1100 sf probably utilizes fewer government services than the 1700 sf does - charging it an additional $10,000 based on perceived “worth” simply makes no sense.  That really does not seem either uniform or equal to me and I don’t think that most reasonable people would think so either.  But how long has it been since either D’s or R’s have been reasonable and actually done the right thing for the people who elected them?    

Yesterday’s forum was packed with those who are commonly called “Movers and Shakers” - they wield power, influence, and they make things happen.  They are clearly accustomed to winning and government usually works for them, not against.  But like SISOC and those fighting the intermodal bearing down on Union Mills,  those who are fighting this battle are seeing up close and personal just how some in government wield power and attempt to deny them their most fundamental right to access public information.  They seem to be a bit surprised that members of our government are questioning their rights. 

At the end of the forum, I had a chance to meet and briefly chat with Mr. Wendt to express my appreciation to him for his efforts to try to fix the property tax mess in LaPorte County.  When I mentioned that I was actively involved with the Libertarian Party, he was curious and seemed a bit puzzled about what had led me down that path. Like many, I totally understand the feeling of being mad as hell and have been earning a some scars from political battles over the years because of that feeling.  But I suspect that as his battle goes forth and Mr. Wendt has front row seats to get an even better picture about how some  in our government will attempt to deny even his most basic rights, he won’t be puzzled for very long.      

This entry was posted on 16. December 2007 at and is filed under Government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.