Terre Haute residents could be paying a trash and refuse fee June 1st of $12.50 per month, the mayor disputes public safety overtime hours are out of control and more student housing is being proposed downtown.
On this week's installment of Ask The Mayor, Mayor Duke Bennett addresses these issues and more. Listen to the full conversation with Indiana Newsdesk anchor Joe Hren by clicking on the play button above, or read some of the questions and answers below.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Hren: Last Thursday night you presented a plan to get the city back on a good financial track. One of those parts will be introduced this Thursday and that's the ordinance that would allow a waste and refuse fee to be collected by June 1 of this year, about $12.50 per month, what has been the response?
Bennett: It's been mixed. I received an email from a lady saying we should've done this a long time ago, but it's been about three to one in calls of people saying I can't afford it. What they really don't understand is once I talk to them about why we have to do it, then it makes perfect sense. It's unfortunate that it's a complicated matter when you talk about tax caps. Some people that have a $30 to $40 thousand home haven't seen any reduction in their taxes but if you have a $100 thousand home, then you've seen a dramatic cut in your taxes. And so we have to make up for it with this trash fee.
Hren: We've talked cuts before as well, public safety overtime hours came up at the last council meeting, is that something you've looked into yet?
Bennett: It gets frustrating for me at times, people make claims and they're just not accurate. So I think we're going to do a little more education with some members of the council and some members of the public who come and throw these numbers out there and you have to qualify those numbers. You have to explain why they piqued and why they dropped.
Hren: Why does it seem Terre Haute got hit by the property tax caps the hardest?
Bennett: It has to do with how much taxable property you have and what assessed value it has. In the city of Terre Haute, we have Union Hospital, Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman, the prison, the airport - large entities that pay little to no tax. And our assessed value dropped. The state average during the 2010 reassessment was a half a percent. Ours dropped seven percent. That's just not right, but that's what happened and so we lost another $2 million a year because of that.
Hren: How much is the student housing changing the landscape of downtown? Does it help diversify or is it tipping the scale away from professionals and retirees?
Bennett: I guess it's a good problem to have. The market typically shakes itself out. But there's much more room for professionals, senior housing that we'll see what happens. When more people come downtown, then there's a bigger demand for retail. Once the students that are bringing that demand downtown, then the other things are soon to follow because you'll have all the amenities you're looking for.
Hren: In statewide news, legislation passed to help control the sale of pseudoephedrine from pharmacies which is used to make meth – you've been a force behind tougher legislation, are you happy with progress made at the statehouse?
Bennett: Well, we could have done more. I think it's better than nothing, but we really gotta hit on that. We've gotta make sure Indiana falls into the same categories as other states that have done where the labs have dropped off. Yes, I understand it will come from Mexico, but we have to do everything we can to not let that reinvent itself and meth will come back if we don't do something today. They need the pseudoephedrine, so let's take care of the root of the problem.
