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While petitions were being signed to stop Fishers from annexing Geist, all eyes were on a piece of legislation co-authored by Senators Gard and Drozda that made its way through the senate and was stalled in the house. Senate Bill 114 would have eliminated forced annexation in Indiana forever. Statewide supporters were rallying down at the statehouse and emailing senators and house members to pass this bill.
Meanwhile another silver bullet was introduced by Governor Mitch Daniels: House Enrolled Act 1001 which put a 1% cap on local property taxes. This was actually a better solution to the annexation issue than SB 114.
The Town of Fishers tax rate is currently 2.1% and Fall Creek Township is at 1.8%. Whether Fishers or Fall Creek Township is the local taxing authority, Geist residents will be capped at 1%.
So what are we left fighting over exactly?
From the very beginning, it has all been about the money. Fishers wanted the lucrative tax base, Geist residents didn’t want a 16% property tax increase. Now, neither will happen. Sure, Fishers will still see a windfall, but it is less than 1/2 the windfall they expected.
Put all the rhetoric aside for a moment. Dismiss the swiss cheese argument, gavel throwing, sneaky Scott Faultless property annexation, the infamous “magnanimous gesture”, and firetruck postcards. I know it’s hard, but try to block that for a minute.
Now consider the impact of HEA 1001. Whether you pay taxes to Fishers or to Fall Creek Township, you pay the same amount and neither entity can raise your taxes. Sure, HEA 1001 left some provisions for special assessments and Fishers can still go to Hamilton County looking for more County Option Income Tax (COIT). But really, is that worth a 4-year plus battle in court?
Let me say it again, your property tax is capped at 1%!
On the other side of this coin, Fall Creek Township has been running on a budget deficit for the last few years. Their fire contract consumes most of the annual budget. The Township had to sell the land under the fire station to Fishers a few years ago just to make up the budget shortfall. How does Fall Creek Township continue to provide services with a 1% cap as well?
I think it’s time to set the egos aside, take a deep breath, and come to the realization that this annexation, forced or not, won’t really matter to Geist residents. It’s time to find a good compromise that works for both Fishers and Geist and get back to worrying about local issues that really matter. The only winners so far are the lawyers.
My suggestion is to conclude the wrangling over who has the zoning jurisdiction over Geist (see related article) by forming an overarching “Geist Community Council.” Take a look at what the Nora-Northside Community Council, Pike Township Residents Association, Greater Allisonville Community Council, or the Binford Redevelopment and Growth (BRAG) organizations have done for their respective areas. Several local groups are already in place to take care of the lake and surrounding neighborhoods, it’s time we pulled all of them together (Geist Lake Coalition, Geist Watershed Alliance, GHPOA, and several other neighborhood associations).
What Geist residents want the most is autonomy and control over the lake. Fishers can provide the fire, EMS, police, and street services. This new Geist Community Council can take care of zoning and the lake. As an added bonus, the new Fishers residents can also vote in the Fishers Town Council elections.
First things first, we have a stack of petitions being delivered to the Hamilton County Courthouse with an overwhelming majority of residents saying they do not want to be a part of Fishers. What they were petitioning against was a fiscal plan that included a 16% tax increase. This is no longer part of the fiscal plan. Fishers needs to step up and tell Geist residents the impact of HEA 1001 and whether or not they can still afford to annex Geist.
Ah, the saga continues.
keep in mind it is not Geist’s lake–it is the City of Indianapolis’ water supply.
but it is also annexed by Fishers
Only a small portion of lake bed is annexed, Geist reservoir is own by the Indianapolis Water Company.
The positive or negative impact of the new property tax legislation remains to be proven. What is undoubtedly true is that Fishers fiscal plan for Geist will put us TEN MILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT! A $10 million bond issue is described in the fiscal plans, quite plainly. The tax bill didn’t change that.
thats old news, based on the pre-HEA 1001 algebra. The new fiscal plan has not been explained yet, I doubt that they would go $10 mill in debt for that.
But what if HEA 1001 is later revoked? And now we are part of Fishers. Seems that continueing the fight might still be the smartest thing to do for the long run.
So what happens to the homes on septics and wells? Bucks Creek home owners will be forced to pay $30,000 – 40,000 and most of us will be forced out of our homes because we can’t afford it.
Annexation is pretty permanent. Open issues such as the fiscal plan debt, possible revocation of HEA 1001, and most significantly, the very possible need for Fishers to go to the county for COIT. Is there an upside limit on COIT? For example, a 1% increase in income tax could have a huge impact on many of us.
Yeah, right Tom. Extend these guys an olive branch and suddenly we’ll all be holding hands and singing Kumbaya around a campfire in front of the Fishers Town Center.
I can’t speak for all Geist residents, but for my wife and most of our neighbors, it has been about much, much more than the money.
It’s about FORCED annexation, an anti-American principle if ever there was one.
It’s about not having one penny of our taxes going to support the mismanagement of the Fishers Town Council that has led to poor zoning, out of control development (strip malls on every corner), lacking infrastructure, gridlock and a stressed school system that cannot possibly keep up with the growth and continued to provide quality education.
It’s about quality of life, and not quantity of everything.
It’s about a town whose power rests in the hands of a group of political insiders. Anyone with a dissenting voice is not allowed. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It’s about every sleazy, underhanded trick Faultless, Easley et al have attempted over the last 30 months in their attempted land (and money) grab.
It’s about their fear-mongering … and yes, the firetruck postcard is a classic example.
It’s about how they have repeatedly cast Geist residents as elitists and snobs who don’t pay our fair share.
It’s about the bills that will come due, and don’t think for a second Faultless and the FTC aren’t already plotting their continued quest for more and more of our money to suit their never-ending needs. A cap on property taxes will not stop these people.
It’s about the abuse of power and the arrogance with which these people proceed. A few have determined what’s best for all. Fishers is not about what the people want … it’s about being told (and to pay for) what’s best for them.
Compromise, Tom? Do you really think that, once annexed, they will remotely care about the best interests of Geist residents, or that they would give serious credence to the desires (or the demands) of a Geist neighborhood organization.
Tom, from the Fishers standpoint, it has been about one issue: the money.
But not for us.
We will rue the day when Fishers becomes our governing entity.
I say stay the fight.
you are all welcome to your opinions and I understand (believe me) your anger towards Faultless & Company. HOWEVER, this soon to be constitutional amendment will not be revoked and Fishers can’t raise taxes above the 1% without a referendum. Let me pose this, what happens if Fall Creek Township can’t provide necessary services for Geist on their new 1% diet?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it won’t become a constitutional amendment until it goes through a second legislative session and approval.
I’d be very nervous about any agreement with Fishers until that is set in stone.
As for Fall Creek Township costs I, as a FCT taxpayer, am willing to bear the burden of higher taxes that we would pay for our own services, rather than acquiescing to Fishers.
Tom, Fishers cannot be trusted to exercise fiscal responsibility. One more time, the forced annexation attempt has been forced by their need to squeeze every dime they can from every possible resource.
Respectfully.
What about the city optional income taxes going forward? It may not just be property taxes involved here, but higher income taxes and possibly additional fees that will be the way around the property tax caps.
I have no trust of Fishers at this point.
I agree that being a part of Fishers , with a 1% cap, sounds reasonable, but everything done to our society sounded resonable at the time, and then look where it is. Income tax, Social Security, Medicare and so forth were all “voluntary”. And now look. Once we become part of Fishers, and the cap becomes law, then ith is upt to the local towns and cities to up INCOME tax. Oh sure, that wasn’t how it was presented, but that is what will happen. Then what? We are permanatley part of Fishers. I prefer a Geist Community. Let’s fight Fishers,m become our own town and work on building our community as we need to suit our needs.
Tom, I appreciate your courage to suggest a compromise solution. However, there are a couple of holes in the tax argument.
First, there is a reasonable likelihood that our property taxes will go down significantly because certain local funds are being moved to the state, such as the school general fund (remember that 80% of our tax bill goes to the schools and some substantial portion of that is general fund).
Thus, many of us will experience much needed tax relief, which will help pay the 1% sales tax increase. For many, that may place them under the 1% cap. If annexed, you can bet that the Fishers Town Council will raise taxes to the extent needed to move us back to the 1%: Mitch gives and Scott taketh away.
Also, capital projects in excess of $12 million will be paid for outside of the 1% cap. You can bet that the Town Council will work hard to ensure their capital projects exceed that amount so they can tax us in addition to the 1%–anyone want to bet that the $10 million debt they plan on incurring if they annex Geist (it’s in the fiscal plans) doesn’t suddenly go up to $12 million?
The referendum idea for such projects is not a strict referendum. That is, the Town can decide to undertake a capital project; but, it takes 100 property owners or 5% of the voters to remonstrate against the project and force a referendum. So, the referendum is not automatic.
The Town cannot invoke a local income tax. Only the county can invoke a Local Option Income Tax (LOIC), which is different than COIT. The tax would apply to all Hamilton County residents. How the money is distributed is up to the county, and it does not have to be proportional. LOIC is intended to provide taxing units with property tax replacement funding. So, you can also bet that Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield, and the rest will be lobbying the County Commissioners hard to get LOIC passed. This will happen whether or not we’re annexed.
The Town can also seek additional property tax levies due to annexation and expansion of government services. This has to be approved by the state; and, while it may not result in a direct tax increase to property owners, it would result in funding being shifted to Fishers from other governmental units.
As far as the fire contract goes, Terry Michael, the Fall Creek Township Trustee has had ample opportunity–and many Geist area homeowners have pleaded with him to do so–to competitively bid the contract. We pay a disproportionately higher rate for fire service than Fishers’ residents, which to a certain extent is okay because we’re not part of the Town. But, there are other departments who are ready, willing, and able to provide comparable fire and EMS services and want to bid on the contract (and think they can do it for less). Mr. Michael seems more interested in simply signing the contract the Town Council gives him than serving his constituents (he’ll make a great state senator, won’t he?). The Township hasn’t done a good job of managing its money, which is why they had to give away our fire station.
The idea of a Geist Community Council is a good one. However, based on past actions (and past performance is a great indicator of future behavior), I just can’t see the Town Council relinquishing control over anything. They don’t even have a valid joinder agreement for zoning control over Fall Creek Township, but that hasn’t stopped them from enforcing Fishers zoning rules in the Geist area, even though those rules don’t really apply.
Not to mention their habit of extorting developers and property owners–one of the property owners approached to sign the remonstration petition said he wanted to, but Fishers forced him to sign a non-remonstration agreement or they wouldn’t issue him a building permit. Nice guys all round.
As for those residents who are on septic and well water, the Town Council made a lot of noise offering “deals” to provide 30 year, interest free financing, but how many of those deals have actually been signed and sealed? Regardless, if those neighborhoods want to cut a deal with Fishers and be voluntarily annexed in exchange for a water/sewer deal, they should proceed with that of course.
The net of all of this is that despite the so called property tax cap, if annexed you can bet that your taxes will go up to the 1% cap plus additional property taxes for debt service for capital projects, and no doubt will begin paying any number of special fees for streets, parks, storm sewers, etc.–one of the ways Fishers has kept their current tax rate low is to impose all kinds of fees.
Lastly, economics notwithstanding, are the members of the Fishers Town Council the type of people you want to get in bed with and give your wallet to?
You guys sound like a bunch of old farts! Gentleman it’s called progress…please join the rest of us in the 21st century! Excuse my sarcasam but as a Fishers resident moving from Geist I have grown so tired of all the whinning. Your free ride is over so just be grateful that you are ‘forced’ to live in a great place like Fishers. We should be working together to combat issues in our schools and local shelters, not costing eachother money so we can fight oneother. If you want to get back at your local government then get involved by making positive change and stop crying like a bunch of spoiled babies. Hey you don’t see us carrying on like maniacs because the Resevoir is polluted by your lawn chemicals. That’s our water too, so again let’s look at the BIG picture and work together on a solution.
My hats off to Tom for thinking with his head instead of his checkbook.
I think Mr. Britt should be applauded for a reasonable compromise. Those who are complaining that the “people in power” will end up screwing them in the long run by raising other taxes will be able to do something about it with Mr. Britts’ compromise…… simply Run for office and have a say!! I know some ego’s will have to be shelved for the time being, but this was never about ego’s it was about fairness, right and wrong, trying to acheive the community possible for everyone, and now finally compromise.
To be clear, this article does not represent the GUO’s thoughts or plans. As Mike (#14) explained very well, there are a lot of moving parts in place with this situation, and GUO and the Geist residents will defend itself against this forced annexation. Simply put…more government will always equal more money.
Beyond the higher taxes argument, most Geist residents are not impressed with the conduct of the Fishers Town Council. The direction that they seem to want to take Fishers in is not one that Geist wants to go in at this time…many Fishers residents aren’t thrilled with the overbuilding in Fishers either.
To those people who suggest that Geist residents should agree to be part of Fishers, and then vote to make a difference, I say that line of thinking is extremely naieve. The Geist area is about 1/12th the size of Fishers. These new residents will not be heard. We can already see how well the Fishers Town Council listens to their current constituents. The Council needs to take care of the problems they’re creating in their own town and stop looking for fights with their neighbors (this council has tried to push around many more people than just Geist). This council can’t get along with anyone, and they are not helping the image of their town.
Rachel is dead on. Faultless and the Fishers Town Council can easily quash any elected representation from the Geist area. Although I am a registered Republican, Fishers is a classic example of what can result from what really is a one-party system. Faultless and his cronies have no fear of being tossed out on their ears on election day, either in the primary or the general. Fishers is their feifdom and the Fishers voters are sheep.
As I said in an earlier post, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Need Term limits on elected Town Officials or mandate that once a Town reaches a certain size that it becomes a City.
AMEN to term limits!!!! ALL OFFICES TRUSTEE TO GOVERNOR!!!
Tom, what is this….a bad joke? You’re not talking about compromise. You’re talking about surrender and on the very day that Geist residents filed against Fishers Town Council Forced Annexation attempt. This is NOT GOOD. Especially since you state elsewhere that you are a member of GUO’s Board; therefore, it WILL BE interpreted that you are expressing the views of the Board, ergo all Geist Residents. You may deny it, but you cannot deny THAT is the PERCEPTION that is will permeate the stories sure to follow.
In surfacing this now, you are doing a great disservice to not only GUO but the 90% of Geist Residents who vigorously oppose annexation by Fishers.
There can be no negotiation without victory or at least significant success in and out of court. You cannot achieve compromise from a position of weakness. Geist is an inferior position (it has no power of government, only the courage and support of its residents.). Even if one could attempt compromise, Fishers Town Council has shown repeatedly they cannot be trusted. Do you really believe they will let Geist Residents establish a “community council?” Don’t make us laugh because it’s not funny nor possible. Not with the Fishers “Council for Life,” unopposed and all powerful in their fiefdom. I mean, come on! Look at what they offered last summer IF we would only volunteer to be annexed. A “local neighborhood council” subject to their absolute rule of approval/disapproval and veto power of Fishers Town Council.
There will be NO SURRENDER. No compromise is possible with a disreputable Town Council President and his cronies. It’s not just the money, I agree with Absolutely Not. It’s not just the $10 Mil Bond payable by us (over which you quibble about amounts, need, etc). IT is also the $100 MILLION in TIF, General Purpose Bonds, and other debt structure, realized and unrealized, that Fishers is desperately hoping we will help pay.
The Downtown Destruct/Rebuild with its $40 Mil TIF Bonding is in trouble and is going down–fast. Fairmount is in real trouble and has effectively abandoned the project. Riverplace is also in trouble. Fishers Town Council refuses to discuss the impact of the Financial Markets, Credit Crunch, and devaluation on Fishers and the local economy. No financial institution is amenable to loaning money to developers for ANY project without very high collateral and backing from Government (Local, State and Federal).
Fishers bond rating is also at risk as has happened to many municipalities across the country. Fishers Few maintain they are not affected. I doubt that assertion very much. Fishers home building is down over 80% (source: Fishers ED. Dept). As noted above, retail/commercial development is also down. Both will affect Fishers bond rating, meaning taxpayer costs are going up, not down. Remember, these are capital projects completely outside the control the 1% tax cap. Similarly, Fishers multiple fee structure is outside that cap. So, is local income tax.
No, IF Fishers Few are successful in forced annexation, nothing will be safe from taxation. We will ALL see significant tax increases in Geist areas under threat of annexation. YOU will not because you live outside Hamilton County. YOU will in fact benefit in your business because you can effectively combine atFishers.com, atGeist.com and your revenues and marketing efforts at least two fold. We understand all of that but it has also been clear from the beginning that your business benefitted substantially by being involved in the annexation issue. (A hot issue helps “sell newsprint and ads,” as the old saying goes.)
You also have the right under the First Amendment to publish and voice your opinion. We will defend to the death that right. We Geist Residents also reserve the right to absolutely, totally disagree with you. We will do so with characteristic vigor. In the meantime, I would counsel that you may now have a conflict of interest. Certainly with the objectives, goals and aims of Geist United Opposition and 90% of Geist Residents under threat of Forced Annexation.
No, this isn’t a joke. The forced annexation is now in limbo, as is the status of who exactly has authority over zoning and permits. This is the best time to work something out for both sides. I know many of you are dug into trenches, well supplied, and ready for battle. But the reason for your battle now has to be about something other than money. That is a harder battle to fight, and a harder battle to fund. Just because you don’t trust someone, you assume they are not going to give you any voice, or you assume they are going to find ways to tax you beyond the 1% cap is hardly enough reason to keep fighting. I for one would like to see an end to this, and I know I can speak for a lot of people that are not in the trenches that would also like to see this end soon. There are still people in the south with confederate flags, and I don’t expect everyone to agree, even at the 70%+ level, that working something out is a good idea. If you want to continue to battle, just be prepared to spend more money. Remember, the expensive phase of this annexation fight has not even began yet.
PS: an update, atFishers and atGeist were combined 19 months ago. I have no financial incentive in this other than seeing the community focus on something other than fighting a PR war with Fishers. Geist needs to move on.
Ok, I generally never weigh in on this subject. Much to the disgust of GUO. I general try and remember that I represent the whole Township and try to do what is for the greater good.
BUT!!!!!Tom, I beleive the motivations are wrong FOR COMPROMISE, do not give in just because you THINK your going to be safe.
DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE 1% CAP!!!! IT COULD GO AWAY!!!! Until they are constitutional you Must think it is a temporary tax break.
We can theorize what “might” happen all day, all you can deal with is what “has” happened. The HEA 1001 did pass, the fiscal plans of Fishers have changed (we don’t know how yet, but they have), zoning for Geist is a jump ball, and the petitions are being counted.
HEA 1001 did pass, Yes. But they are not permanate.
Certainly this can’t be the real Terry Michael who has been in the hip pocket of the Fishers Town Council and hopefully will be rejected in his primary election bid for state senator.
Then again, judging by the spelling and punctuation, it might be.
Tom, you claim that “forced annexation is in limbo” as is “zoning and permits.” Would you mind enlightening the rest of us as to just how “forced annexation is in limbo” exactly? Precisely how did you acquire this information, from what sources and have their bona fides been established? Secondly, the same questions apply to zoning and permits. I cannot imagine Fishers giving up control of that function, especially if they intend Geist is to be annexed.
Also, we do not understand why suddenly you are crying out about the enormous expense of the legal action being forced upon us by Fishers. We’ve all known about that glaring fact since the beginning in 2005. We have had ample time and still have time to address that issue and raise the necessary funds. Why is that suddenly an issue? Has something happened that we don’t know about?
I must confess that I am totally mystified by your sudden turn toward asking for quarter and compromise. There is no way Fishers will honor such a request unless they are in a sudden state of fiscal collapse. That would not surprise any of us who have been warning of that event and not if, but when it is coming. Again, if you are in possession of such information then you need to make it transparent as possible. That will go a long way toward understanding your rationale and push for compromise.
As I noted, its your publication and you have a right to your opinion but it is a most curious proposal coming from you. As for myself, I have only one answer for surrender, “Nuts!” I think you know the historical context in which that word was first used with great effect. Geist is in a similar situation and that word conveys our reaction perfectly.
Jim, forced annexation is in limbo because the petitions have been filed and it is now in the court’s hands. Had the petitions not been filed, you’d be in Fishers this week. Limbo is like purgatory, not heaven or hell, but somewhere in-between.
Same with zoning and permits. Read the story we posted a week or so ago entitled: “Fall Creek Township Residents Question Zoning Regulation Authority Under Fishers Control.” The “bona fides” are quoted there.
Why the “sudden turn”? I don’t believe it is about the money anymore. I never suggested that Geist “surrender”, I was supportive of the petition drive because it was a petition against forced annexation and a 16% tax increase. But now that the people have spoken and put both sides into another court battle, one which will cost much more than the incorporation efforts, I think it’s time to reassess where we are from a tax perspective and see if it really is worth all this angst and anger. You “can” raise money and fight this for years…fight it on principal, fight it over what’s been said or done, fight it over the price of high gas. But this thing will end someday, and on that day I believe the difference between the tax rates of Fishers vs. Fall Creek Township will be marginal.
A “compromise” involves both parties, both work towards a mutually acceptable outcome, and both go forward. It’s time we all swallow our pride for a minute and look at this logically.
Tom, well done. I’ve always admired your abilities with the pen. Thank you for the info and clarification. Somehow I missed your article on the planning and zoning question.
There’s only one problem. I cannot agree with your proposal that we start compromising. I agree with Absolutely Not, wherein he states that Fishers could easily quash any so-called independent council we could muster. I also agree that Fishers is one of the worst examples of the one-party system and absolute power. That’s true and Geist being annexed into Fishers is not going to change it whether by force or compromise.
An “added benefit” of being able to vote in Fishers for the council? Are you kidding? I worked the polls in the last election. Less than one percent (1%) of the electorate voted. Why? Because Fishers Town Council runs the election, unopposed. Even when they are opposed, as the one lone Democrat demonstrated last year, they defeat them easily because one must beat not only opposing candidates in your district but at large. It should be illegal but it is really no different than the one party communist party system of the old Soviet Union. The only difference is they don’t have a gulag and security police system, …yet.
There is no way I will volunteer to live under that system. We exercise our right to vote and work within the political system for change. You will never change Fishers’ one party council rule no matter if we bring in 5000 votes, 10,000 or 20,000. You have to vote for them because they run unopposed.
Tell me, how in hell can we ever change that? How do you even begin to start negotiations with them? Especially, when they hold all the cards and we have none. The final nail is the obvious trouble coming from the sudden stop and drop in development, the nationwide credit crunch, and the property devaluation. Fishers, I believe is in real trouble and will get worse before it gets better. The longer we can stay away from any involvement with Fishers, the better off we will be.
Again, thanks for your very enlightening, patient reply.
Wow! “Fall Creek Township Residents Question Fishers Zoning Authority” Wow! Needs to be said loudly from every rooftop and still an understatement. This is more explosive than any MOAB.
“I was asked by the Town of Fishers to provide a signed copy of the Joinder Agreement……I informed them I did not have a signed copy. So far as I am concerned, …no Joinder Agreement actually exists.” Quoted statement of Terry Michael, Township Trustee.
“….the last six (6) months have been filled with meetings and discussions between lawyers and officials of the parties concerned. In theory, this zoning issue concerns those that are in the unincorporated …..areas.” Understatement from your article.
This is not jump ball. This is disastersville, for Fishers, Fall Creek Township and anyone else who was aware of this invalidated “Agreement” and failed to promptly notify residents. The implications for real estate and related credit transactions during the last two and a half years boggles the mind. The liability for Town of Fishers is unimaginable, not to speak of annexation.
We don’t need to compromise. We need a lawyer!. What an awful mess.
(And the reason we didn’t know about “planning and zoning issues” was that we just received your latest edition in which you reported the mess….. yesterday. Did you or anyone on GUO know about this earlier?)
This is just a reminder to all those leaving comments that one should never type in all caps in order to emphasize a point. Doing so indicates that you do not have the intelligence to formulate a convincing argument. Didn’t any of you go to college? Additionally, why not fight simply so Geist does not become Fishers. It certainly is elitist, but when I think of Fishers, thoughts of cookie cutter neighborhoods with aluminum siding come to mind. Jill, I am not sure how this relates to progress.
We do have a joinder agreement for the record, it is with Noblesville planning.
Alan Yackey was made aware of the lack of Joinder Agreement on November 2nd. GUO lawyer.
I believe Noblesville Planning has an agreement with Fishers that turned over Fall Creek Twp planning over to Fishers
Resident, the township trustee, Terry Michael, says no they do not have a Joinder Agreement with Fishers. It was never signed and is now invalid and in contention. The trustee does state FCT has a Joinder Agreement with Noblesville. Back to square one where it should be by law. (See above: Terry Michael’s comments.)
So, Tom, where are we? (I know we’re in a mess.) If Alan Yackey was informed Novermber 2nd, 2007, then GUO was informed then. If GUO was informed, presumably you were informed then.
My question now is why are you just now surfacing this information? And why as a compromise? Seems to me this invalidates every annexation related action by Fishers plus their estoppel of Geist incorporating as a town. Why compromise, now?
This is a source of extreme dismay for Geist residents, to say the least. They deserve some answers. “There’s lots of ‘splaining to do,” as Carville (sic) would say
As a former candidate for Fishers Town Council who was opposed to forced annexation on principle, and in support of annexation reform in the General Assembly, I want to point out that it has NEVER been “all about money”, but about the ability of a small group of politicians to force something on a group of citizens that they did not want. They used every nasty tactic in the book to push their agenda, including distortions and outright lies.
I also wish to point out that the proposed Constitutional Amendment to cap property taxes must pass another General Assembly in 2009, then be put on the general election ballot in 2010 (no elections in 2009) and then it would not be effective until 2011, or perhaps even 2012 since tax bills are actually for the previous year. What happens if the Amendment does not pass at some point? Or the Governor or Legislature tries to go in a different direction?
Tom’s suggestion of a Geist Community Council is an interesting one. IF the Fishers Town Council will agree to it, a major “if”. I would not hold my breath.
The County already has jurisdiction in unicorporated Ham Co for Drainage and Rule 5, why not let the County do the rest of the Planning? Noblesville Planning is no better than fishers.
Oh, I agree absolutely, Resident. We’re back to Noblesville because Fishers tried but failed to take over the responsibility from them, preparatory to lauching involuntary annexation efforts in 2005.
Unfortunately, FCT never signed it but Fishers continued as if it had the authority, never checking back until the Fall of 2007. So, now all actions subsequently taken by Fishers from March 2005 are now in contention as null and void. We will get to the truth of this and who is accountable. Wherever the chips will fall, so be it.
Does this mean Fishers’ silly little snit — that cost Geist Harbours several hundred dollars — over the placement of the Masthead signs along Fall Creek Road is null and void?
Yet another reason to fight Fishers until our last dollar and breath and challenge.
Funny that you say that, Absolutely Not. Fishers is already being sued for several hundred thousand. Why not add Geist Harbours. In fact, why don’t we make it a residents class action?
We are going to get to the truth, one way or another and those responsible will be held accountable. They deserve it. The residents, businesses and citizens of Geist dcertainly eserve nothing less.
I am running for State Representative for the 29th District, which includes most of Fishers north of 116th street, Noblesville and east of Olio road into McCoordesville. If elected I will propose that any Town over 40,000 people must be converted into City. The citizens of Fishers need reform of their government to break up the actions of the Town Council that runs the town as if it is their own private country club. To remove forced annexation and stop all forced annexations in process, that any force annexation in process the town or city must obtain 51% of the home-owners in that area to agree to convert the forced annexation into voluntary annexation. Also I will support the continuation of the property tax cap. I fear the way it was written was to leave a way out for the next session to go back on its word and increase taxes once more. The only reason it was passed this year was it was an election year. I am willing to bet the members of the Fishers Town Council will be doing everything they can to make sure I do not get elected, an even more important reason for all of you to help me get elected.
I for one will be there, Joe. You would be a breath of fresh air. We need that here as much as we do in Washington. Maybe more so. Washington doesn’t have one party rule….
Saw two Terry Michaels political signs in the cemetary this morning at 136thand Promise Rd. Struck me as odd.
Judging by the size of Terry Michaels’ defeat, the signs in the cemetary sum up his political career, unless the Fishers’ clique brings him in.
Seems that it takes a lot more than Fishers money and backing to defeat a truly formidable, capable Senator. I did not know Beverly Gard well until we started working for her re-election. I was frankly stunned by her competence and abilities. She is a beacon for all of us who have lost faith in both the politicians and the political process.
With that said, perhaps now we can take up the Fishers challenge with renewed vigor, knowing they can be defeated no matter how much they bluster, threaten, cajole and suborn. Perhaps, holy of holies, even Fishers long suffering, taxpaying voters can grab the mantle of decency and vote out the Faultless Forever crowd.
Tom, I am sad to see this article still hanging around on your site. It’s strictly OBE (overtaken by events) now. Why not take it down. It serves no useful purpose except to excite Fishers’ “Town Council,” a term used with all due sarcasm.
What “events” have happened that would affect my article above? Did HEA 1001 get shot down overnight? Did the annexation petitions get pulled? People that are ready to fight will only get emboldened by whatever events you are talking about. People that are ready for this to be over are only turning a deaf ear to it.