Hello,
I was asked recently to elaborate on what I would hope to accomplish in the first 90 days in office if elected. One item in particular was the high tax rates we deal with. That, in truth may not be something that can be changed in 90 days. If elected I would not take office until Jan '08 and the budget for that year will already be approved so the first years budget I would be involved with is the '09 year. It also would not be slated for work until after the first 90 days as the budget process starts in April/May.
When the work begins on that budget, I intend to push to have every item of it is scrutinized and evaluated and compared to cost incurred by other towns.
The current cap set by the current town council was put at 83.6cents per 100/dollar value then subtracting out the credits to get the amount we pay. I see no reason not to lower the rate rather than keeping levels at the cap that was set, which is what the town has done since the big increase a couple of years ago. (info from the county treasurer)
The sewer rate bonds need to be evaluated to be more in line with common practice and that should help reduce the rates we pay, which are as much 4 times what other districts are paying.
I do see some things that can be done easily and quickly. I have discussed them in past posts but will list them again.
1) Ask for a new ordinance requiring that an application for a building permit must also be accompanied by a letter from the HOA or architechural Committee, if one or both exist, in the neighborhood, stating that the home or changes meet covenant requirements.
2) That developers likewise obtain a written statement from the School Board involved stating that they can handle the expected student body increases or if they can not handle it, then what changes they propose to support the growth.
3) Develop a set of requirements that, in detail, explain what the town is looking for in commercial development of properties with in the town so that the applicant will be able to provide all required information the first time rather than making them go back and get more data to bring before the council.
4) Require town contracts to be bid on more extensively rather than stating that "this new bid of multiple thousands of dollars in an extension of a previous contract"
The current council has been awarding contracts with out bidding to the same companies over and over again. MD Wessler and United Water have rather large ongoing contracts that I fell are to large.
We are going to need to work on crime watch in all areas of Cumberland as well. I understand we have an officer interested in this type of work and it should be encouraged and all associations should also be invited and encouraged to join in. We also need to look at adding officers. We have 2 on duty at any given time, but I feel that with out neighborhood help, no number would be enough to cover everything.

Residential growth

Lately the town seems to be approving residential land development with minimal resistance and driving away commercial ventures. At a recent meeting in Fortville, local legislators were invited to speak to the public about topics including property taxes. Sen Beverly Gard, herself , stated that in western Hancock County, a home needs to have an assessed value of 165,000 to generate the tax revenue to cover the burden that the home and occupants put on the local government and schools.
The town has been approving subdivisions with maximum home values below this level. This means that you and I will be making up the difference in our tax levies. Property taxes are set to rise another 14 1/2 % this year as well as school tax increases form the latest 75mil expansion.
Please do not get me wrong. the schools need help but with homes coming in to fill the schools this fast and the owners not paying their share, the burden falls on us.
The town will say that Hancock County as a home market can not support upper level housing. To this I say look at the development on 200w north of 100n. The homes there start at 375,000 and go up and they are filling up so fast that the developers are looking to open the next phase soon. Many economists and assessors have also said that 1 home worth 400,000 on 1 acre will bring in more tax revenue than four 100,000 homes on the same acre due to homestead credits and such.
The town needs to work with zoning, building codes and fines, impact fees, etc. to help promote responsible growth. They need to be willing to work with home owner associations to help them enforce the covenants for the neighborhood. The town usually has less restrictive rules and codes than HOA's. There needs to be communication with the schools as to how the impact of more students will effect them.
I propose doing this easily, with out putting extra work on the town officials by requiring home owners who want to build or add on to get approval, in writing, from their HOA before permits are approved. Also, we should require developers to get a statement, in writing, from the school board as to the impact more students will have and if they can support it. Then the schools are not growing at a rate faster than they can respond and home owners associations, have support locally. I believe these can and should be done.

commercial base

Hello, I would like to convey my position on the commercial aspect of Cumberland. I have been quoted as saying we pay Carmel taxes but have none of the commercial benefits. In reality, I can say that my taxes are more than what they would be on the same value home in Carmel. I feel that our lack of commercial tax base has to be part of the cause.
We have vacant buildings, buildings in need of repair and little to define what Cumberland is. We have a streetscape project coming in the future and I feel it is time to start adding more commercial tax base.
I know that myself and my family would like to have some more restaurants to choose from. We have a local owned restaurant and a few local/national chains of pizza and sandwiches. These establishments have been a part of the town for a while and are great assets but I feel we need some new businesses to bring others to our town and give local residents more choices.
Here is where you come in. I need to know just what kinds of businesses you like to frequent. Would you like to have more choices rather than driving to another town to spend money and contribute tax dollars. I have been told by some residents who have lived here a while that the town ends up chasing away business, sometimes just be dragging things out to long. We live along the "Old National Road" and I believe that as part of the town council I can help bring Cumberland into it's own.
You can help make Cumberland an even better place just by voicing your opinion and helping the town council move our town in the right direction.
Some people say that the property along US40 is all owned by investors waitng to make money from their deal but that is true for every aspect of our lives. Our homes are an investment. Everything, including land is owned by someone but it is the towns job to see that it is developed reasonably and with regards to the citizens who live here.
Thanks for your time.
Joe

GO COLTS!!!!!! CONGRATS TO THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. WHAT A HUGE ASSET TO THE ENTIRE STATE AND ESPECIALLY INDY.

sewer rates

Hello,
This post will briefly discuss the sanitary sewer rate situation that we face. I have checked and invite you to check with other local towns to see what their rates are. I know from a coworker that greenwood pays about 10-15 dollars per month which is about or just below their water usage rate.
Ours however is 3-4 times our water rate and there does not seem to be any end to these levels any time soon. The town needed sanitary sewer reconstruction a few years ago due to the increase in residential developement. This does not how ever excuse the fact that the town council is elected to oversee these types of issues and behave in a proactive manner rather than a reactive manner.
How do things continue to be ignored until they become critcal. Remember how bad 21st was before it was repaired. I complained to the council from the time my family first moved here about that road. If my opponent really had a hand in getting that work done then again I say why did it take so long and the road get so bad.
I propose looking at the bond issue and restructuring it if possible and finding other town monies to pay down the balance so that our rates can be brought back down to earth.
Now we have the storm sewer situation that they are pushing to rebuild, reconstruct and repair at another huge cost and a fee to us each month.
My opponent has been on the council for 16yrs and I say that is long enough. Take a good long look around Cumberland and decide for yourself about the condition of our town.
We need a town council that will use more competitve bidding for town contracts rather than just automatically giving the work to the same company each time.
thanks for reading
joe
next up - commercial growth

Here is my first of many posts to inform you of my opinions on the issues I feel need to be dealt with in our town. The first one is taxes.

TAXES - unfortunately we need them to pay for community services. I believe, however that the town of cumberland has over stepped a reasonable rate. I have been saying that we pay as much in taxes as e would in Carmel but we do not have the amenities that they enjoy. I arrived at this statement by calling the Hamilton county auditors office. Every conceivable business is within a couple of miles for the inhabitants of that town, but we have very little in Cumberland and a town council that has resisted new businesses wanting to open here. Take for example, Autozone. The company made all the changes that the town requested but were still turned down. We need a commercial tax base or our own property taxes will continue to rise like the 30% we had a year ago. Some may not like autozone for various reasons but we have a muffler shop with a broken concrete and dirt lot and a machine shop with disabled vehicles in their lot, so what gives.
We have before us a state government that is looking allowing local municipalites to institute either income tax or sales taxes to pay for town operations but will that mean that they will be getting rid of property tax or just a false promise to give relief that they have never followed through with (check the article in sundays indy star - section e focus 1/21/07). They have made promises before only to ignore them and go on.
Note too, that the town and our district councilman voted in favor of a 6% raise for themselves and town employees for 2007.
It also strikes me as odd that everyone is talking about changing how we are taxed and being given some relief but no ever talks about reducing spending as a way to reduce taxes. You and I run our households on a budget and know that we can not keep spending more than we bring in with out disasterous consequences. Which leads me to another topic in my list "competitive bidding for town contracts". I will share my thoughts on this subject in a subsequent post.

Here are some of the issues I see that the town of Cuberland and its citizens are facing.
1) Taxes are as high as many other large towns and villages.
2) Sewer rates that are higher than most all other surrounding areas.
3) Very little commercial growth to help build a tax base.
4) Large amounts of residential land being annexed into the town.
5) Zoning and building codes that can help reduce the number of lower value homes.
6) Road conditions.
7) Communication between the town and MVCSC school board.
8) Communication between the town and Hancock county.
9) School and commercial impact fee studies.

These are what I feel are some of the major issues we face and I will post expanded thoughts on these as we move along in this campaign.

You can contact me with other issues and concerns that you have and I will post and discuss them with you.

My number is 894-0136.

Joe's Introduction and biography

Joe Siefker for Cumberland Town council.

I moved here from Michigan in 2003 with my wife and two daughters.

My public service history includes being president of Valley BrookVillage home owners assoc for the past three years. Prior to relocating here I was on the Cooper Township Zoning Board for two years and on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the same township for four years before that. My daytime career for the past twenty years has been in cancer treatment and radiation therapy.

I enjoy living in Cumberland and in Hancock county and feel there are some issues that need attention which is why I am running for office. I will be placing new posts here often to express my concerns and bring the important issues to my fellow Cumberland residents.

You will also find links to the town here so you can see the minutes of town council meetings as well as the plan commision, storm water board and others. The town web site also has info about the future vision for Cumberland and I hope, with your help, to be a part of that future and be your representative to the town.

I will be working for you.