By Mandy McFarland Editor
WAKARUSA — Talk turned to property taxes and the recent marriage amendment last Saturday, Feb. 16 when Indiana state representatives Jackie Walorski (R-Lakeville) and Bill Friend (R-Macy) met with town officials and residents in Wakarusa.
This was the second time over a one-week period that the representatives visited Wa-Nee. They appeared one week earlier with state senator Ryan Mishler (R-Bremen).
Though the weather was again formidable, the Wakarusa event drew nearly 30 people to the Wakarusa town hall. Some were Nappanee residents who had been unable to make it to the previous week’s meeting.
Friend and Walorski began by introducing themselves before launching into a description of House Bill 1001, calling for property tax relief.

About House Bill 1001
House Bill 1001, scheduled to take effect by Feb. 28, calls for a circuit breaker that will place a one percent cap on homestead property, a two percent cap on rental property and a three percent cap on all other property. This is based on each property’s gross assessed value.
Funding for this tax relief will come from sales tax, which will increase from six percent to seven percent by April 1. In addition, PTRC-dedicated state tax revenues will be redirected to the state general fund for property tax relief. The bill also calls for annual wagering taxes from slot machines and horse racing to be directed to the state general fund. Finally, the PTRC fund will be eliminated before July 1.
The bill will also balance the K-12 school operating fund by Jan. 2, 2009 and calls for the elimination of levies on transportation, child welfare, the state fair and state forestry funds. All of this is scheduled to take place Jan. 1, 2009.
Walorski also spoke about the topic of gaming, on which the state depends heavily for revenue. Indiana is third in the country in gaming, she said, most of which comes from the Blue Chip Casino. She went on to say, however, that this has set the stage for competing establishments like the Four Winds Casino to set up across state lines, drawing potential gamblers away from Indiana.
The bill has passed in the Indiana House of Representatives and is now in the state Senate, which is examining it as a series of 10 segments, rather than as a whole.
Other topics
•One new topic that arose was a recent marriage amendment, which calls for marriage to be limited to between one man and one woman and which Walorski and Friend support. Following a series of questions and comments by citizens, Walorski expressed frustration that Indiana house speaker Pat Bauer has stopped accepting phone calls pertaining to the topic and encouraged residents to continue sending their comments and requests pertaining to the amendment.
•House Bill 1162, which allows youth to become more involved in local and state government by allowing a city or town’s presiding officer to appoint an individual younger than 18 to be a non-voting advisor to the city or town’s council.