Indiana Democrats discuss party’s future during Muncie town hall

Indiana Democrats gathered at a town hall in Muncie Saturday to spotlight the long-term effects of state and federal Republican policies. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, Democrats discussed Indiana’s property tax overhaul and the future of the state’s party.

Senate Enrolled Act 1 cuts property taxes across the state, resulting in nearly $2 billion less funding for things like local government and community schools over the next two years.

The overhaul however, does allow local governments to raise local income taxes to help supplement this loss in funding.

Rep. Sue Errington (D-Muncie) said Hoosiers who don’t own property won’t see any benefits from the overhaul — but will still end up footing the bill.

“If you rent your home, you don’t get any tax relief from the property tax bill,” said Errington. “You’re going to be probably the biggest losers of all.”

She said the overhaul gives local governments a tough choice to make.

“Local governments are faced with a Sophie’s choice,” Errington said. “They can either cut services, police, fire, EMS, that kind of thing to the bone — or worse, or they can raise local income taxes.”

Errington and other Democrats said it’s just the most recent consequence of nearly two decades of Republican supermajority control at the Statehouse.

Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian said breaking that control means getting voters to the polls.

“The biggest number of people stay home because they either don’t like the candidates or they somehow feel that it doesn’t matter who’s in power,” she said. “We really need to have cause and effect and show people that, hey, in that race over there, somebody won by seven votes.”

During the discussion, other Democrats stressed the importance of engaging with minority voters in the community.

Tallian said members of those communities are already working towards the same goals, but that they aren’t working together.

Tallian said she is doing everything she can to bring leaders from those groups together so that they can brainstorm outreach strategies as a team and unify the thousands of registered voters who skip out on elections.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at [email protected]