'Tis the Season to be Jolly, and Raise Taxes?

While it may be going too far to say he’s a Grinch bent on stealing Christmas, South Bend mayor Steve Luecke (D) has perhaps chosen the worst time of year to advocate for a tax increase. Because St. Joseph County is facing a budget shortfall of $4 million dollars for the upcoming year and the City of South Bend is also facing shortfalls running into the millions of dollars, Mayor Luecke is urging that the county local option income tax be raised by 150%.

This new tax increase would hit everyone in St. Joseph County, but perhaps its telling that the mayor of South Bend, who is not part of county government, is the point man for this proposal. St. Joseph County isn’t just home to the job hemorrhaging city of South Bend but also to the expanding and growing city of Mishawaka as well as rural areas that are doing just fine. My advice to the County Council would be that they not listen to the tax policies put forth by Mayor Luecke unless they want to turn the entire county into a larger version of South Bend.

Instead of raising taxes to meet the shortfall, the County Council could look into cutting the budget. It is a novel concept and it is one embraced by many private citizens and employers when they have to face leaner economic times, but it is worth a try. Instead of proceeding at the same pace as usual, a careful reassessment of priorities and spending capabilities within the parameters of a revenue stream weakened by the slumping economy would be in order. The Council can either choose to accept economic realities and tighten its belt or it can proceed to demand more money from a struggling tax base.

One group in particular is leading the way in opposing these new tax increases: the St. Joseph County Republican party. Rallying behind its minority of members on the County Council, the party has succeeded in keeping together many of the same people who volunteered for its candidates during the recent election season. I’ve often thought about how much effort is wasted by letting campaign organizations simply disintegrate after an election only to have to build them up all over again when the next election rolls around. Obviously the tempo and pace of activities in a county party slows dramatically once an election is over, but there are a multitude of issues that need attention at the local and state level and mobilizing on these issues can keep a local party organization strong.

If local parties could leverage local issues as teaching and recruiting opportunities, if they could coordinate a public response either overtly as a party or more covertly as simply providing support to local figures leading the way on an issue, they could help make the case for the positions that their candidates will be running on during an election year. Campaigns should be about more than just voter identification and voter mobilization. A good grassroots victory strategy should involve determining who your supporters and likely supporters are and then turning them out to vote. But over the long haul that is a relatively reactionary strategy. To truly expand your base, which is necessary in counties like St. Joseph County, you are going to have to convert the vote to your side.

Making the case for lower taxes when Democrats want to raise them at one of the worst possible times of the year is an excellent way to turn the Republican party and its conservative message into a serious force on the local scene. Voters who have been wondering where the Republican party has been nationally, who were puzzled over some of the more confusing aspects of the presidential campaign, can now see that at the local level there is a party advocating for a serious alternative to the tax increasing policies that have become the hallmark of Democratic leadership at almost every level of government.

A particular example of how to go about defining the debate over local issues can be found in St. Joseph County Councilman Mark Root’s opinion-editorial in the South Bend Tribune regarding the tax debate. In reporting that is clearer than the Tribune’s own reporting, Root laid out the facts and statistics of the current state of the budget and provided an explanation and roadmap for how to solve the problem. If we could see work like this from local and state and federal officials across this country on a much more frequent basis, it would help tremendously when we go to win back the majority at every level in two years and the presidency in four years. You can read the op-ed here.

Inspite of an aggressive fight to oppose the tax increase, it is probably safe to say that the tax hike will go through. The city of South Bend approved of its own tax increase last week and on Monday, December 15th, the county will vote on whether or not it will urge people to leave the county (after all, why overlook the most damaging aspect of this tax increase?). In addition to having a majority on the County Council, advocates of the tax increase have another powerful tool: public employees. Those who hold county office have not been shy about turning the budget debate into a political advantage with their department’s employees.

In an e-mail sent by an administrative assistant in the County Auditor’s office, county employees are instructed that at least two members of the County Council wish to have department heads and employees present for the final vote on the tax increase. Apparently the public opposition, which has been stiff thanks to the organized effort of the St. Joseph County GOP, is getting to the Council members and a little support from those who’s paychecks may depend on the passage of the tax increase is desired.

Here is the text of the e-mail:

We know that it is a busy time of the year, however, it is imperative that we back our local officials when they are making a tough choice to aid the budget process of St. Joseph County. Rafael Morton and Peter Mullen would like to have department heads and employees attend in support of the LOIT Resolution, to be heard at the special meeting is on Monday, December 15, 2008. Time: 5:30 p.m., Co Council Chambers 4th Floor.

Wendie M. House
Administrative Assistant
St. Joseph County Auditor
227 W Jefferson Blvd.
South Bend, IN 46601574-235-9668

Apparently when you’re having trouble winning over the public, you just bringing your government employees to stack the room against those who will be footing the bill for the tax increase.

The outcome of this battle will be interesting because the final fate of the tax increase will not be the end of the story. The end of the story will be known when we see how successful opponents of the tax increase were in rallying the public to create an electoral backlash against individuals like Mayor Luecke and Councilmen like Rafeal Morton (who, although a tax-raising Democrat, is actually a rather nice guy) and Peter Mullen. If the grassroots advocates of lower taxes win the next election, it won’t be because the issue was handed to them, but because they took an issue that came their way and played it hard.