To the Editor:
Greenwood is a great place to live and raise a family. The residents deserve a mayor who will listen to the people. The mayor should work within the budget to provide services to the city that are needed and should avoid raising taxes every chance he gets to fund his pet projects. This letter is to explain why my family is endorsing Joe Hubbard for mayor of Greenwood for the primary on May 2, 2023.
As a State Representative for 32 years whose district was in Johnson County, I repeatedly was forced to carry legislation to keep Mayor Mark Myers from raising taxes on the city. In 2012, Myers asked me to carry a bill to raise the food and beverage tax for the city of Greenwood only. I explained that I didn’t believe in supporting a tax specifically for one city. Numerous attempts had failed at the Statehouse over the years and eventually, a bill passed to allow the city councils across the state to vote for food and beverage taxes for their own cities. Greenwood then voted to start this tax.
Myers also tried to start a new tax program called the PILOT Program, or Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes. This program would have allowed the city to tax properties such as churches, private schools and hospitals. I authored a bill to stop that from happening anywhere in Indiana. As a result, the Legislature stopped Myers’ attempts to tax churches and other non-profit organizations.
Myers also expanded the Clark Township Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, District to capture Clark-Pleasant School funding for the city of Greenwood. He also annexed a major manufacturing plant in the Clark Township tax district, again, to capture Clark-Pleasant School funding for the city of Greenwood.
In 2019 there was a proposal made by Myers to take over control of the White River Township Fire Department. This would have given the tax revenue for the fire department to the City of Greenwood. Legislation was introduced in the Senate to prevent this from happening.
Whenever Myers asked me to help him with a problem, for instance getting the funding and approval to expand the Greenwood Airport, I did. I went to Washington D.C. with him and helped him to connect with my brother, Congressman Dan Burton. As a result, the airport was expanded.
I have lived and worked in Greenwood for a significant portion of my adult life. My wife and I now live in Whiteland, but we still own property in the city of Greenwood. I encourage each Greenwood resident to look at their recent property tax statements and pay special attention to the amount of taxes collected for the city. Almost all property taxpayers saw increases in their property taxes this year as a direct result of Myers’ failed leadership for the citizens of Greenwood.
That is why on Tuesday, May 2 I encourage you to vote for Joe Hubbard as the next mayor of Greenwood.
Woody Burton, former State Rep.
