Indiana House panel advances bill to end downtown assessment district
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a bill that would shut down an assessment Indianapolis created in December to fund and aid downtown needs.
The Indiana legislature, led by a Republican supermajority, in 2023 gave the Indianapolis government the ability to create the assessment district as part of one of the House of Representatives’ top measures.
The Democrat-dominant Indianapolis City-County Council was told in November that The Mile Square Economic Enhancement District would provide is $5.5 million to be used for public safety, cleanliness and homeless outreach.
Cleaning services include street sweeping, power washing and graffiti removal. Public safety includes safety ambassadors and security upgrades. The money also would fund the city’s Housing Hub project, designed to create a shelter at Georgia and Shelby streets, and centralize other services for people experiencing homelessness.
Downtown Indy Inc. helped lead the effort to create the district.
The fee will be imposed on every property owner in the Mile Square. Residential property owners will pay $250 a year. Commercial and apartment building owners will be charged 0.1681% of their properties’ assessed value. The fee will appear on the 2025 property tax bills, and recur yearly over 10 years.
A committee of eight people to oversee the district is expected to be chosen by summer. Two board members will be appointed by the Indiana governor, one by the speaker of the Indiana House, one by the Indiana Senate pro tempore, two by the mayor, and two by the City-County Council. A majority of the board members are required to be property owners in the Mile Square area.
Property owners can’t opt out of the Mile Square Economic Enhancement District fee, which leads some to believe it’s really a tax. Some downtown business owners still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic have voiced opposition to the district.
The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday afternoon voted 15-9 to repeal the assessment district. The measure now goes to the full House for consideration. The bill would still need to be considered by the Indiana Senate and signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb before becoming law.