A primary driver of my interest in the Hamilton County Leadership Academy was having a better understanding of the inner workings of local government. From my perspective, we give too much time and attention to federal government and too little consideration to the impact of local government. As I reflect on our day committed to County & Municipal government, our HCLA program coordinators and facilitators once again provided a first-class experience by providing acumen building content and resources fit for our wide range of cohort knowledge. In an effort to stay organized and concise, I’m going to focus on my top 3 most impactful moments of the day:
1.Mayor Scott Fadness: Our morning started with a visit from Scott Fadness, the Mayor of Fishers. I found his perspective on politics refreshing and his vision for Fishers to be inspiring. Mayor Fadness shared that he never envisioned a political career, instead he wanted to have a tangible impact in his community as an aspiring city manager. This apolitical point of view has allowed for decisions to be driven by what is best for the city rather than satisfying political ambitions. Among those decisions that I found to be forward thinking was designing the new Fishers City Hall so that no municipal offices are on the first floor. Instead, the first floor is committed to the Fishers Art Center, a beautiful space to which community members will be drawn. Mayor Fadness also shared that he visits with 3rd graders on Fridays to instill civic pride and generate interest in local government at an early age.
2.Primer on TIF: There’s a relatively well-known meme called “Math Lady” where a woman carries a series of confused looks overlaying various complicated math equations. This image best sums up my understanding of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) going into the day. To me it seemed complicated and risky to use projected future value of property to make financial decisions today. What I learned is that TIF is a value capture tool, and if used correctly can build a density-focused tax base that the Indiana property tax caps might limit otherwise. I came away from the presentation with an appreciation for the pivotal role TIF plays in Hamilton County development and the important dynamic of public and private partnerships to create TIF opportunities.
3.Who Has the Power/Mock City Council Meeting: In the afternoon, we had a chance to role up our sleeves and put municipal government into practice. It started with a panel of both city and county representatives providing clarity of responsibility. We learned that, similar to the federal government, our mayors/commissioners are the executive branch of municipal government, while councils are the legislative and fiscal branch. After that conversation we were joined by Darren Peterson, president of the Noblesville City Council. Darren led us through a mock council meeting where our cohort had a chance to work through a prior city vote through all lenses as council members and community members.
Our introduction to County & Municipal Government did not disappoint. It was a great learning environment and built a foundational understanding of government in our community. As I look to what action can I take as a member of the Hamilton County community, I believe it is simple: vote and engage with elected officials. My wife once texted me a picture of the back of a t-shirt that says, “The mayor from Jaws is still the mayor in Jaws 2. It is so important to vote in your local elections.” While the analogy is funny, it is also apropos. Mayor Fadness shared in his presentation that he finds elected leaders in Hamilton County to be very accessible, and it was reiterated by our County Commissioner Christine Altman that local government is responsible for our services. It very much matters that we have the right people in the right positions of county and municipal government, but successful government very much relies on the productive engagement of its citizens.