Talking to Bilski

I talked to Ted Bilski for about 5 minutes. I really don't think that he understands the ramifictions of the COIT failing or the tax cap.

He complained that Lake Station and Hobart have tight budgets and can't afford to freeze their levy. But those communities have already hit the circuit breaker tax cap. Their levy may not be frozen, technically. But the portion that comes from homesteads is. It's being cut, in fact, because they are so far above the levy.

Bilski asked me where I thought Hobart should cut, saying that the choice was fire service or police. I think that there are plenty of places to cut, even in the fire department and police. I told him to send me a detailed budget, and that I'd find them plenty of places to cut.

He is also very naive about the state legislature changing the COIT distribution formula. That's just not going to happen. Every county in this state uses the existing distribution. If it is good enough for them, it is good enough for us. They're not going to change it.