Annexation only will raise taxes

I attended the city council meeting on Monday, Oct. 15. On the agenda was the proposed southeast annexation.

Everyone who spoke was opposed to the annexation and all gave valid reasons, anywhere from increased taxes without any benefits to just not wanting to live in the city. Unfortunately, the city council chose not to hear everyone that wanted to speak.

This is a clear indication of how the city administration will treat us once we are annexed into the city. It doesn’t care to hear what we say now and won’t care what we say then.

For those of you who think the city will be doing you a favor by annexation, good luck. The only thing they will do for you is increase your taxes.

Furthermore, this could cause the demise of our beloved Taylor Schools Corp. It was pointed out that with annexation, it will take approximately $275,000 from our school budget.

Bill Waggoner, Kokomo

Donnelly’s Clinton remark offends many

I was completely appalled when I read the Public Eye Sunday, Oct. 14, in your paper. I could not believe what Joe Donnelly said after receiving a call from Bill Clinton saying he was coming to Indiana to campaign for Donnelly. I have quoted it below:

“A starstruck Donnelly joked about his first call with Clinton in planning the event, saying he was shocked to hear the ‘voice of God’ on the other line.”

Is this man kidding? What a ridiculous remark to make. Does he actually believe this?

Ronald Walton, Peru

Vote Stan Ortman for county council

On Nov. 6 we will be electing some very important candidates to political office. As a registered Democrat, I have been known to cross party lines when I see a quality candidate who will serve the best interest of our community. This is why I am endorsing Stan Ortman for the position of county councilman.

I have known Stan since we were teens. He attended Northwestern High School and I, of course, attended Kokomo High School and later became principal. After Stan graduated from Purdue University with a degree in agricultural economics, he came back home to manage the family farm and work in our community as a financial planner.

Stan is truly a man of integrity and high morals. He is currently serving and completing his third term as a county councilman and has served the greater Kokomo area spending eight years on the Northwestern school board, and six years on the Kokomo-Howard County Library Board. He will serve this community for the long-term interest to benefit all the people.

His track record shows a fiscally responsible agenda. While a member of the Northwestern School Corp. Board of Trustees, the corporation completed a $6.35 million construction project without raising taxes. The Northwestern schools budget was well into the black with a surplus when he left, and money was returned to the taxpayers. Stan represented Howard County in the forming of the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance, and he is presently a member of that executive board.

On the county level, as a result of his three-term leadership on the county council, we have had courthouse renovation, single frequency radios countywide for law enforcement, and administration building renovation without borrowing money or increasing taxes.

In addition, during this time the council and the county commissioners backed the new drug court program which has been a resounding success. Most recently, as a member of the council, he worked diligently with county officials to obtain $60.7 million in property taxes from Chrysler, Delphi and GM, making Howard County the only county in the country to be successful in obtaining these contested tax payments. As a result, the county returned more than $800,000 to the taxpayers in the form of a tax refund, making Howard County one of two local taxing entities to refund the double taxation.

Because of his financial and employment experience of dealing with expenditures and budgets, Stan brings a unique ability to the position of county council. Stan Ortman is and will continue to be a good steward of our monies, ensuring they will be spent for appropriate expenditures. In a time of tight money and a struggling economy, Stan Ortman runs on a platform of lower taxes.

On Nov. 6, elect a man who will look out for the interests of the people of Howard County. Vote Stan Ortman for county council.

Harold W. Canady, Kokomo