Indianapolis, IN

The battle of epic proportions is nearing its end. The teams are bloodied, tired, but nonetheless trying to move on with the next move. Shots have been fired left and right, but the war is possibly reaching its climactic finish…..Is this an excerpt from the War in Iraq? Nope. A play-by-play of a Colts game? Strike 2…So what is it?

The Indiana Supreme court ruled that Carmel, the booming mecca suburb north of Indianapolis, can annex the Southwest Clay Township, as well as Home Place. What’s the big deal? Well, consider this–Carmel already has a worth of over 6 billion dollars–and by annexing the 8 square miles that Southwest Clay represents, they increase that worth 25%–to almost 8 billion.

Now that’s a lot of zeros.

This has gone on for quite some time, as Carmel has repeatedly worked with community groups to work in the two areas’ best interests, but the main concerns of the wealthy neighborhood of SW Clay is that the property taxes will “skyrocket”. But what isn’t being really noted by many of these individuals is that why they have had to pay for their taxes (somewhat) into the school and park system, they have been able to take advantage of the excellence of these two major items while Carmel residents have gotten the same things at a higher cost. So, my feeling on the matter is–it’s about time.

You want to whine about your property taxes going up? That the services you pay for aren’t really your “bag” or what you even use? Pucker up, buttercup. If it means you take one less vacation to Europe or decide to go with the H3 instead of the luxury Lexus SUV, so be it. If you can afford the multi-million dollar homes in the first place, the property tax hike (which really is an increase of 1.74 to 2.09 per 100) overall is not something to go into foreclosure for.

However, critics have warned that this is history repeating itself, and that the wealthy will seek refuge at another place where the taxes and what not are lower. I’m not really following that concept, because realistically here in this town, you can’t beat the things that Carmel offers. This is a city that has grown by leaps and bounds in services and things to do, and it’s reached a level of national prominence. No longer is Carmel competing for business with other Indy suburbs, but they are actually volleying against other midwestern large-scale cities. You can’t ask much more of a “burb”.

Clay residents can take solace in the fact that they won’t have to pay the full municipal tax for another 5 years. I’m sure during this time that sound you will hear from that area will be the moaning of groaning of what’s to come, and not what they’ve already gotten for it or will get. Talk about looking at the glass half-empty.

Carmel Indiana, Indianapolis, annexation, Clay township, Carmel, property taxes