New contest gives winning city a grad student for a year
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Indiana mayors get to duke it out for a fancy new prize. It's not cash. Or a trophy. It's … a grad student.
The big picture: The Goldsmith Prize for Innovation in Local Government, created by the Sagamore Institute, invites the state's 500-plus cities and towns to submit their biggest, boldest ideas for how to make their communities more resilient, sustainable and vibrant places to live.
- One winner will get a graduate student for a year to help develop and implement the idea.
Why it matters: Indiana's cities and towns are entering a challenging new era. Mayors say they feel like expectations from citizens are at an all-time high, but so too are constraints on resources.
State of play: Senate Enrolled Act 1 overhauled the state's property tax system. Among the most impactful changes have been a credit to most homeowners on their property tax bills and a major increase in the business personal property tax exemption.
- Mayors we talked with Wednesday said that they're still working to understand the full fiscal impact of the changes but that it's clear they'll lose a significant amount of revenue they'd otherwise been expecting.
- Several said they will consider or are considering raising local income taxes to offset the property tax losses.
Greensburg Mayor Joshua Marsh said he won't rule out any "tools that are in our toolbox to make up the lost revenue."
- "Communities are not immune to rising prices and wages," he said. "While everyone is property tax conscious, there is a continued demand to provide the services and the expertise, but that comes at a cost."
- "So we're very, very concerned about what that looks like long term."
Between the lines: The creators of the Goldsmith Prize asked current and former mayors what they'd be interested in winning. They all shared a constraint on time, talent and resources, Sagamore president Teresa Lubbers said.
- "While we can't solve all those items or problems, we did develop an idea to hopefully serve as a tool to help," she said.
The award is named for Steve Goldsmith, mayor of Indianapolis from 1992-2000.
- "Your challenges today are really quite substantial, but you've got the best job in America," Goldsmith, now a professor at Harvard University, told the 50 or so mayors gathered for the announcement of the prize.
What they're saying: Goldsmith "challenged us mayors to be more innovative and save money," said Richmond Mayor Ron Oler. "In light of everything that's happened with Senate Bill 1 and [the state budget], we're certainly faced with that challenge."
- Oler said Richmond will have to increase the local income tax or make significant cuts to local services.
- "The governor wants us to shift away from business personal property tax to income tax, and we'll simply be forced to do it," he said.
How it works: The contest is open to every mayor in the state.
- The application window is open until July 31.
- Each mayor can submit a new idea or an existing one the community would like to scale.
- The winner will receive a graduate student with expertise in the project field who will be dedicated to leading the innovative effort in the community for a year.
- The prize will pay the student a one-year stipend for their work.