Indy CIB Bailout Fails Out

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(STATEHOUSE) - Indianapolis came up empty in its attempts to shore up the finances of the board which oversees the city’s downtown stadiums.

Legislators passed a bill to let Monroe and Vanderburgh Counties raise or extend food and beverage taxes. But a package of local-option taxes for Indy's Capital Improvement Board never came together.

"There was no groundswell of support from anybody that I have seen in the Indianapolis area, whether it's the mayor or the city(-county) council," says conference committee chairman Rep. Phil Giaquinta (D-Fort Wayne). "Frankly, (it's) rather pathetic."

Giaquinta rejects charges from House and Senate Republicans that the bailout was held hostage as leverage for the budget. Giaquinta notes the issue wasn't even raised until a month ago, and says Indianapolis legislators should have taken the lead in pushing it.

Four of the eight senators representing Marion County voted against a bailout plan in the Senate, the only vote taken in either chamber on the idea. Legislators were eying potential increases in hotel, rental car and ticket taxes, and a recapture of sales and income taxes from the new Marriott Hotel downtown.

Mayor Greg Ballard had urged a recapture of taxes from Circle Centre Mall and the Westin and Hyatt Hotels as well, but legislators had rejected that idea, saying it would take money out of the state's pocket at a time when legislators are already struggling to craft a new budget.

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