The American Citizen Planner program, which provides training in core competencies for public planning officials, is now being offered in Indiana twice per year. The online training program is designed to help those serving on plan commissions and other volunteers interested in community planning understand the roles and responsibilities of public officials, community residents and …

Purdue Extension has offices in all ninety-two counties in Indiana. Through these offices, our educators are able to spend their workdays (and live their lives) in close proximity to their stakeholders. This constant contact offers insights that go beyond the data and builds networks that other institutions often struggle to replicate. Recently, one of our …

On September 24, 2019, Purdue Extension Community Development educator, Amanda Galloway, and Tippecanoe County Clerk, Julie Roush, presented to approximately 30 attendees of the pilot program, Elected Leadership: Running for Local Office. Participants learned more about the process for running for local office, and requirements and positions up for election in 2020. This program was conducted …

Confined Feeding Operations (CFOs) offer an efficient system to feed and house animals through specialization, increased facility size and close confinement of animals. There are roughly 19,496 CFOs in the United States. Indiana has close to 2,000 CFOs that are regulated by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) at the state level. Although the …

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled internet retailers can be required to collect sales taxes, even in areas where they have no physical presence. This ruling overturns a 1992 ruling that helped the then nascent internet commerce take off and become a billion dollar industry today. In our work with rural communities, we have heard …

Local government finance is complex and has become even more so since the implementation of the property tax caps in 2008. In 2016, taxpayers realized savings from the tax caps of over $8 million dollars, but on the other hand, this was money local governments budgeted and levied but ultimately did not receive. 2017 brought …

In a globally connected world, access to the internet can link people to a variety of resources that can be of value in their daily living, such as information on health, education, finances and more. Yet, according to an article recently published in Daily Yonder, about 31 million people (or about 10 percent of the …

This post is a part of our Local Government book club series. Join us in reading A Good Tax: Legal and Policy Issues for the Property Tax in the United States by Joan Youngman. This week’s post focuses on the fourth chapter of the book. Let’s talk about school funding and property tax. Of course …

This post is a part of our Local Government book club series.  Join us in reading A Good Tax: Legal and Policy Issues for the Property Tax in the United States by Joan Youngman.  This week’s post focuses on the third chapter of the book. How we assess or value property is a central issue …

This post is a part of our Local Government book club series.  Join us in reading A Good Tax: Legal and Policy Issues for the Property Tax in the United States by Joan Youngman.  This week’s post focuses on the second chapter of the book. When discussing tax policy, regressivity and progressivity are often used …