Election Day

This coming Tuesday is an election day here in Indiana. In my township, there will be two issues on the ballot. Here is a link to the Perry Township, Marion County, Indiana ballot. I don't watch much local television and I don't read the newspaper. I haven't heard too much about these issues.

The first issue is in regards to Wishard Hospital. Wishard is in downtown Indy and is looking to build new facilities. To do this, they seek to issue bonds (get loans). Wishard is part of the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County - a quasi-government entity. As such, they can issue bonds which are guaranteed by the local government. Wishard contends that they will be able to repay their bonds with their own revenues; however, they seek government-backed bonds to receive lower interest rates.

You can read about the pro-Wishard position here. You can read one opposing view here (lots of well-informed comments on this post). I will be voting against the referendum.

I only heard about the second issue tonight while I was at my in-laws. My sister-in-law received a phone call to encourage a vote for the referendum. In this issue, the Metropolitan School District of Perry Township also seeks to issue bonds (up to almost $100M) for school renovations. I have not been able to find a good opposition website for this issue; you can visit the site which argues for the referendum here. I will be voting against this referendum as well.

While I admit freely that I do not have the context of the entire issue for either referendum, I am absolutely concerned with a further expansion of local government spending in this environment. I am not totally opposed to all local government spending. However, I do not feel that all options have been explored. Wishard serves the community but perhaps it's time for other hospitals to serve a similar purpose. Perry Township schools may well need renovation, but have we ensured that all other cost savings have been pursued prior to asking for taxpayer funded capital? I doubt it. I'll vote no.