Property taxes, public schools, and healthcare were among the topics constituents questioned three area legislators about during a packed town hall meeting Saturday in Highland.
About 100 people, many sitting or standing around the perimeter of the room or standing in the hall, gathered at the Lincoln Community Center to hear from State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster, State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, and State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago.
Andrade, who organized the town hall, said his public forums typically draw about 25 people, so he was pleased with the strong turnout.
“This is the most people we’ve had. This is amazing,” Andrade said.
Senate Bill 1, which aims to lower property taxes, contains a variety of measures to lower property taxes of homeowners, which have seen considerable increases in the past 5 years. It would change the percentage cap used to determine the maximum levy growth quotient for municipalities and counties to 0% in 2026, 1% in 2027 and 2% in 2028; and it would allow a county fiscal body to establish a property tax payment deferral program, where up to $10,000 can be deferred and the deferment becomes a lien on the property.
Senate Bill 1 would give tax relief to those 65 years old and older and those who are disabled, as well as establish a first-time home buyer tax credit. It would allow for local governments to utilize a levy referendum during even-year general elections.
The Senate amended the bill to remove Braun’s property tax relief plan he campaigned on. The bill initially stated a homestead standard deduction amount of 60% of the homestead’s assessed value if the value is more than $125,000 or $48,000 plus 60% of the remaining assessed value if the homestead has an assessed value of $125,000 or less.
But school districts and municipalities balked at the $4.1 billion that would have been taken out of their budgets over three years and amended it to $1.4 billion in cuts across the state between 2026 and 2025, including $370.9 million from schools, $67 million from libraries, $304.3 million from cities and towns, and $346.6 million from counties.
Braun is dissatisfied with the amended bill and has threatened to veto it, so State Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, stripped out the current text and substituted language from House Bill 1402, which he authored and didn’t pass out to the House last month, and will unveil it on Wednesday.
Dernulc said he has been working with Lake County Finance Director Scott Schmal to suggest modifications to Senate Bill 1. While Indiana residents don’t want to pay higher property taxes, Dernulc said “there has to be balance.”
“What the governor has proposed is extremely noble. I personally think if we’re going to move in that direction, we can’t do it all in one fell swoop,” Dernulc said. “We have to get schools and locals on board.”
Residential property taxes have increased because since 2019 the assessed value of homes has increased by more than 50%, while businesses have increased at a lower rate, Andrade said.
“We need to totally modify this and ensure that the commercial people — your BP’s, your U.S. Steel’s, your big corporations, your malls — they are paying their fair share because they are not. So the burden falls on us, the homeowners,” Andrade said.
As Senate Bill 1 stands, homeowners will receive $24 relief a month while local entities will lose a significant amount of funding, Andrade said. For example, with decreases over the next three years, the Town of Highland will lose $164,000 by 2028 and the School Town of Highland will lose $402,000 by 2028, he said.
“We have to ensure that we are passing a comprehensive tax relief bill for the constituents while ensuring that other entities are paying their fair share,” Andrade said.
Terry Steagall, a Highland resident, said the legislators have to push back on Senate Bill 1, so that police, fire, schools and local governments are funded.
“They need to start the other way. They need to figure out how much money they need and then figure out the tax rate,” Steagall said.
Randolph said Senate Bill 1 will take money away from counties, cities, towns, public schools and libraries, which means those entities would have “less funds to be able to provide services for you.”
When combining Senate Bill 1 with Senate Bill 518, Randolph said public schools will be hit hard financially.
Senate Bill 518, authored by Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, would require corporations to share funds with charters within their attendance boundaries as of May 2025 if 100 or more students leave the district for charters.
Urban communities with several charters, including Gary, will be impacted if the bill passes, according to Post-Tribune archives. But the bill stipulates that Gary School Community School Corporation would be exempt from revenue sharing until 2028 due to its distressed status.
Dernulc said he’s “a school choice guy,” but he voted against Senate Bill 518 when it was considered by the Senate.
“I think that should stay with the public schools,” Dernulc said. “I do believe we do need a good public school system.”
Wayne Hayes asked how the state can afford to give money to charter schools while cutting funding to public education. Hayes asked Dernulc his justification for supporting those positions.
“I just think that the money should follow the kids,” Dernulc said.
A few people shouted out “fund the schools” in response. One man said that everybody is a taxpayer, so if they want a voucher, they should get a voucher.
Claudia Craig, of Munster, shouted out, “It’s not a fair playing field, my friends,” which some people clapped for.
When asked to require schools to prominently display information on their websites for how much money is spent per student, Dernulc deflected the responsibility to superintendents. A woman shot back that he “cares about education,” Dernulc said he also cares about public safety, roads and “a lot of other things.”
Parents should be able to choose where to send their children to school, but the state has to ensure it is “being fair” about the money allocated to education, Andrade said.
“We have to ensure that we’re creating solutions, not problems, by funding properly our schools,” Andrade said.
Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, authored Senate Bill 2 which would place restrictions on Medicaid, like work requirements on an insurance program for Hoosiers with a medium income and between the ages of 19 to 64.
The bill also creates a program cap, which threatens access for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers. The bill includes 11 exemptions for the work requirement, including volunteering, receiving unemployment or participating in a substance abuse program.
Andrade said the bill’s cap would kick off about 250,000 Hoosiers who are in the Medicaid program. Senate Bill 2 has moved to the House, Andrade said, so he will have a chance to review the bill’s fiscal impact as a member of the House Ways and Means committee.
Pointing to research from Ball State University, Randolph said it has been proven that work requirements and caps on Medicaid hurt those who qualify for the program. It’s unclear how much Indiana will save under Senate Bill 2, he said.
Craig said she travels from Munster to Chicago to work for better pay and work conditions as a nurse at a hospital there. She asked about the state government’s responsibility to ensure that Indiana hospitals remain open.
Randolph said with Congress debating Medicaid and Social Security cuts, the state will have “less money to work with” to help fund hospital and healthcare services.
