Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers
The (Munster) Times. April 12, 2018
Any school referendums should offer transparency
Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick noted in her visit to Lowell High School last week that referendums are becoming a staple funding mechanism that school districts across the state likely will need to consider.
She's right. Districts that succeed in giving students the instruction they need will require the extra operating revenue these referendums generate.
A state law passed in 2008 allows school districts to ask voters to approve tax increases for operating expenses or construction projects. Some districts, like Valparaiso Community Schools, have asked for both at the same time.
"If the school district is not getting enough money through the state's basic tuition support to give teachers the raises they deserve to keep programs alive, that's the trigger to say we need more money," McCormick said.
It's a request that must not be taken lightly. Ask too much, and the voters will reject it as unaffordable.
Generally speaking, school referendums are a good investment for taxpayers. The quality of local schools is an important factor in determining property values. A successful referendum shows a community is committed to quality schools, a good sign for potential home buyers.
"We're in it for the long haul with referendums," McCormick said. "We're going to see more and more of them. You won't hear a superintendent saying they'll never do it. There's so much volatility out there with the student enrollment, property tax caps, programming, graduation pathways and diploma requirements that it's become an option to generate money."
School supporters promoting a referendum must sell voters a solid plan for the use of the extra property tax revenue, and then school officials must deliver on those promises.
Any district using this tool should offer voters not only solid reasons why the existing revenue isn't enough but always how the new money would be used.
School officials should offer a solid set of metrics by which the district's use of that money should be measured, and then report on the progress throughout the lifetime of that extra revenue.
This is an important tool for school districts, but it should be used properly. School officials must make wise, measurable and transparent choices with the money gleaned from referendums if they want to make a case for extending the taxpayer funding in future votes.
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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. April 11, 2018
Regional cooperation expands opportunities
It wasn't so long ago, economic development professionals will tell you, that it was every county for itself in northeast Indiana.
Companies looking for a new location could shop around trying to get a better deal, pitting one county against a neighbor. If one county didn't have the right setting for a business, it would have been unheard of for economic development officials to tip that business off to a better situation in another county.
A dozen years ago, that dog-eat-dog philosophy began to yield to a better approach. County economic development directors came together in the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, formed to replace regional competition with regional cooperation.
Next week, elected officials and development directors will gather in Fort Wayne to reaffirm their commitment to the partnership's code of ethics, a piece of paper at the heart of this approach to attracting and growing business.
The code sets standards of conduct for those involved in economic development activities throughout the partnership's 11 counties. It was signed by area economic development officers in 2011. But it embodies principles of "trust, professionalism and cooperation" that have been in effect since the group was formed in 2006, according to President and CEO John Sampson. The April 18 ceremony is to give new economic development directors plus county commissioners and mayors the opportunity to sign.
The code, Sampson said, ultimately makes the region stronger by eliminating duplication of effort and encouraging economic development officials to share information with other counties. It also forbids economic development officials from violating confidences with their counterparts in other northeast Indiana counties and from "selling against" another northern Indiana county. Though there have been "five or six" possible violations of the code over the years, Sampson said, there are procedures for resolving such issues. The economic development directors council has never had to invoke the "death penalty" for an unrepentant violator - cutting a county off from receiving leads from the partnership.
"Economic development is not about one county," said Mark Wickersham, executive director of the Huntington County United Economic Development Corp. and one of the original signers of the code. "We work together for all of our counties to succeed as a region. It has really helped us to help each other."
Because of the trust the partnership has fostered, Wickersham said, "I'm very comfortable in calling one of my neighbors and colleagues."
A few years ago, when Novae Corp., a lightweight utility trailer company in Markle, needed to find space in an existing building, Huntington County didn't have anything that fit the company's needs, Wickersham said. So he put in a call to Bill Konyha, now chairman of the Northeast Indiana Chamber, who was then Wabash County economic development director. Konyha was able to find Novae space in a building on the edge of North Manchester.
"It wasn't much after that, that Bill called back," Wickersham said, to tip him off to an opportunity to do business with Metronet, a fiber-optic telecommunications company.
"Prior to the existence of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, that would have been unheard of," Wickersham said.
The idea that the region can accomplish more through cooperation than through internecine warfare "has distinguished us from other places in the state and across the country," Sampson said. "We're not Indianapolis, we're not Chicago ... we're Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the better we work together to bring scale to our efforts as a midsized market, it is to our advantage."
The clearest evidence that the approach works, Sampson said, is the way the area leaders came together to support the effort to leverage a $42 million Regional Cities grant into $256 million of investment in projects in 10 counties.
"The nature of the work is so highly competitive," he said. "There's a lot at stake. We're all human and we all want to win at what we do.
"But at the end of the day, we all discovered that the competitive nature of our work before 2006 was dysfunctional for this region," Sampson said. "We were hurting ourselves because were unwilling to work together."
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South Bend Tribune. April 12, 2018
Latest move in Hoosier opioid battle
Of all the steps taken by state and local governments to rein in Indiana's growing opioid crisis, the steps being taken by local physicians since 2012 may be most important.
A report in Sunday's Tribune showed that the number of prescriptions in St. Joseph County for opioids has been steadily decreasing from a high of 100 prescriptions per 100 people to about 81 prescriptions per 100 people in 2016, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The opioid epidemic has taken a heavy toll on Indiana, which ranks ninth in the country for its opioid prescription per capita and overdose rates that have more than doubled in the past three years.
Doctors acknowledge they didn't always have the best prescribing practices. But they also say they were misled by opioid manufacturers and distributors about how addictive the drugs were and whether they were the best option for treating chronic pain.
Now, instead of physicians writing prescriptions for as many as 20 to 60 pills, they may prescribe only a dozen. People prescribed opioids following emergency room visits also are prescribed fewer pills until they have time to meet with their own doctor.
Though the reductions in prescriptions is critical in the battle against opioid abuse, other measures combining with a reduction in prescriptions are having a significant impact.
The Indiana General Assembly this past session adopted a law that will require doctors to check a prescription-monitoring service before prescribing an opioid. Other laws allow for the approval of up to nine new hospital-based opioid treatment programs and an increase in the criminal penalty for drug dealing that results in a death.
Lawsuits filed by more than a dozen cities and counties - including Marshall County, which filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this year, and St. Joseph County, which plans to proceed with a civil lawsuit against drug companies - offer another prong in the attack against opioid abuse.
Taken together, all these measures offer the sort of collaborative, comprehensive approach that is desperately needed to fight a drug crisis that is sweeping through Indiana.
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The (Anderson) Herald Bulletin. April 11, 2018
Relaunching of Project Lifesaver good for community
A child with autism is curious about the lake around the corner from his house.
An elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease believes she has a doctor's appointment.
They wander away from the safety of their homes and are potentially put in harm's way.
Thanks to Madison County public safety officials, these situations wouldn't have to end badly.
Operation Lifesaver relaunched earlier this month with an updated version of the program, which helps locate medically vulnerable residents of the county who might wander away from their caregivers.
The program works by attaching a radio transmitter device to the wrist or ankle of at-risk individuals who are prone to wandering.
"Just seeing some of the events that have happened in other jurisdictions, we felt like this system would be great to bring back to Madison County," Madison County Sheriff Scott Mellinger said.
The system was used in the county from 2011 to 2014. Mellinger said that at one point, 17 people were enrolled in the program - 12 children and five adults.
With help from Community Hospital Anderson and the Community Hospital Foundation, four radio receivers - at a cost of $1,500 each - will be provided to trained volunteers with the Madison County Emergency Management Agency.
Mellinger is hoping other community service organizations step up and help raise money for clients to buy the transmitters, which cost $300 each.
According to International Project Lifesaver, rescues in July 2017 with clients wearing the transmitters included a Parkinson's patient from Markle, with a recovery time of 22 minutes, and an autistic child from Bloomington, with a recovery time of 17 minutes.
Without their transmitters, who knows the outcomes of their situations.
While Mellinger says the system isn't perfect, the use of the devices could help our vulnerable county residents from tragedies.
You can't put a cost on safety or peace of mind.
We believe that Project Lifesaver will provide an important service for the community.
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