This is the first in a series of Wednesday campaign ad letters in The Lebanon Reporter introducing Aaron Smith and his Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan. This letter explains why Aaron is an Independent candidate.

Harry Gibson, who resides on Dover Court in Lebanon, was kind enough to write in an E-mail to Aaron, "I have followed you in The Lebanon Reporter and agree with most of your positions. We certainly need someone on the Council with a ‘hey wait a minute’ attitude on major decisions."

Aaron has attended many meetings the past three years of 30 elected and appointed Lebanon and Boone County government units, and has often written letters to the editor expressing his opinions on the various local public policy matters covered during these meetings. Aaron can express his opinions freely because he is not a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Tea Party member, DINO, or RINO – he can say "hey wait a minute" without fear of partisan rebuke.

Because Aaron is an Independent, he is free to partner with anyone who has a Taxpayer Friendly idea regardless of party affiliation. Some successful partnerships include (a) opposition to the illogical and predatory 2012 and 2013 Lebanon annexation attempts of farm land in Center and Worth townships, (b) opposition to the exorbitantly expensive City of Lebanon Interchange land Use Plan that threatens 1,000 acres of Center Township farm land outside the city limits south of the I-65 and US 39 intersection, (c) defeat of the 2013 proposed Boone County I-65 North Overlay District that would have improperly emphasized office and business development in place of agriculture preservation, (d) denial by the state of an unneeded 2014 Boone County Cumulative Capital Development property tax rate increase after a successful petition drive, and (e) continued opposition to an unneeded and regressive Boone County Wheel Tax.

As an Independent, Aaron is free to support or propose Taxpayer Friendly local public policies and budgets that are results-oriented, compassionate, and fiscally responsible. Every Lebanon voter is encouraged to Google "Watchdog Lebanon" and "Watchdog Indiana" to determine if Aaron’s record of Taxpayer Friendly activism makes him a good candidate for public service as an At-Large Member of the Lebanon City Council. You can E-mail Aaron at
taxless3@comcast.net or call him at (765) 891-1439.

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith

This is the second in a series of campaign ad letters introducing Aaron Smith and the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan. This letter outlines the problems the Smart Growth Plan is meant to help solve.

Aaron and his wife of 43 years, Jessica, moved to Lebanon in 2001 to be near their only son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. Lebanon was chosen to be home because of the rural quality of life and moderate cost of living. The relative quality of the school system, with its then 21 percent of students receiving free or reduced price lunches, was also an indicator factor in selecting Lebanon as home.

Three problems have developed in Lebanon since 2001: see http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_tax_rates.htm

(1) Lebanon has almost stopped growing. From 1990 through 2007, the Lebanon population increased an average of 192 residents each year. Lebanon’s population increased only 23 residents per year since 2007 (excluding the 2009 I-65 south annexation). Lebanon’s 1.02 percent population growth the past seven years was significantly slower than the statewide 3.41 percent growth rate and the Boone County 13.52 percent growth rate.

(3) Too many Lebanon school students receive free lunches because of low family incomes. Generous tax abatements and Tax Increment Financing infrastructure subsidies have been awarded without any consideration of whether the recipient companies pay a Get-Ahead Wage. The many low wage jobs in the Lebanon Business Park are partly responsible for the proportion of Lebanon school students who receive free or reduced price lunches having increased from 21 percent in 2001 to 41 percent today.

Please Google "Watchdog Lebanon" and click on "Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan" for ideas on how to help solve these three problems. You can also E-mail Aaron at taxless3@comcast.net or call him at (765) 891-1439 to discuss the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan.

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith

This is the third in a series of campaign ad letters introducing Aaron Smith and the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan. This letter presents Aaron’s priorities and emphasizes the importance of workforce development.

Aaron has three priorities.

1. The families whose incomes are low enough that their children qualify for free or reduced price school lunches.

2. Retired persons living on a fixed income.

3. Everyone else.

Aaron’s first consideration for every city council decision will be if the proposal is Taxpayer Friendly for the families of the 41.4 percent of Lebanon school students on the subsidized lunch program and retirees on fixed incomes.

Workforce development is vitally important to helping Lebanon parents earn a Get-Ahead Wage so their children do not need free or reduced price school lunches. Please Google "Watchdog Lebanon" and click on "Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan" to access the "Workforce Development Options" web page.

There are numerous workforce development options for continuing education after high school graduation to help Lebanon students and adults attain the skills needed to pursue fulfilling careers that pay a Get-Ahead Wage. These options are provided by the Lebanon school system, Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Lebanon WorkOne Center, Lebanon Vincennes University Education Center, Hoosier Initiative for Re-Entry (for ex-offenders), Boone County Corrections and Probation, and Boone County Sheriff.

Aaron wants to help better coordinate the various stakeholders and convince the community that ongoing workforce development is a crucial factor in attracting employers to Lebanon that pay a Get-Ahead Wage. We need to make continuing education after high school a core community value that helps keep our young adults at home in Lebanon.

Please E-mail Aaron at taxless3@comcast.net or call him at (765) 891-1439 to discuss the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan. Please stop by and visit with Aaron at the Back To The Fifties Festival this Saturday!

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith

This is the fourth in a series of campaign ad letters introducing Aaron Smith and the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan. This letter explains why Aaron wants to preserve the rural quality of life in central Boone County.

Aaron believes the 2009 Boone County Comprehensive Plan, which was prepared after meaningful county-wide public input, meets its goal of achieving "a balance between future growth and economic development with a plan that focuses on agriculture as an economic development industry and maintains the rural character and quality of life that so many Boone County residents enjoy and cherish." Aaron wants the Lebanon Comprehensive Plan to be consistent with the Boone County Comprehensive Plan where farm land adjacent to the city is preserved for those agricultural uses that protect our rural quality of life.

Aaron supports only voluntary city annexations where every property owner agrees to be annexed. Sensible industrial growth should occur adjacent to the Lebanon Business Park and west along SR 32 where infrastructure can be frugally extended. The infrastructure is in place for residential growth in the northern areas of the city.

A recent Boone County water study estimates that Lebanon’s peak water demand will increase 315 percent the next 20 years and create a water shortage. Lebanon will have no water shortage if the peak water demand increases less than 170 percent. In other words, there will be a water shortage if Lebanon allows indiscriminate Fishers-like growth. Aaron’s vision for Lebanon does not include becoming another Fishers, and his belief in smart growth will preserve our rural quality of life and water resources.

The Boone County Comprehensive Plan properly envisions Lebanon as a buffer protecting some of the best farm land in the world from rapid growth in the southeast quadrant of the county. Lebanon can benefit by extolling the virtues of a rural quality of life in an effort to attract young families to purchase their first home in Lebanon. It is not an exaggeration that Boone County has some of the best farm land in the world. Aaron wants Lebanon to help keep feeding the world by preserving our precious rural quality of life.

Please E-mail Aaron at taxless3@comcast.net, call him at (765) 891-1439, or Google "Watchdog Lebanon" for details about the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan.

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith

This is the fifth in a series of campaign ad letters introducing Aaron Smith and the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan. This letter presents Aaron’s ideas for meaningful public input to help the city make good decisions.

In addition to the City Council, there are eight city boards that meet regularly. Aaron wants each of these government bodies to include public comment in every meeting agenda. Public comment should be welcome on specific agenda items as well as non-agenda topics. At a minimum, the City Council must conform to City Code 31.06(A) and include petitions or comments of citizens in its order of business.

Aaron wants Lebanon to follow the open government lead of Whitestown and post online well ahead of time all meeting agendas together links to the pertinent documents that will be considered. All meeting minutes should be readily available online.

In addition, Aaron believes all interested citizens should be given the opportunity to apply for public service on a city board or commission. The same person should not serve on multiple city boards and commissions (unless required to do so by state law). The practice of appointing city employees to serve on city boards and commissions should be avoided because conflicts of interest can occur. It is particularly important to make open to the public every meeting where Lebanon Comprehensive Plan revisions are considered.

Finally, Aaron supports the transparency initiatives of Lebanon Mayor candidate Matt Gentry. All city meetings should be streamed live online and archived for convenient review. A City of Lebanon Transparency Portal should be created to allow citizens to view the city budget and track expenditures.

Please E-mail Aaron at taxless3@comcast.net, call him at (765) 891-1439, or Google "Watchdog Lebanon" for details about the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan.

Make arrangements to talk with Aaron on Wednesday September 30 and Thursday October 1 (weather permitting). He will be seated on a public bench in front of the Lebanon Public Library both days from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Aaron wants to meet everyone to discuss the Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan and get additional ideas on how to make Lebanon an even better place to call home.

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith

Dear Lebanon Voters,

Since early voting started yesterday, I wish to explain why my campaign is different – why I have no yard signs, no T-shirts, no Facebook page, no telephone polls, no manipulative direct mail, no poll workers, no professional campaign consultant – why my campaign consists primarily of this ongoing series of newspaper ad letters, the Watchdog Lebanon website, and personal contacts. I am not soliciting campaign contributions because I am reluctant to ask you to invest your hard-earned dollars in a campaign that defies conventional wisdom – and I refuse to accept campaign contributions from those who wish to benefit from city contracts, development subsidies, and tax abatements.

I want to be elected only if you think the Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan will help solve our problems of stagnant population growth, cost of living increases from high municipal property taxes and utility rates, and too many of our children on free and reduced price school lunches because of low family incomes. Instead of relying on the usual name recognition tactics, I want to share with you why I think the following priorities are important for our future: (1) better workforce development cooperation, (2) preservation of our precious rural quality of life, (3) increased meaningful public input through a more open city government, (4) controlling our tax and utility rate burdens by spending on needs rather than build-it-and-they-will-come wants, and (5) awarding tax abatements and Tax Increment Financing infrastructure subsidies to only those companies that create a significant number of new jobs that pay a Get-Ahead Wage of at least $20 an hour together with an acceptable benefits package. My first consideration for every city council decision will be if the proposal is Taxpayer Friendly for the families of the 41.4 percent of Lebanon school students on the subsidized lunch program and retirees on fixed incomes.

E-mail me at taxless3@comcast.net, call me at (765) 891-1439, or Google "Watchdog Lebanon" for details about the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan. I pledge to be your public servant if you think the Plan will help Lebanon – and that I am a capable advocate for the Plan.

Sincerely,

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith

Dear Lebanon Voters,

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator covers likely taxes plus costs of minimum food, child care, health care, housing, transportation, and other basic necessities. The Boone County per-adult full-time MIT Living Wage hourly rate needed to meet basic needs without public or private assistance is (a) $11.44 for 2 Adults (both working) and 1 Child, (b) $19.85 for 2 Adults (one working) and 1 Child, (c) $20.72 for 1 Adult and 1 Child, and (d) $24.80 for 1 Adult and 2 Children.

A full time job earning at least $20 an hour would be a Get-Ahead Wage for many Lebanon families. There would be sufficient household income to meet basic needs, plan for emergencies, and provide for long-term goals. In addition, the percentage of Lebanon students who qualify for subsidized lunches should be significantly reduced.

A target Get-Ahead Wage of at least $20 an hour will help identify (1) which workforce development programs will best help Lebanon residents and (2) which companies should be awarded tax abatements and Tax Increment Financing infrastructure subsidies. The public and private assistance costs are too high when Lebanon residents settle for, and elected officials incentivize, low wage jobs.

Future tax abatements and TIF infrastructure subsidies should be awarded to only those companies that create a significant number of new jobs that pay a Get-Ahead Wage of at least $20 an hour with full benefits. Tax abatements and infrastructure subsidies should not be awarded to either apartment owners or speculative building owners when it is not known if the eventual building occupants will create new jobs that pay a Get-Ahead Wage. Lebanon already has enough low-wage starter jobs. We must be smart and only award incentives to high-wage employers.

E-mail me at taxless3@comcast.net, call me at (765) 891-1439, or Google "Watchdog Lebanon" for more details about the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan. I pledge to be your public servant if you think the Plan will help Lebanon – and that I am a capable Plan advocate.

Sincerely,

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith

Dear Lebanon Voters,

Please go to the Watchdog Lebanon website to identify what I believe are good and bad uses of taxpayer dollars.

Two glaringly bad uses of taxpayer dollars include (1) $1.88 million for lighted "decorative" SR 39 bridge panels and (2) $11.66 million ($3.47 million local) for unneeded Indianapolis Avenue "gateway" roundabouts.

The city imposed a property tax increase to pay off the $4 million in bond issues used to build the new Memorial Park swimming pool. Annual bond payments will average $381,598 the next 12.5 years. Ample city reserves should have been used to build the pool without a tax increase.

The Lebanon Redevelopment Commission provided $500,000 cash and the Lebanon Schools spent $824,790 from its referendum bond issue to construct the Lebanon High School Conference Center. The Conference Center is an unneeded "vanity" project that is in banquet hall competition with the private sector and increases LHS utility costs.

Phase Two of the unneeded Indianapolis Avenue "gateway" roundabouts project should be cancelled to save up to $1.14 million in local tax dollars that could be better spent on road and sidewalk improvements throughout the city.

We must thoroughly determine and discuss the pros and cons of the $8.95 million bicycle and pedestrian master plan components before making costly expenditures for infrastructure changes that many residents may find undesirable.

Finally, the city must use its ample cash reserves to help homeowners correct their improper pump sump connections to prevent sewage treatment plant overloads and raw sewage backups into homes during heavy rains.

A few of the Lebanon Taxpayer Friendly Smart Growth Plan ideas are included in this letter. Please E-mail me at taxless3@comcast.net, call me at (765) 891-1439, or Google "Watchdog Lebanon" for more Plan details. I pledge to be your public servant if you think the Plan will help Lebanon – and that I am a capable advocate for the Plan.

Sincerely,

Paid for by Elect Aaron Watchdog Smith