Jeremy Lamar (Taxpayer Uncertain)

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Address: 2223 Elizaville Road, Lebanon, IN 46052
Phone: 765-482-4662
E-mail: jlamar@lamar-lamar.com
Website:

2016 City Council Voting Record

Voted NO against a county-wide 50% Local Income Tax increase that is twice what is needed for the Boone County Sheriff 2016 Business Plan – AND much of the excessive Local Income Tax increase will NOT be used to pay for new and necessary spending by other county police and fire departments: see http://www.finplaneducation.net/sheriff_business_plan.htm.

Watchdog Indiana Lebanon City Council Candidate Questions - 2015 Primary Election

Question #1: Will you support involuntary Lebanon annexation attempts, or will you only support city annexations where every property owner agrees to be annexed? Background: On November 26, 2012, the Lebanon Mayor lead the Lebanon City Council to pass an ordinance on first reading involuntarily annexing 8,270 acres in Center and Worth townships. On January 28, 2013, the Lebanon City Council amended the involuntary annexation ordinance to reduce the annexation area to 1,350 acres in Worth Township. The Lebanon Mayor and Lebanon City Council now appear to have abandoned this involuntary annexation attempt. For details see http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_worth_annexation.htm. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: Lebanon City Council Member Lamar voted for the now-abandoned predatory and illogical 2012 and 2013 annexation attempts that squandered taxpayer dollars on expenses such as an annexation fiscal plan.

Question #2: Should the Lebanon Comprehensive Plan be consistent with the Boone County Comprehensive Plan where farm land adjacent to the city is preserved for the agricultural uses that protect our rural quality of life? Background: See the Lebanon Interchange Land Use Plan at http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_interchange_plan.htm. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: It is not known if Lebanon City Council Member Lamar is taking an active role in the secretive effort to revise the Lebanon Comprehensive Plan.

Question #3: Is the willingness of the Lebanon Mayor and Lebanon City Council to award numerous 10-year tax abatements good public policy? Please include in your answer if there are any circumstances where you will support a future tax abatement for a company that does not promise to create a significant number of new jobs that pay a living wage of at least $15 an hour. Background: See the Boone County Tax Abatements at http://www.finplaneducation.net/county_tax_abatements.htm. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: All of Lebanon’s current 22 tax abatements were initially 10-year tax abatements, and Lebanon City Council Member Lamar voted to award all 22 of these tax abatements irregardless of whether or not the abatement recipients pay a living wage to their employees. Lebanon City Council Member Lamar also voted for the 10-year tax abatement awarded in 2015 to Iron Men Properties for an apartments building project.

Question #4: Are there any circumstances where you would consider including more companies within the Lebanon Tax Increment Financing District? Background: See Lebanon Business Park 2014 Property Taxes at http://www.finplaneducation.net/lbp_property_taxes.htm. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: Lebanon City Council Member Lamar voted to approve every company included within the Lebanon TIF District since 2001. Companies located within the Lebanon TIF District profit because they do not have to pay for their needed infrastructure. The property taxes paid by the companies within the Lebanon TIF District are captured by the Lebanon Redevelopment Commission to pay the debt service on infrastructure bonds while Lebanon taxpayers outside the Lebanon TIF District have higher than necessary property tax rates.

Question #5: How will you better manage the Lebanon city budget to control the city property tax rate that has steadily increased 57.13% from 54.44 cents in 2009 to 85.54 cents today (when inflation has only increased 10.50%)? Background: See Lebanon 2015 City Budget at http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_2015_budget.htm. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: Lebanon City Council Member Lamar voted for every city budget starting with the 2003 budget.

Question #6: Do you believe that local Lebanon tax dollars and utility payments should be better spent on existing needs rather than build-it-and-they-will-come wants? Please include in your answer whether you support or oppose the spending on the following projects: (a) $1.710 million from the city for the “decorative” State Road 39 bridge panels over I-65, (b) $3.469 million from the city and $8.193 million from the state for the Indianapolis Avenue roundabouts, and (c) $500,000 from the city and $824,790 from the school corporation for the conference center at Lebanon High School. Background: See Lebanon SR 39 Bridge “Gateway” Project at http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_sr39bridge_gateway.htm, Lebanon Indianapolis Avenue “Gateway” Project at http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_indyave_gateway.htm, and Herman B Wells Community Conference Center at http://www.finplaneducation.net/wells_conference_center.htm. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: Lebanon City Council Member Lamar has voted for every costly build-it-and-they-will-come proposal approved by the City Council (including the Indianapolis Avenue roundabouts project) since 2002 irregardless of the needs of those Lebanon residents on fixed incomes and the families of the 43.6% of Lebanon school students receiving free or reduced-price lunches.

Question #7: Will you oppose circumventing state law by artificially dividing up future city capital projects to prevent concerned Lebanon citizens from initiating the petition and remonstrance process? Background: The Lebanon Mayor and Lebanon City Council divided the new $4.520 million Memorial Park swimming pool into two less costly projects so the petition and remonstrance process could not be initiated to avoid the unneeded property tax increases that were imposed through 2028 – see http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_park_pool.htm. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: Instead of using the city's ample resources to pay for a new pool without a property tax increase, Lebanon City Council Member Lamar voted to have the new Memorial Park swimming pool artificially divided into two less costly projects so concerned citizens could not use the petition and remonstrance process to defeat the tax increase.

Question #8: Do you support the imposition of a Boone County Wheel Tax? Background: State law allows city and town councils to initiate a county-wide Wheel Tax. Like any action taken by the Lebanon City Council, the Lebanon Mayor can veto a Wheel Tax that is passed by the City Council and it would take a two-thirds vote of all the City Council members to override the Mayor’s veto (see Indiana Code 36-4-6-16). Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: The position of candidate Lamar on a Boone County Wheel Tax is unknown.

Question #9: Do you think Lebanon city government should be more open to citizen input? Please include in your answer if you support any of the following open government reforms: (a) allow public comment at every Lebanon City Council meeting, (b) allow public comment at all Lebanon board and commission meetings, (c) post all meeting agendas online with links to pertinent documents, and (d) post all meeting minutes online. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: Lebanon City Council Member Lamar has done little to make Lebanon city government more transparent and open to citizen input.

Question #10: Should all citizens interested in public service on a city board or commission be given the opportunity to apply, should the same person serve on multiple city boards and commissions (unless required to do so by Indiana Code), and should city employees be appointed to city boards and commissions? Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: Lebanon City Council Member Lamar has done nothing to publicize openings approved by the council on city boards and commissions so interested citizens can apply to serve their community.

Question #11: Will you accept campaign contributions from businesses, business political action committees, and business employees who benefit – or hope to benefit – from Lebanon government contracts, development subsidies, and tax abatements? Background: See Friends of Huck Lewis 2014 Campaign Receipts and Expenditures at http://www.finplaneducation.net/huck_lewis_2014.htm. Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: It is not known if candidate Lamar has received any campaign contributions.

Question #12: Do you wish to make some additional comments about your candidacy? Do you have a campaign phone number and E-mail address? Do you have a website? Answer: Has not responded. RECORD: Additional information about the record of Lebanon City Council Member Lamar since he was first elected in 2001 can be obtained from the Lebanon City Council meeting minutes (which can only be reviewed during office hours after a public records request to the Lebanon Clerk-Treasurer).

2003-05 Lebanon City Council Voting Record

Food and Beverage Tax. The Family Meals Tax approved on September 29, 2005, is Taxpayer UNfriendly. Jeremy Lamar voted YES to impose the Family Meals Tax.

Lebanon Public Library Alley Closing. A request by the Lebanon Public Library Board to close an alley that runs north and south between the existing library building and a proposed $8 million addition should NOT have been approved (in spite of the mayor's veto) on July 12, 2004, because (1) the library addition is overbuilt and extravagant, (2) the number of items borrowed by Library patrons from 1999 to 2001 decreased steadily from 147,993 to 144,494 to 142,617, and (3) closing the alley would interfere with truck deliveries to the Russell & Hitch Funeral Home. Jeremy Lamar voted YES to override the mayor's veto and close the alley.

Watchdog Indiana Lebanon City Council Candidate Questions - 2003 General Election

Question #1: What are your plans to bring high-pay, full-benefit jobs to Lebanon? DID NOT RESPOND

Question #2: Are city services adequate or inadequate to meet the needs of our population today? In two years? In four years? Please specify those areas you feel are inadequate. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #3: Compared to inflation, what percentage increase in per capita city government spending is reasonable? What percentage is unreasonable? Please explain your answers. BACKGROUND: Lebanon general fund disbursements per citizen in 2001 and 2002 increased 16.16% and 15.90% respectively from the prior year. The average annual inflation increase was 2.17%. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #4: Will you ask City Council to build a scaled-down Municipal Building without issuing bonds? Please explain your answer. BACKGROUND: City Council approved a $8,056,316 Municipal Building Project (and a $6.5 million bond issue) on August 25. Action will have to be taken before the bonds are issued if City Council is to reverse its Municipal Building decision. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #5: If $6.5 million in bonds are issued for a Municipal Building, what will you do to keep property tax and utility bills from increasing? BACKGROUND: Bond payments would start in 2004 and conclude in 2024. Money for the bond payments will come from leasing the new Municipal Building to the city for an average of $615,000 annually. The city will use COIT revenues to make the lease payments. To offset some of the COIT revenue loss, the city will sub-lease the new Municipal Building to Lebanon Utilities for about $369,000 annually (which creates the possibility of utility rate increases). It is feared property taxes will go up to replace the remaining COIT revenue loss. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #6: Do you think the alley adjacent to the Lebanon Library should be closed so the Library Board can issue $8 million in bonds to expand the Library? Please explain your answer and include your opinion regarding the Library expansion. BACKGROUND: For the Library Board to go forward with the Library expansion as currently designed, the City Council will have to approve the alley closing.
Jeremy Lamar - He is likely to follow the lead of his political friends on the library board and vote for closing the alley. October 21 Lebanon Reporter: ...I feel confident the library board is checking into every option possible to satisfy our community's needs. I look forward to making an objective decision when the board comes forward with proposals.

Question #7: Do you support property tax relief for Lebanon's homeowners? Please explain your answer. If you favor property tax relief, how do you propose re-structuring local taxes to provide such relief? BACKGROUND: One option for property tax relief is provided by Indiana Code 6-3.5-6-13 (b), which allows the Boone County Council to use County Option Income Tax revenues to increase the homestead credit by an amount up to 8 percent (from 20 to 28% in 2004). Should the County Council decide to do this, COIT revenue received by the City of Lebanon would be decreased by an amount that would be used to provide the increased homestead credit. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #8: Will you support a Lebanon City Council resolution asking the General Assembly to restore the property tax relief promised to homeowners during the 2002 special session through a Manufacturing Inventory Tax Credit or other acceptable means? Please explain your answer. BACKGROUND: The Indiana General Assembly in its 2002 special session promised a certain level of property tax relief to residential homeowners through an increase in the Homestead Credit. This year the General Assembly allowed the governor to reduce the promised Homestead Credit increase with a so-called "correction." Establishing a Manufacturing Inventory Tax Credit will allow the state to make up the inventory tax revenue the City of Lebanon will lose next year without a property tax or individual income tax increase. The inventory tax will decline next year because that is when the exemption of manufacturing inventory from inventory tax calculations will be phased in. The cost of a Manufacturing Inventory Tax Credit will be almost the same as the reduction in the Homestead Credit caused by this year's "correction." DID NOT RESPOND

Question #9: Even if the General Assembly does not establish a Manufacturing Inventory Tax Credit, what will you do to absorb next year's reduction in inventory tax revenue without a property tax or individual income tax increase? BACKGROUND: Lebanon's inventory tax revenue will decline about $500,000 next year when manufacturing inventory is exempted from inventory tax calculations. If this revenue loss is divided equally between Lebanon's general fund and TIF district, the city will have to cut spending $250,000 (about 3 percent of total general fund expenditures) to avoid a property tax increase or a personal income tax increase (through the establishment of a county economic development income tax). The TIF district has enough of a cash surplus to absorb a $250,000 loss in inventory tax revenue without a problem. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #10: If you decide that Lebanon Utilities should have a sewer rate increase, will you insist that it be offset with a water rate decrease? Please explain your answer. BACKGROUND: Dwindling net margins is one reason why wastewater utility reserves will decline to an estimated $311,252 at the end of 2003. Because of this, Lebanon Utilities plans to request a sewer rate increase next year. Water utility reserves, which are estimated to be $3,997,671 at the end of 2003, may be robust enough to absorb a water rate decrease if net margins are properly managed. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #11: Are you in favor of using public money to support a Boone County Family YMCA? Please explain your answer. BACKGROUND: Paul Kruse, Boone County Family YMCA President, insists, "We will not be seeking or requesting public funds. We will be raising funds from memberships, donations and grants to pay for everything, in the same fashion as all other YMCAs." DID NOT RESPOND

Question #12: Do you support a new Local Option Highway User Tax (or "wheel tax") on all vehicles registered in the County? Please explain your answer. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #13: Do you support a stop light on State Road 39 at the Flying J Truck Stop? Please explain your answer. DID NOT RESPOND

Question #14: Do you wish to make some additional comments about your candidacy? Do you have a website? What is your preferred E-mail address? DID NOT RESPOND

This page was last updated on 10/12/16 .