1. What’s the current status?
On April 25th the petitions remonstrating against the forced annexation were filed with the Hamilton County Superior Court. We more than exceeded the required minimum of 65%—more than 65% of the property owners signed petitions.
The next step is for the court to certify the petitions and set a trial date; the date is supposed to be set within 60 days of our filing; the trial itself may not take place for several months.
2. Are we already annexed?
On January 28th the Fishers Town Council—despite incredible protests by homeowners—adopted the three Geist annexation ordinances. Technically we’re annexed. If we don’t fight them in court they win by default without having to do anything else. So, to court we must go. If we win, the ordinances are nullified.
3. Does the new property tax cap make this all moot?
The Fishers Town Council has not said our taxes won’t be higher if we are annexed.
And, they have not modified the annexation fiscal plans. As far as we know they still seem pretty intent on spending our money on parks and fire stations and roads and personnel and other services we do not use, do not need, and do not want.
Many of this issues that caused us to fight this in the first place have not changed:
- Forced annexation—being annexed against our will
- Taxation without representation—forced annexation by those who we did not elect nor represent our interests
- Forcing us to pay for services we don’t need or want
- Nefarious claims that we are “stealing services” –we pay for all of the services we receive, which are provided by the county and township
- Threats and innuendo by the Town Council
- Loss of the Geist community identity
Our lawyers have advised us not to address the property tax cap law directly, else we risk being hauled into court by Fishers and lambasted for discussing the law. A question you might ask yourself though—and we make no claim nor offer any advice one way or the other: if your property taxes go below the 1% cap with the new shift in tax funding, might they go back up to the 1% cap if annexed, taking away much of the relief you had otherwise gained?
4. How much have I saved so far?
Using the tax figures presented by the Fishers Town Council, property taxes would have gone up 16.45% provided you would have qualified for the various tax credits.
Had we been annexed back in November 2005, using Fishers numbers, you would have paid:
Home Value Annual Tax Increase Over 3 years
$250,000 $451 $1353
$500,000 $1,010 $3030
$750,000 $1,568 $4704
$1,000,000 $2,127 $6381
This is over and above what you were already paying.
Because we have been successfully fighting this forced annexation, every homeowner has saved a lot of money.
What happens next under the new property tax law remains to be seen.
5. Can we beat Fishers in court? Isn’t annexation inevitable?
Yes to the first and No to the latter.
We have more than the requisite number of remonstration petitions signed and filed with the court.
Our attorney’s have said we have a very strong and defensible case. So the likelihood of winning is very good.
If we win, under current state law, Fishers can’t try to annex us again for four years. That gives us time to get the state law changed outlawing forced annexations—a bill to do so passed the Senate this year, but didn’t get a hearing in the House due to other legislative pressures; this suggests that next year we’ll have a good chance of getting the law changed.
Even if for some reason we don’t win, we will have held them off in court for probably another two or three years meaning two or three years of more tax savings.
It is vital that we obtain the necessary funding to continue the battle in court. As you might guess, the Town Council is pulling out all of the stops—they evidently don’t care how much this will cost the taxpayers in Fishers—have engaged, last we heard, five law firms to fight us.
6. Who is the GUO and how are they funded?
Geist United Opposition (GUO) is really all of us who are against being forcibly annexed into the Town of Fishers by the Fishers Town Council.
More specifically, the GUO board is comprised of eleven Geist property owners, plus several other ad hoc and ex officio members, who have dedicated the last two and a half years of their lives to organizing and coordinating our collective fight against forced annexation. They are your neighbors and friends.
Funding to pay lawyers and expert witnesses, mailings, and public meeting expenses comes from donations made by the property owners affected by the annexation, plus a few concerned businesses. However, there is no corporate sponsorship or angel hiding in the wings and footing the bill. All of the money comes from people like you who don’t want to pay higher taxes in return for nothing and/or who don’t want to be subject to the type of government promulgated by the Fishers Town Council.
7. How can I donate?
Click on the Donate Now link to pay by credit card; or, mail a check to Geist United Opposition, PO Box 56023, Indianapolis, IN 46256. No donation is too small or too large—just think about your tax savings.
8. What about the claims made that I’m using Fishers services and not paying for them?
What services? The residents and property owners of the Geist area (the unincorporated areas of Fall Creek Township) receive police protection from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office (for which we pay taxes), fire and EMS services from the Township (for which we pay taxes), streets and roads from Hamilton County (for which we pay taxes), water service from Indianapolis Water Company (for which we pay fees), and sewer service from Hamilton Southeastern Utilities (for which we pay fees).
Yes, Fall Creek Township has a contract with the Fishers Fire Department to provide fire protection and EMS services. But, that is a contract between the Township and the Town of Fishers. While the Town likes to claim that the Township isn’t paying enough (e.g., not covering the cost of equipment), they are the ones who agreed to the contract and, if fact, wrote the contract.
Two points regarding the fire/EMS contract: (1) typically service contracts do not include reimbursement for capital expenses (e.g., equipment) as the service provider is responsible for those costs and should cover that in their service fees; (2) many residents have been trying to get Terry Micheal, the Township Trustee, to competitively bid the contract as other, fully capable departments want to provide the service and believe they can do so at a lower cost. The Township is not obligated to use Fishers FD.
Oh yes, there is some chance that Geist residents may drive on Fishers roads. Of course, we also drive on Lawrence roads and Noblesville roads and Indianapolis roads and state roads and federal roads. So do the residents of Fishers and so do the members of the Fishers Town Council—in fact, the two councilors who actually live in the Geist area drive on Geist roads, and no one is complaining.
9. What about SPORTS and parks?
The HSE SPORTS organization is open to any student who attends HSE schools, whether they live in Fishers or Geist or Noblesville.
Of course, some Town councilors have made threats saying that if we’re not annexed Geist kids won’t be allowed in Fishers parks for SPORTS (and yes, the Town does make some of its parks available for SPORTS). But, Fishers own ordinance says “it is the policy of the town that no child shall be denied the opportunity to participate in any sports league utilizing the playing fields owned by the town in violation of the Constitution of the United States of America or the Constitution of the State of Indiana.”
So, to make good on those threats, the Town Council will have to change its own ordinance (and maybe the Constitutions as well?).
These threats are clear and obvious scare tactics.
There is also the chance that some people who live in Geist or Carmel or Noblesville or Lawrence or Indianapolis use Fishers parks. If it’s a matter of compensation, then they should simply charge a non-residents user fee like Marion County does for one of its parks.
10. Can my kids still go to school?
Yes. HSE Schools is a county school system. If you live in the school district the largest part of your property tax bill goes to HSE Schools. And, don’t be fooled by names: there is a Fishers High School, but there is also a Geist Elementary School—just names of schools within the HSE School district.
11. What about trash and snow removal?
Fishers does not provide trash collection. Snow removal is provided by Fishers for their residents just like Hamilton County provides snow removal for us. However, most neighborhoods contract privately for snow removal to ensure that it is timely; many neighborhoods in Fishers do the same.
12. What about the Towns of Geist?
Forming our own towns is not currently an option. The only reason to do so was to permanently stop Fishers from annexing Geist. Once the current annexation attempt is successfully fought, hopefully state law can be changed to no longer allow forced annexation and the Towns of Geist won’t be needed.
13. What about the other threats (sewers, cancel fire contract, etc.)?
If one is in the right then one doesn’t need to resort to scare tactics and threats, do they? But, if you’re running scared you might throw some stones.
Fire Services: The Town Council might decide to terminate the contract with Fall Creek Township for fire services if the annexation does not go through—and, they made a veiled threat to do so with their recent “Fire Sale” mailing. More scare tactics to be sure (gives you some insights to how the Fishers Town Council thinks, doesn’t it?). Citizens have a legal right to remonstrate against forced annexations and the Town Council is trying to threaten you into not signing.
Three key points: (1) It is the responsibility of the Fall Creek Township Trustee and Board to provide fire protection and EMS services to this area; (2) There are other departments ready, willing, and most able to provide these services (and, in fact, may be able to do so at a lower cost with no compromise in service); and, (3) terminating the contract would result in Fishers losing over $2,000,000 a year in revenues (the contract fees) and may end up with excess fire fighting personnel and equipment.
While the Fishers FD is most capable, certain Town Councilors tend to conveniently forget that often the department is assisted up by other, nearby departments like Lawrence Township (which was the case in a recent fire in the area) and sometimes those departments are the first responders.
Sewer Collection: HSE Utilities contracts with the Town of Fishers for sewage treatment. As homeowners, we contract with HSE Utilities for sewer collection; what they do with it is their responsibility. Nevertheless, it would take some pretty incredible technology to identify and accept Fishers sewage and reject Geist sewage.
Police Protection: Certain councilors have said if the annexation doesn’t go through they will cancel the mutual aid agreement between their police department and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department. Okay, but the Sheriff also serves the Town of Fishers, and there is not a great reliance on Fishers PD in the Geist area (despite claims to the contrary by certain councilors). It would be interesting to see if they could actually do this, but it doesn’t really matter.
Other: Other Town personnel have made probably unwise comments like no one in Geist will be able to get a building permit or a zoning variance and the like. It’s rather sad to think that the culture of the Town bureaucracy is one of vindictiveness and pettiness; but then, culture comes from the top. Nonetheless, not a likely situation, at least not after to first law suit.
14. Is it true that our neighborhoods wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Fishers’ infrastructure?
This is back to outrageous claims by certain Town councilors. How long has, for example, Masthead and Carefree Estates and Highland Springs been around? Perhaps between 20 and 30 years—long before Fishers was more than a dot on the map or crossed east over I-69.
For newer neighborhoods, the developers paid for streets and sewers and water connections, not the Town of Fishers.
Sure, they like to say that they built up their sewage treatment capacity to handle the growth, but: (a) most of the growth has been their own unbridled growth allowing developers to build strip malls and subdivisions anywhere there is vacant land; and, (b) that was a business decision on their part for which they charge a higher rate to HSE Utilities for non-Fishers residents.
We should always keep in mind that the Fishers Town Council has made their own decisions like, for example, improving 116th street and did so without consulting anyone in Geist. We should not be responsible for nor pay for their decisions. To try to blame us after-the-fact is pure bunk.
15. Will I still have to pay HOA fees?
Annexation will not have a direct impact on your Home Owner Association fees—being annexed does not remove this obligation.
Likely, your HOA fees cover things like maintenance of common areas (neighborhood parks, pools, and the like), trash collection, snow removal, and private security. While certain Town Councilors like to claim that you may see a dramatic reduction in your HOA fees, the claims is pretty baseless. If annexed, for example, your HOA may decide to rely on town snow removal services and cancel private contracts, which would result in some reduction. But there other costs that won’t go away (for example, Fishers won’t take over grounds maintenance).
16. Will I get a prestigious Fishers address?
Prestige is in the eye of the beholder. Nonetheless, your address (McCordsville, Fortville, Indianapolis, Fishers) is the venue of the U.S. Postal Service; only they can decide whether or not to change your address. Even the two Town Councilors who live in Geist have Fortville addresses (even though their individual lots have been annexed).
17. Fishers promised me sewer connections if I don’t remonstrate against annexation.
There have been two, smaller neighborhoods—Forrest Knoll and Country Lane Estates—that have signed non-remonstration agreements in exchange for sewer connection funding.
These are not voluntary annexations as the Town likes to claim; voluntary annexations require a particular process under state law. Rather, these are agreements by the property owners not to remonstrate (sign petitions) against forced annexation. Whether or not they actually will be annexed remains to be seen—likely, if Geist is successful in fighting off forced annexation the Town Council may choose to annex these two neighborhoods directly.
The last we heard the deal offered is 30 year free financing for sewer and, if wanted, water connections; the Town will pay for the engineering costs and 5% of the hook-up costs. The remaining 95% of the costs will be paid by the property owner over 30 years (as part of their monthly sewer bill).
For those neighborhoods that want/need sewer connections this may be a good deal. For those that are considering the deal, it may be advisable for you to get sound legal advice on the contract and talk with some folks who have already signed up.