Letters to the Editor 03-04-1999
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- EDIT Is A Tax - NIPSCO Service - NIPSCO Closing
EDIT Is A Tax
Editor, Times-Union:Let's cut to the chase. EDIT is an additional tax. To me this means more money will be coming out of local taxpayers' pockets than is being taken out now.
I have yet to see or read anything about EDIT which would make me want my county council members to vote for it.
In my opinion EDIT is asking a large group of taxpayers (the county-wide population base) to subsidize programs that individual CITIES want or need ... such as sewers for the City of Warsaw. (They only recently popped up with funding for a new county jail ... a bone you would throw to a dog ... in order to get what they REALLY want, new sewers in the cities ... especially Warsaw, the city which initiated EDIT). Warsaw chose to spend millions on new school construction and their taxes are now so high that local government officials know they can't squeeze any more out of that pocket ... so what do they do? I think this is what they do: "Let's look around! Maybe we can find some gullible taxpayers who don't live in our city to pay for our sewers!"
Great idea if you can pull it off, isn't it? So, those of us who live out in the county on septic systems we pay for and provide for ourselves will help foot the bill so Warsaw can put in new sewers! And none of our kids attend the "University" of Warsaw High School! Sounds equitable, doesn't it?
The cavalier statement by Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins in Tuesday's Times-Union that people retired and on a pension "are going to have the wherewithal to pay that" simply shows how callous and flippant government officials can get about taking money away from us. The attitude, "Oh, they can pay for it!" prevails.
It never occurs to Mr. Wiggins to ask, "do they WANT to pay for it?" And, in my opinion, to ask the citizens of Warsaw who are already overburdened paying for those new schools, to endure yet ANOTHER tax increase is even more insulting than it is to those of us who don't live in Warsaw! I can't believe the citizens aren't totally up in arms about this being foisted on us again ... and again ... and yet AGAIN! You know very well that although they talk about the capability of being able to "rescind" the tax ... once a government body gets your money the odds of your ever getting any relief or getting any of it back are nearly nil. Far, far better to stop it now, before they waltz off with your money in the first place. If our tax money is being so mis-managed now that our officials aren't able to provide basic services, why would we want to give them MORE money to spend (or to correct their past excesses)?
It is amazing that our American Revolution was fought over a tax which amounted to less than 5 percent(I think it was about 2 percent) of our citizen's earnings ... Today, most of us lose 25 percent to 50 percent of our income to taxes! I venture to say most Americans have never sat down and totaled up what they pay in taxes per year. Try it sometime. Add all the sales tax you pay every time you buy something, add gasoline taxes, income taxes at the federal level, income taxes at the state level, county taxes, property taxes, motor vehicle taxes, Social Security taxes, and on and on ... King George, come back ... I give! I give! 5 percent sounds great to me!
Darla McCammon
NIPSCO Service
Editor, Times-Union:How can service be improved by the Warsaw NIPSCO station closing? Does the community realize that if and when NIPSCO closes the door, everything goes? I am talking about service trucks, equipment for repair and most importantly, the men who are committed to doing an outstanding job and know this area by heart. This consolidation will affect Warsaw, Mentone, Leesburg, North Webster, Burket, Claypool, Silver Lake and Pierceton.
For example, when a power outage occurs now, the men who are here in Warsaw are only a few minutes from the station. The response time is minimal to pick up trucks and equipment. Service to a gas leak, standard outage or emergency is quickly and effectively taken care of.
When NIPSCO consolidates everything to the Goshen station, the Warsaw employees will have to drive to Goshen, pick up trucks and equipment, and then return back to Warsaw (approximately one-hour drive time). Not to mention, the service job may not even be receiving a Warsaw employee who is familiar with the area. Do you want to wait 4 hours for a serviceman to show up to repair a gas leak or a power outage? Or maybe even days if a big storm rolls through our town?
Or better yet, do you want to be put on a waiting list and hope that your area has enough phone calls reporting a gas leak, outage or emergency?
A few weeks ago, there was a small article on the front page of the Times-Union letting the Warsaw area know that it was rumor that NIPSCO was closing the station. Today we know that it was a cover-up for the truth.
NIPSCO also stated, "We think we'll be able to improve our services." Don't they know?
These are all things that make me wonder if NIPSCO is sincere in keeping the best customer service and our communities safety in mind. Our town is growing and the change NIPSCO is contemplating will hurt the residential homeowner, the area factories, the area contractors and the list goes on.
If our area changes and service is to be better by this consolidation, will the area be able to receive a rate reduction? Is this change really necessary and will it be cost effective to the customer? It makes me wonder whose best interest NIPSCO is keeping in mind.
If you would like to make your voice heard, call the customer service department at 800-851-4268 and let them know that Warsaw is not willing to change. If our community does not act now, our service will change and it won't be for the better, because once the Warsaw station closes, it won't be re-opened.
Shawnee Smith, Warsaw
NIPSCO Closing
Editor, Times-Union:Area citizens should be concerned. On April 1, NIPSCO will close its local service to Warsaw and surrounding communities. This can only diminish the response time to electric outages and gas leak repairs. Services for new installation will also be affected. Concerns on this matter should be given to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission at 800-851-4268.
Steven Wolferman, Leesburg
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- EDIT Is A Tax - NIPSCO Service - NIPSCO Closing
EDIT Is A Tax
Editor, Times-Union:Let's cut to the chase. EDIT is an additional tax. To me this means more money will be coming out of local taxpayers' pockets than is being taken out now.
I have yet to see or read anything about EDIT which would make me want my county council members to vote for it.
In my opinion EDIT is asking a large group of taxpayers (the county-wide population base) to subsidize programs that individual CITIES want or need ... such as sewers for the City of Warsaw. (They only recently popped up with funding for a new county jail ... a bone you would throw to a dog ... in order to get what they REALLY want, new sewers in the cities ... especially Warsaw, the city which initiated EDIT). Warsaw chose to spend millions on new school construction and their taxes are now so high that local government officials know they can't squeeze any more out of that pocket ... so what do they do? I think this is what they do: "Let's look around! Maybe we can find some gullible taxpayers who don't live in our city to pay for our sewers!"
Great idea if you can pull it off, isn't it? So, those of us who live out in the county on septic systems we pay for and provide for ourselves will help foot the bill so Warsaw can put in new sewers! And none of our kids attend the "University" of Warsaw High School! Sounds equitable, doesn't it?
The cavalier statement by Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins in Tuesday's Times-Union that people retired and on a pension "are going to have the wherewithal to pay that" simply shows how callous and flippant government officials can get about taking money away from us. The attitude, "Oh, they can pay for it!" prevails.
It never occurs to Mr. Wiggins to ask, "do they WANT to pay for it?" And, in my opinion, to ask the citizens of Warsaw who are already overburdened paying for those new schools, to endure yet ANOTHER tax increase is even more insulting than it is to those of us who don't live in Warsaw! I can't believe the citizens aren't totally up in arms about this being foisted on us again ... and again ... and yet AGAIN! You know very well that although they talk about the capability of being able to "rescind" the tax ... once a government body gets your money the odds of your ever getting any relief or getting any of it back are nearly nil. Far, far better to stop it now, before they waltz off with your money in the first place. If our tax money is being so mis-managed now that our officials aren't able to provide basic services, why would we want to give them MORE money to spend (or to correct their past excesses)?
It is amazing that our American Revolution was fought over a tax which amounted to less than 5 percent(I think it was about 2 percent) of our citizen's earnings ... Today, most of us lose 25 percent to 50 percent of our income to taxes! I venture to say most Americans have never sat down and totaled up what they pay in taxes per year. Try it sometime. Add all the sales tax you pay every time you buy something, add gasoline taxes, income taxes at the federal level, income taxes at the state level, county taxes, property taxes, motor vehicle taxes, Social Security taxes, and on and on ... King George, come back ... I give! I give! 5 percent sounds great to me!
Darla McCammon
NIPSCO Service
Editor, Times-Union:How can service be improved by the Warsaw NIPSCO station closing? Does the community realize that if and when NIPSCO closes the door, everything goes? I am talking about service trucks, equipment for repair and most importantly, the men who are committed to doing an outstanding job and know this area by heart. This consolidation will affect Warsaw, Mentone, Leesburg, North Webster, Burket, Claypool, Silver Lake and Pierceton.
For example, when a power outage occurs now, the men who are here in Warsaw are only a few minutes from the station. The response time is minimal to pick up trucks and equipment. Service to a gas leak, standard outage or emergency is quickly and effectively taken care of.
When NIPSCO consolidates everything to the Goshen station, the Warsaw employees will have to drive to Goshen, pick up trucks and equipment, and then return back to Warsaw (approximately one-hour drive time). Not to mention, the service job may not even be receiving a Warsaw employee who is familiar with the area. Do you want to wait 4 hours for a serviceman to show up to repair a gas leak or a power outage? Or maybe even days if a big storm rolls through our town?
Or better yet, do you want to be put on a waiting list and hope that your area has enough phone calls reporting a gas leak, outage or emergency?
A few weeks ago, there was a small article on the front page of the Times-Union letting the Warsaw area know that it was rumor that NIPSCO was closing the station. Today we know that it was a cover-up for the truth.
NIPSCO also stated, "We think we'll be able to improve our services." Don't they know?
These are all things that make me wonder if NIPSCO is sincere in keeping the best customer service and our communities safety in mind. Our town is growing and the change NIPSCO is contemplating will hurt the residential homeowner, the area factories, the area contractors and the list goes on.
If our area changes and service is to be better by this consolidation, will the area be able to receive a rate reduction? Is this change really necessary and will it be cost effective to the customer? It makes me wonder whose best interest NIPSCO is keeping in mind.
If you would like to make your voice heard, call the customer service department at 800-851-4268 and let them know that Warsaw is not willing to change. If our community does not act now, our service will change and it won't be for the better, because once the Warsaw station closes, it won't be re-opened.
Shawnee Smith, Warsaw
NIPSCO Closing
Editor, Times-Union:Area citizens should be concerned. On April 1, NIPSCO will close its local service to Warsaw and surrounding communities. This can only diminish the response time to electric outages and gas leak repairs. Services for new installation will also be affected. Concerns on this matter should be given to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission at 800-851-4268.
Steven Wolferman, Leesburg
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