The sky is not falling on local government, and property tax relief is overdue. To protect property owners, Indiana should shift away from property taxes and toward sales tax as the main source of municipal funding. While most cities and towns should tighten their belts, how much they can wisely cut differs because cities and towns differ. Once significant property tax relief is secured, local budget decisions—including other revenue sources and tax burdens—should be made by those responsible for providing essential services, who are closest to the electorate and who are the easiest for the people to influence and vote out. In other words, by city and town elected officials. As a taxpayer, I support Gov. Mike Braun’s property tax relief plan. In its original version, Senate Bill 1 would adjust the homestead deduction, cap property tax growth, and require additional transparency regarding property taxes. Those opposed to such measures must answer the question: What does property ownership really mean when a property “owner” makes his final mortgage payment, retires and then must continue paying taxes? The question is even harder to answer when the owner discovers his payments increase based not on improvements he made but on inflation and other factors outside his control, including increases to “value” that he will not see unless and until he sells or dies. To protect against extreme property tax hardship, most—if not all—cities and towns could make cuts. Government is inefficient. Consultants drain taxpayer dollars. Many municipal employees are dedicated, but as with any group, laziness can creep into government workforces. Fraud can go unnoticed. Debt is issued too freely. And yet, as the elected financial officer for the town of Speedway, I question a one-size-fits-all approach for local budgets and ask the governor and the General Assembly to consider granting more non-property tax revenue-raising power to cities and towns. Pass a strong version of Senate Bill 1, providing relief to Hoosier property owners with meaningful protection against future increases, especially for those on fixed incomes, but let municipalities decide if they should raise other taxes like sales tax in their boundaries and how much. As it stands, cities and towns bear the responsibility for different mixes of essential services such as roads, police, fire, clean water, sewer and trash pickup. In Speedway, unlike most other cities and towns, the Town Council is also the fiscal body for the school system and the library. The needs of Carmel, Indianapolis, Plymouth, Shipshewana and Speedway all differ. But the largest revenue sources—property, sales and income taxes—are controlled by the state and by counties. This creates a mismatch between responsibility for services and authority to raise revenue to fund those services. Moreover, municipal responsibilities are ones the local taxpayers are more likely to recognize sooner when neglected. A single mother working two jobs might not have time to delve into the latest USAID scandal, but she will notice if the streets for her commute are pothole-ridden or if help does not arrive for 20 minutes after she dials 911. Secure significant property tax relief. Then allow local elected officials to make the case for the appropriate level of other non-property taxes to their constituents based on their municipal priorities and to be voted out if they get it wrong. __________ Foust has served as the clerk-treasurer for the town of Speedway since January 2023.