Published: March 27, 2008 10:23 am      

Lt. governor visits Goshen to tout home ownership

Due to continued efforts of community development organizations, including Goshen’s LaCasa Inc., the 6.3 million people that call Indiana home “now have home ownership within their grasp,” according to Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman.

She also said the state’s property tax reform plan will help Hoosier homeowners “gain some ground.”

Skillman was the guest speaker at Wednesday’s LaCasa Inc. 2008 annual meeting held at the Greencroft Senior Center, Goshen.

“We’re here today to talk about community development and community housing,” Skillman said, remembering how she felt when she and her husband were first able to purchase their own home.

“I’ll never forget that sense of pride and sense of accomplishment when we spent our first night in our new home. We want that for all Hoosiers,” she said.

As an illustration of that goal, Skillman said the state’s current administration has worked the past three years to bring in a record-breaking number of new jobs and investments to the state.

“That investment is happening in every region of our state,” Skillman said.

Skillman also noted the state’s unemployment rate, now at 4.5 percent, is currently the lowest it has been in nearly seven years.

“And of course we’re always looking at ways to improve that,” Skillman said.

On a more personal note, Skillman added that since the state began partnering with LaCasa Inc., more than $13 million has been invested in LaCasa-related projects and services.

“Your partnership with the state is helping Hoosiers keep their homes,” Skillman said.

Now in its 38th year, LaCasa Inc. is an Elkhart County-based not-for-profit organization with a mission that centers on working with individuals and community partners to provide services including financial and home-buyer education, loan products, counseling and home repair and rehabilitation for low- and moderate-income families.

Skillman also touted the recently-passed property tax reform plan as a new tool for homeowners.

“Indiana has now entered a new era of property tax protection,” Skillman said, noting that homeowners should expect to see cuts in their property tax bills of as much as 30 percent this year.

The plan also contains built-in language to help prevent any such large tax increases from occurring in the future, Skillman said.

In closing, Skillman left those in attendance with one of her favorite quotes by President John Quincy Adams as a way to illustrate the importance of the work being done by LaCasa Inc.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader,” Skillman said. “LaCasa of Goshen is an organization that does just that.”