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Published: April 26, 2008 11:32 pm
Local businessman: State should worry about its own budget
By ADAM NUSSBAUM
adam.nussbaum@goshennews.com
“I’m just a person that jumps in,” said Wes Culver, a Republican candidate running for the District 49 seat in the Indiana House of Representatives. “I’m proactive in affecting change. I’m not one to just sit back and watch.
“I’ve always wanted to run,” he said, but waited until his children were out of school.
Being a Representative appeals to him because “you can be in a position where you can affect change. Big change, if you’re at the state level.”
He decided to enter the race because “both (Republican) party people and business people” started asking him to run, “because there were things that the incumbent (John Ulmer) was voting on that they disagreed with.”
Culver said his experience in the business world qualifies him to serve as Representative. He owns several businesses, including seven Prudential One Realty offices, as well as Culver Custom Homes, and That Pretty Place Bed and Breakfast in Middlebury.
“In business, we’ve learned that we have to balance budgets and we have to live within our means, and that’s what I want to take to state government,” he said.
Culver said his other strengths include “values. I’d be a pro-life, pro-family candidate.” He is “a visionary,” he said, and works to bring groups together, “vs. just waiting for something to vote on, yes or no.
“I’m a respecter of people,” Culver said. Hearing about red and blue states frustrates him, because “there aren’t any red states and blue states, they’re made up of individual people ... Nobody agrees 100 percent with something a particular party does. So we’re looking for people that will look for solutions and be willing to work with both sides and everybody. That’s how I see myself.”
State spending caps
His goals as a Representative would include trying to create permanent caps on state spending.
The system of government “doesn’t allow for competetiveness like it does in the business world, so we have to give parameters for them to live within. We have to say, ‘This is the amount you have to work with,’ and then I think people will think creatively.”
The caps, he said, would be tied to inflation indexes and population growth.
Taxes
Culver would also like to create a resolution where counties wouldn’t be forced to send taxes they collect to Indianapolis.
“One, the state sometimes keeps it for too long, and makes counties borrow money. Secondly, if someone does not file a tax return, like an illegal person, the state only gives back income taxes equal to those who filed returns. So we’re not getting back everything we send down state.”
Working on the illegal immigration problem would also be a high priority.
Energy
So would energy production and the environment.
“One of the biggest problems we have that we aren’t talking about in this race is energy. It is a problem for America. It is crunching our economy, and could even be a cause for us being in a war.”
Culver doesn’t like to hear things like, “By the year 2017 we’re hoping that 1 percent of our energy comes from solar and wind. That sounds very low.
“We have a society full of brilliant people. We just need to encourage them, and make incentives for that thought-time to be given toward energy.”
He suggested getting college leaders together and saying, ‘Can we create schools of energy ... where people come and think outside the box?’”
If schools did this, he said, energy development companies would choose to locate in Indiana.
Property Taxes
“Having caps is good and essential, and I commend the Legislature for what they’ve done. That is just one part of what needs to be done.
“We need to make sure the assessments cannot be subjective, but that they’re tied to something. Otherwise the 1 percent is meaningless.”
He would also like to observe the effects of the tax caps before amending the state constitution.
Under the new plan, Culver said, some people may end up paying more taxes.
“Unfortunately, it will be the low-income people, because they’ll save a small amount on property taxes and maybe spend more on sales taxes.”
Because schools and cities will receive less revenue, Culver said cities and counties will be “looking at combining services to try to become more efficient.” Also, they may raise income taxes or create taxes for services like trash pickup.
“But I would hope,” he said, “first off, let’s look at how efficient we can be.
Between cities and counties there are possibilities,” he said, such as combining building and zoning departments.
“Some may help save, and some may not. But we owe it to the people to try to use their dollars (as efficiently) as we can.”
To Governor Daniels’ assertion that local governments need to control spending, Culver said, “Elkhart County is one of the most responsible county governments in the state. We have surpluses. We don’t have to borrow. I’m sure there’s inefficiencies. There’s inefficiencies in business, and we’re market-driven. There’s even more inefficiencies in government, just because the nature of the beast ... So I think it’s a constant job of looking, whether it’s trying to improve technology so offices can be more efficient, looking at pay and holidays and retirement, all that stuff is a constant moving target for the counties.”
Main goal
However, as a Representative, Culver said his main goal would be the state government’s budget.
“Local government right now is more responsible than state, because the smaller the size of government, the more they’re being able to be watched by the local people,” he said. “I think first off, the state should worry about their own budget. Let’s let the local worry about the local.”
Regarding the elimination of township assessors, Culver said, “It’s important that the assessments be consistent, and so an advantage of the consolidation is that there will be consistency ... Overall I think there will be more consistency in market valuation assessments for people, although I would’ve leaned toward that being a local decision.”
Gambling
Culver said, “I would not encourage or vote for more gambling to show up in Indiana. We have enough. More than enough.
“Gambling in general is not a good thing, and the state has resorted to that because of the need for money. We need to control our spending so that we don’t have to resort to unhealthy ways of collecting taxes by encouraging vices.”
Immigration
Culver said he would not be in favor of penalizing businesses by revoking their licenses if it was discovered they hired illegal immigrants.
“It could scare (businesses) to where they might say, ‘It’s easier for us to move ... to Mexico than run it here,” he said. “But we do have a problem. I’m not for lawlessness ... but it’s a federal government problem. Until they fix the wall, or the border, it’s like bailing out a boat but not fixing the hole.”
However, the state does have options, he said.
He would propose putting together a bipartisan group in Elkhart County “made up of business leaders, church leaders, schools, nonprofits, because we have a history of working together in Elkhart County, and see if we can come up with proposed legislation that we could take to the state.
“Let’s find ways for them to pay taxes. If they’re going to stay here, they should carry their own weight just like the rest of us, so that legal citizens aren’t paying both our way and their way. Until the federal government seals the borders everybody’s got to be carrying their own weight, financially, tax-burden wise.”
U.S. 33 Widening
Culver believes the decision of whether to widen U.S. 33 from Madison Street to C.R. 40 should be made by the city and county governments.
“The state shouldn’t override what the city and the county jointly want to do in their master planning for traffic solutions.”
However, if a south peripheral road would be a better solution, “let’s not waste money” on widening U.S. 33, Culver said.
The debate over the preservation of the historic district, from Main Street to Ninth Street, would also need to be solved locally.
The peripheral road, widening of U.S. 33, and a possible underpass or overpass at Madison Street would all be good projects for Major Moves money, said Culver, if the city and county decided so.
Final Statement
“I would be a proactive visionary, that is a respecter of people. The combination of these things means I’m going to move forward and make things happen that can be positive for the state and local community.”
Biography
“We have an unusual family, in that we have grown kids, and then decided to adopt,” Wes Culver said.
Culver and his wife Valerie have a son Craig, and two daughters, Chelsea and Cydney.
He enjoys running marathons, and has run in the New York and Chicago marathons.
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