Pulse and Purpose
Weekly update 1/9/2022 to 1/15/2022 #103
I recently had a chance to hear from Joyce Corya. Something that stuck out to me was the following: “If you have a pulse you have a purpose.” Before I explore the thoughts this quote started though, I will share some about my week as the mayor of the best smalltown in America.
Congratulations, Seymour Mainstreet, on your recent annual meeting. During the presentation, Director Bri Roll shared that in 2021 downtown Seymour had 19 new businesses open. They shared about some of the events they hosted or partnered with to host such as City Jam, Ghouls and Goblets, Downtown Shop Around, Jingle All the 5K, Booktober, and Jingle Book Stroll. All added together, these events brought thousands of visitors to our beautiful downtown. Keep up the good work Bri, the board, and all the volunteers who helped make 2021 a Mainstreet success.
Meetings, meetings, and more meetings is the norm for my role serving the city. I don’t mind them especially when they bring good news. Recently, we heard from RR Donnely that they were adding around $700,000 worth of equipment to their Seymour plant. I got to hear updates from the Parks and Recreation department at their monthly board meeting. Council took care of business such as a new abatement for the above equipment, cleaning up some language in a 2015 resolution, and electing Dave Early as Council President. Congratulations, Dave. The Board of Works and Public Safety had a busy meeting with various annual renewals, street cut approvals, sewer adjustments for leaks that did not go down the drain, and special event approvals such as A Night to Shine event, celebrating people with special needs coming up in February.
It is that time of year where everyone is focused on what is happening in Indianapolis. No, I don’t mean the Fuel, Colts, or Pacers. What I am referring to is the state legislature. Session is in, and they have almost 900 bills to explore. Many won’t make it out of committee especially in a short session such as 2022. I have read information on school issues, law enforcement, fire, and government. A few bills have warranted enough concern that I reached out to my representative and senator, but today I want to share some about one area that concerns me for our communities. I say communities and not just community because it can have a negative impact on all Indiana towns, cities, and counties. That area is business personal property tax. Indiana currently ranks in the top ten for business tax climate in most rankings. This is a great recruiting tool when we talk with companies about expanding to our state. The proposed elimination of the Business Personal Property Tax floor, which currently stops at 30%, might trend our rankings up slightly, but at what cost? When a company is choosing where to expand, they are looking for more than the most checks on a business tax checklist. They are looking for places where we have quality parks, good roads, great schools, properly funded public safety such as police, fire, and EMS, and a list of things that those tax dollars collected from Busines Personal Property support. I encourage everyone to look into “Replace Don’t Erase,” and if you agree, reach out to your elected officials at the state level.
Now back to that opening thought that Joyce started spinning in my mind as she presented to Seymour Noon Lions. A few weeks ago, she reached out after one of my columns talked about getting involved. She gave a wonderful presentation on Hospice here in Jackson County. She shared that many of us view hospice care as a death sentence when it is not. Hospice is a part of the path often near the end of someone’s life and isn’t here to speed up or slow down that moment. Instead it is to make the patient as comfortable as possible. It is to allow the family member that has become a caregiver a chance to step away for short times with less worry. Hospice also hosts grief classes for those who have lost someone regardless of how they were lost. Thank you, Joyce, for the quote from Ron Wilkerson Jr., “If you have a pulse you have a purpose.” Thank you for seeing that your current purpose is to help others at a difficult time. Every time someone realizes what their purpose is we are blessed as a community just a little more.