A week before facing Hogsett in Indy's mayor election, Shreve proposes property tax relief

Just over a week out from the Nov. 7 Indianapolis mayoral election, Republican candidate Jefferson Shreve released a proposal Monday to tackle rising property taxes that could price residents out of their homes.

Shreve said if elected he would implement what he called a "Freeze Fund." This, he said, would essentially allow eligible homeowners to defer property tax payments until they sell their home, at which point all back taxes owed will be paid back into the fund from sale proceeds.

"This property tax freeze is an example of the imagination and innovation that I aim to bring to Indianapolis city government,” Shreve said in a news release. He added that although his campaign has focused on public safety, there is a lot more to being mayor than solving the city's crime problem.

Under Shreve's proposed program, homeowners' annual property taxes would remain frozen for as long as they own the property at the amount they were at the time the homeowner opted into the program. The program would be open to homeowners above age 65 and homeowners whose home assessed value has risen by a significant amount in a year, such as 15%, Shreve suggested.

The "Freeze Fund" would make up the difference for what the homeowner would have paid, ensuring the city, schools and other units of local government are not out any money, Shreve's campaign said.

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This fund would be financed through a municipal bond, the campaign said, with a loan secured by some combination of the city’s general obligation and the underlying security of the participating homeowners.

Mayor Joe Hogsett's campaign manager Blake Hesch responded to Shreve's announcement by pointing to Hogsett's already existing initiatives to help residents manage higher property tax burdens.

Those include a tax relief program that benefitted 90% of Marion County homeowners this spring, funded by $27 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, as well as an anti-displacement pilot program in the Riverside neighborhood to help older homeowners with rising property taxes that is part of the 2024 budget.

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"Shreve’s half-baked scheme would jeopardize the City’s AAA bond rating with the Trump-style playbook of borrowing money to cut taxes," Hesch wrote in a statement. "It’s clear Jefferson Shreve has no idea how public financing works.”

The Shreve campaign said they do not think the plan would affect the city's credit rating.

The election is Nov. 7. Early voting has begun.

Contact IndyStar reporter Ko Lyn Cheang at kcheang@indystar.com or 317-903-7071. Follow her on Twitter: @kolyn_cheang.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis mayor race: Jefferson Shreve's property tax relief plan