Gov. announces $147 million in state bond reduction payments for public facilities

Gov. Mitch Daniels burned the mortgages at a ceremony Wednesday, announcing several government facilities have been paid off with bond reduction payments totaling $147 million.

Facilities included in the payment were the Government Center South and North buildings and the White River State Park, according to a press release. The state has reduced its outstanding debt from $3.6 billion to $1.7 billion since January 2005.

Even after these repayments, the Office of Management and Budget forecasts fiscal year-end reserves in excess of $2 billion next June.

Currently, the Hoosier state has the third lowest debt per capita among state governments.

“In recent years, the total debt level for all other states has increased by 35 percent, and that doesn’t count their massive unfunded pensions burden,” Daniels said in the release. “Here in Indiana, by cutting our debt more than half, we have freed up millions of future revenue for better uses and told the job creators of the world that here is one place of low taxes and fiscal stability.”

Factors in the state’s debt reduction included $244 million in revenue collections from the tax amnesty program in 2005 and 2006, paying off $198 million in Indiana Toll Road bonds with proceeds from the toll road’s lease, and $266 million in savings after outsourcing functions such as food services in correctional facilities.

“We have diligently worked with the governor over the last eight years helping to spearhead the concept that our state must live within its means. That simple fiscal principle has made our state the envy of the nation,” House Speaker Brian Bosma said in the release.

— Mark Keierleber