Why Was Fort Wayne Ranked as America’s Most Affordable Hometown?
And how do we keep it affordable?
Northeast Indiana Realtor Darren Schortgen recently flagged an important ranking:
Fort Wayne was ranked as America’s MOST affordable city by U.S. News and World Report.
We beat other mid-sized cities like Wichita, Kansas or Davenport, Iowa.
This doesn’t mean we’re immune from feeling the crunch on our pocketbooks when we pay for groceries and other bills, but Americans EVERYWHERE are feeling the costs of inflation and here in Indiana we’re feeling it a little less. BUT if we don’t keep a Republican majority in the Statehouse, we can kiss affordability good-bye and say “hello” to higher costs.
According to U.S. News and World Report the top reason for our 2024-2025 ranking is, “Lower housing costs make Fort Wayne, Indiana, affordable.”
In recent General Assembly sessions, I fought for policies that would make home ownership more affordable for Hoosiers. I supported laws to cut burdensome red tape which increased Indiana’s housing supply and lower costs. We’ve passed laws specifically helping senior citizens, disabled vets and their families, addressing assessed values to result in lower property taxes and eliminated the personal property tax for many businesses.
Indiana has the eighth-lowest median property taxes in the nation for homeowners. I voted for property tax relief and I am grateful SEA 1 promoted much-needed transparency for taxpayers to understand how their local tax dollars are being spent. But honestly, more work needs to be done. Conversations are already happening at the Statehouse for what meaningful property tax relief could look like as we seek to give Hoosiers further relief. I’m running for reelection to continue being part of those conversations – AND in enacting solutions.
Low housing costs are only one part of a Hoosier family’s budget. Access to affordable health care also matters. Every year I pass a health care law (dubbed “I-ACHE”) to cut administrative costs, lower the price of prescriptions, increase transparency and competition, and protect Hoosiers from hidden fees and excessive hospital bills.
Keeping the lights on matters, too. Hoosiers deserve reliable energy at a good price. I supported a new law that limits utility company’s profits if they fail to keep their energy rates affordable for customers. This reform is the biggest change to Indiana’s utility-rate laws in more than 100 years.
As a member of the Senate’s Appropriations Committee, I have fought to balance the budget and force Indiana to live within its means. I’m proud we’ve added a balanced budget amendment to the Indiana Constitution. We’ve made hard, but necessary, decisions to reduce the burden on taxpayers. For example, in the current state budget, I kept a close eye on Indiana's bottom line; we started session with a commitment to 5 percent cuts in spending and session ended with an additional 5 percent in cuts.
In the last 10 years, the Indiana Senate has cut taxes more than 30 times. Indiana’s state income tax is the lowest in the Midwest! We’re still digging out of the inflation hole created by the Biden administration, but I am working to do what I can at the state level to keep Fort Wayne as the most affordable place in the nation to live.