INDIANAPOLIS -- The Republican candidate for Indianapolis mayor said Tuesday the incumbent should either abandon his plan to raise the county income tax or use the hike for property tax relief.

Greg Ballard, who is running against Mayor Bart Peterson, said he would prefer that Peterson stop calling for a raise of Marion County's income tax from 1 percent to 1.65 percent, arguing that people need to concentrate on paying their soaring property tax bills.

Ballard (pictured) said that if the income tax hike must happen, Peterson should use 60 percent of the estimated $90 million that it would yield yearly to reduce property taxes for homeowners.

"(People) not only can't afford the property taxes right now, but they're being forced to sell their home," Ballard said.

Campaign aides for Peterson rejected Ballard's suggestion, saying it would undercut crime-fighting initiatives that the hike is designed to fund.

Peterson proposed the tax increase last week, saying $90 million in new revenue was needed yearly to hire new police officers, shore up pensions for officers and firefighters, fund new police and firefighter contracts, and maintain changes to the criminal justice system to prevent early jail releases.

Ballard did suggest that part of an income tax hike could be used to pay for more officers. But the chairman of the Marion County Democratic Party, Michael O'Connor, said Ballard's idea would produce a minimal rollback on property taxes -- about 3.5 percent -- while leaving many of the crime-fighting initiatives without funding.

"Would Mr. Ballard prefer that we go back to releasing criminals from the jail again like we were up until Aug. 6 of last year?" O'Connor asked.

Ballard noted that Peterson has been critical of the state Legislature's efforts to provide property tax relief for homeowners. Ballard said he finds that criticism ironic because the Legislature gave local governments authority to raise income taxes to reduce reliance on property taxes.

"Every penny of the mayor's proposed income tax hike has been dedicated to more spending," Ballard said. "The mayor could use some of this money to grant real property tax relief to Marion County homeowners."

O'Connor said Ballard's campaign is grasping at straws, trying desperately to find an issue that works. He said that if Ballard talks to Indianapolis residents, he would find that their top priority is fighting crime.

Statewide, property tax bills were expected to rise an average of 24 percent this year, but increases have been much higher in parts of Marion County, whose residents are just getting their bills.