INDIANAPOLIS — A survey of Gov. Frank O'Bannon's correspondence shows most Hoosiers remain much less concerned about the state budget crisis than he is.

        The Indianapolis Star surveyed tens of thousands of letters and e-mails Mr. O'Bannon received in the last nine months and found his attempts to draw attention to the state's dire circumstances have elicited a weak reaction.

        Since the budget crisis heated up, Mr. O'Bannon has received enough e-mails to fill about 30 storage boxes, but tax-and-budget messages would fit snugly in just one of them.

        Mr. O'Bannon said he thinks most Hoosiers still do not realize how precarious the state's finances are. He has cut millions of dollars from the state budget and called lawmakers back for a special session to approve a tax-and-budget plan to address the state's $1 billion budget deficit.

        Mr. O'Bannon said part of the lack of public outcry could be, in part, because of his piecemeal strategy of cutting $960 million from programs.

        When cuts did draw notice, such as when boat ramps and campgrounds were closed, Mr. O'Bannon heard plenty.

        “Politically, people have told me to cut where it hurts,” O'Bannon said. “But that's not the way I govern. I won't do cuts just to get people upset.”

        As a result, O'Bannon's mailbag was dominated by people supporting a plan to extend Interstate 69 through southern Indiana; parents wanting him to intervene in child custody, support and visitation disputes; and inmates and their families griping about prison conditions.

        Topics range from the weighty to the petty.

        Many Hoosiers wrote about alleged Build Indiana Fund abuses, the condition of state roads, terrorism, the death penalty and wetlands protection.

        Others contacted O'Bannon about local trash pickup, speeding tickets, road rage, boom box noise, vandalism and landlord-tenant disputes.

        Betty Plunkett of Elkhart, who wrote O'Bannon last month, was among those surprised by the relatively low volume of mail the governor receives about state finances.

        “Wouldn't you think, with all of the publicity, that taxes and the budget would be one of the top issues people are writing him about?” she said. “I guess that's why our legislators are not too eager to do anything.”

        In November, O'Bannon gave a rare televised address in which he outlined his administration's plan to eliminate a looming budget deficit through spending cuts and higher cigarette and casino taxes.

        The governor asked taxpayers to contact state legislators and urge them to pass both plans. Whether residents have done so remains uncertain because lawmakers refuse to let the public inspect their correspondence, saying they are not subject to Indiana's public records law.

        Since October, Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan has received 260 letters and e-mails on tax and budget issues. He said three themes emerge from tax-and-budget correspondence: Don't do anything. Do something. Do anything.

        “People are all over the map,” Kernan said. “I take it all into consideration. My views are always evolving, and what I hear is a factor.”

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