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Evansville Firefighters, Police Upset With Proposed Health Care Plan

 Hundreds of people show up at Evansville city council, many against the health care changes in the 2017 proposed budget.

Deductibles in the proposed budget for 2017 are set to increase by about 60 percent.

One firefighter says his employer contributions right now are 13 percent, in the new budget it would jump up to around 20 percent.

Dozens of firefighters and police officers echoed the same sentiment, that they simply can not afford the new health care changed proposed.

Many council members agree, including Missy Mosby who said police and firefighters have opted to have little to no pay raise in the past to keep their deductibles the same.

Decision on Proposed Warrick County Egg Laying Farm Delayed

 A decision from the Warrick County Board of Zoning Appeals to grant Prime Foods a special use to house chickens at a new location, is delayed.

The company made changes to its proposal, moving the location of some buildings, so the board cannot hear the new plan until the next meeting.

The egg laying farm is looking to expand its operation north of Boonville, along Indiana 61 and Kelley road.

Prime Foods already has a location on Indiana 62, but there are no birds there.

The chief operating officer says 95% of the customers they serve live within 200 miles of town, but the birds are in northwest Ohio.

The company wants to minimize freight costs and house the birds locally.

Company representatives say the facility will not pose a health risk to the public, but residents have concerns.

Residents say the facility should go somewhere else, instead of moving into a residential are, some say their only option may be to leave their dream home.

The zoning board is expected to take up the issue on October 24th at 6pm.

EVSC Sets Budget for 2017, Plans to Replace Buses

 The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation adopts the 2017 budget, at more than $250 million.

Nearly $160 million of that amount will go to the general fund.

$32 million is approved for capital projects, such as construction and improvements.

They have also approved money to replace school buses, between 2017 and 2028.

The EVSC Foundation also presented a check for $1,000 to music programs and announced more than $22,000 has been raised from scoop night and hangars.

11 COMMENTS

  1. I can’t see a way to keep the odors and the bacteria levels down at this confined Chicken rearing facility. These chickens are feed and they will be generating chicken maneuver and the smells are horrendous. There is a Turkey Farm along I 69 just South of the Oakland City Exit and every time I drive by that place I have to hold my nose for a few minutes if the wind is blowing from the Turkey House to the Highway. So there will be nuisance odors at these Chicken Facilities. And don’t tell me that they will not get any contaminate coming out of that facility and getting into the land surrounding these facilities. There will be a potention for a spill of liquefied Chicken Poop getting into the soils and water table around this facility.

    Personally I’m not in favor of confined feed lots for any type of animal. When you put that many animals in close quarters it stresses them out and disease can take hold more easily. This is not a natural way to raise farm animals. They do best when they have room to roam and are more spread out. I’d rather see 1000 farms than one facility like this in one small area. I’m just glad that I don’t live near where they plan to build this facility. As I don’t see the Authorities stopping the building of these facility. There are jobs to consider and then everyone eats chicken eggs from time to time. So there is a need to produce eggs somewhere. They can’t put this facility in downtown Boonville either. So it’s going to go somewhere. Out in the boonies is the best place for a facility like this.

  2. Did anyone else see the looks on the Controllers face when people were speaking at the City Council last night? TV Channel 12 Cable WOW showed Russ a lot and his facial expressions were something to watch. He has more facial contortions that Donald J. Trump did last night during the debate with Hillary Clinton. And I thought it was funny when Dr. Adams asked why they woke up one of the guess speakers. That was funny! “Why did you wake him up?” LOL

  3. What is so amazing? Well, last year we might as well had blow up dolls in the place of Mosby and Weaver. Not one suggestion was made by those clowns in reducing expenditures. Did anyone see Winnecke go up to Anna Hargis and when the discussion ended, her face showed everything. Well, Anna you better start toting the line or those Boys & Girls Club donors will disappear.

    • Don’t forget about her husband. His compensation will be on the line as well. We need to thank Anna for her explanation on how the budget works as was posted by her on facebook. Consequently, she must have a handle on this situation. So, Anna what is the solution to your Mayor obsession in spending more than the revenue he collects?

  4. How many of us have had pay increases over the past 5 years of any significance? If Mosby and Co. feel so bad about the increase in health care cost being laid on the police and firefighters than why as part-time part-time politicians do they receive the same health care benefits as those full-time full-time safety personnel????

    • Mosby and Weaver and all the other part time city employee and or elected officals should not be receiving City paid health care benefits. They all have other jobs that they could use to get their health care. What a waste of tax payers money. I don’t see how they can show their faces to the tax payers or the City Police and Firemen after asking them to absorb such a huge increase in the health care insurance costs and such a drop in their health care coverage. The rise in out of pocket costs is outrageous.

      When was the last time you saw a Penguin driving the Quint or the Police Cruiser and saving lives?

      • Exactly!! Just heard that Mosby and Weaver have been banned from the FOP and those free adult beverage have come to an end. In addition, the order to make sure these two clowns get home safely after their party time has been revoked.

  5. From Today’s EC&P by Jon Webb.
    “That’s more than fair. One problem, though: The penguin exhibit and healthcare costs have nothing to do with one another.
    The proposed penguin exhibit, estimated to cost $2.5 million, would be funded through riverboat funds. Health costs, meanwhile, come from an entirely separate bucket of money.”
    ———————————————————————————————————————

    The problem with the above statement is that it’s NOT TRUE. All the money is tax payers money. And just because they put parts in one account and other parts in anther account doesn’t make them unrelated. They are all coming from the same funding sources. It’s all CITY MONEY. And if you only have X amount of total funds and you take some of those funds out of one account it’s going to lower the amounts that you can put in any other account. So they are all totally related together. There is ONE Big Bucket full of money and any money taking out of the bucket leaves less in the bucket. No matter how you look at it. The City employees all understand this. And if the Mayor doesn’t want a revolt and a big political mess on his hands he better figure this out fast. I saw my next door neighbor lose him house due to excessive medical bills. It can happen to anyone at any times. He, his wife and kid had to move in with his parents. Do we want our firemen and policemen having to move back in with mom and dad? I think not. We don’t need no stinking Penguins except maybe one out at Swonder Ice Rink in a costume. Suwannee is the Swonder Ice Rink Mascot.

    There are plenty of ways to save money for the city so that they can get better health care coverage for their employees without having them file for bankruptcy in time of an emergency medical need.

    These people are the heart and soul of the City and the City would not exist without them. They don’t complain unless it’s necessary. Most of the time you will see them out on the streets saving lives. They do their job not it’s time for the City Council and the Mayor to work together to do their job better.

    • If that were the case, then why did Winnecke unlawfully take money from the Riverboat in the tune of $12.5 Million and place it in the General Fund. These clowns are the masters of manipulation.

  6. Not sure where my first post went??? My question was just asking about more details on the proposed health insurance plan changes. If it is purely a higher deductible, then there is no difference in the out of pocket costs for employees if there aren’t any claims. I have had to raise my deductible on our plans (as have many others) just to keep the coverage somewhat affordable. It seems this is being made a bigger deal by some than it should be.

    I also am in agreement that city council members should not be getting health care coverage from the city and should be responsible for securing plans elsewhere. It comes as no surprise however that these public servants would never consider cutting their perks for themselves. Also, I guess I may be in the minority but I really believe allowing city council members to advertise for their companies via logos on cups, etc. should be stopped.

    • Mosby has no honor. When was the last time we witnessed a Council President advertising while in the chamber. Just despicable. Her love for the police must end that the water’s edge in regards to her own health care coverage. Step up Messy and lead by example, forfeit your health care coverage so our full time police and firefighters families can afford their coverage. Just call me blue boy I will be standing in the corner holding my breathe.

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