“IS IT TRUE” DECEMBER 23, 2019

IS IT TRUE that GuideStar is a publication that collects legal information on all of the non-profit organizations in the United States?…GuideStar collects financial, organizational, performance, and management information on all of the non-profits nationwide?…based on the information that is public plus information that is voluntarily submitted to GuideStar by the non-profits, each organization is assigned a transparency grade from Nothing, to Bronze, to Silver, to Gold, and only the best of the best or 0.5% of the non-profits nationwide get the coveted Platinum rating?…of the 345 non-profits registered in Evansville, Indiana only 1 has been awarded a Platinum ranking for transparency?…most have no rating at all which means they are not submitting information to the GuideStar public database?

IS IT TRUE we recently read an article in the Evansville Courier and Press about the Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District (EID) with interest?…unfortunately, Downtown EID has no rating at all on GuideStar and none of the typical public documents like Form 990 that shows where the funding comes from and what the expenses are just not available? …the only numbers available on GuideStar concerning the Downtown EID are their revenue is $615,982 and they have assets of $192,086? …its also been reported in the Courier and Press that the salaries of Armstrong and two other full-time staff members add up to $257,000 per year or about 37 percent of the EID yearly budget? … it’s been alledged by several sources that the EID Board Of Directors may have just approved giving Mr, Armstrong a $9,000 to $10,000 raise increase? …we hope that this information is inaccurate and that his salary increase for the year was in the $900 to $1,000 range? …in fact, it’s reasonable to believe that someone made a mistake by adding an extra zero to his alleged salary increase?

IS IT TRUE in an article written by Courier and Press John Martin stated “that property owners within the EID boundary pay an additional tax levy, which is .0021 percent of assessed valuation on commercial properties. For residential properties, the cost is a flat fee of $150 for those on Main Street and $100 for those off Main Street?” …we are also told that there are several downtown merchants who are assessed to fund this organization and are somewhat disappointed with the overall results of the EID so far?

IS IT TRUE that the EID maintains an office in the Innovation Pointe Building on the 4th floor with the Chamber of Commerce of SW Indiana and the Economic Development Coalition?…the article published in the Courier and Press about the Evansville Economic Improvement District (EID) sound very much like a group that was once inside of GAGE called Downtown Evansville Incorporated?

IS IT TRUE we are told that the EID President made a few claims about what his group has accomplished over the last two (2) years may have been a little overzealous? …the reality of people taking credit for things that they only marginally had anything to do with happens all at the time?

IS IT TRUE that Mayor Winnecke, the Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Coalition, officials at GAGE, ERC and DMD and members of the Evansville City Council are responsible for the successful development of Downtown Evansville over the last eight (8) years?

IS IT TRUE the Vanderburgh County Assessor website shows that the park located at 400 Main St. is now owned by the Evansville City Water & Sewer Utility Department?  …they paid whooping $$450,000 for this property? …in an announcement made by the Mayor he stated that “The park property was acquired from a private owner by the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility as part of a land exchange with the Evansville Department of Parks and Recreation for Sunrise Park on Water Works Road. Sunrise Park, where Kids Kingdom playground is located, is adjacent to the East Side Waste Water Treatment facility on land that is needed to comply with federally mandated sewer infrastructure improvement”?  …we wonder how the 4th and Main Park increased in value by $346,000 in just 7 Years?

IS IT TRUE during the last several years the Evansville DMD has been purchasing vacant lots and dilapidated property on North Main way over assessed value?

IS IT TRUE that Evansville, Indiana has always been accepting of a practice known as “political patronage” when it comes to jobs that are financed fully or partially by public dollars?…it has been so entrenched that a former Evansville Mayor whom we shall not name has been quoted as saying “I get all of the credit and they take all of the blame” to justify appointing his political supporters to jobs under his control?

IS IT TRUE that “political patronage” came about at about the same time that the Tammany Hall shakedown tactics in New York City were being used to drain the public coffers to enrich the politically connected?… the one thing that “political patronage“ staffing never seems to require is any expertise at all with respect to the job that one is being appointed to?  …”political patronage” staffing is a dangerous artifact of the past and has no reason to exist in the present?…the need for competence as opposed to loyalty will someday drive ‘political patronage” staffing from local government, but until then shenanigans like putting campaign managers and workers into well-paid positions that are out of their league will continue?

IS IT TRUE that Tropicana-Evansville threw one heck of a party for their patrons at last year’s New Year’s Eve party?  …we were overwhelmed with the many thousands of people that celebrated their New Year at Tropicana-Evansville? …last year’s Tropicana-Evansville New Year’s Eve party event was a big economic boost to our local economic development?  …we expect that corporate citizen Tropicana-Evansville will do similar?

Today’s “Readers Poll” question is:  Who’s the most effective State Representative in our area?

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