Evansville City Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley posted the following statement on the Earthcare Energy LLC loan approval that has languished for the last two years. The follow through by the City Council to rescind this loan approval renders the contemplated extension of the time for Earthcare to pay the City of Evansville back the $186,000 owed to be moot.
The gathering of the votes to rescind the $4.8 Million loan sets the tone for the Winnecke Administration to move forward to collect the debt they snuck to Earthcare two years ago without notifying the City Council.
“It’s time to close the books on Earthcare Energy and learn from our mistakes.
Through the leadership of City Council President John Friend, the votes are now assembled to finally rescind the $4.8 million dollar loan approval for Earthcare Energy (now Enviro Energy). It’s time to close the books on this project and move on as a community. What we must learn from this costly mistake is that how we invest in job creation is changing. As a city, we must be able to determine when and how much financial risk to take related to economic development. A process for vetting where we put investment dollars is sorely needed. How many bad loans will we make before we understand that if we want to be a bank, we have to learn to act like one?
This rescission means a lot to me, as this project was my trial by fire when I took office. I’m so proud of the ground we’ve covered in two years. The willingness to call this out as mistake and to address it is integrity, and it’s impressive.”
Bravo!
Your knowledge and attention to detail is greatly appreciated! Keep up the good work!
Didn’t the city council have to approve this loan in the first place? If so, who voted on it….
The $200k loan was through a loan committee of the Evansville Bond Bank. It occurred prior to City Council approval on the $4.8 m bond and without their knowledge. The $4.8 m never left the bank. The micro-good-feeling-loan of $200k is gone and is solely a problem for the Winnecke Administration.
What took so long to do this?
Three cheers for Councilwoman Riley. Looks like we finally have real leadership on city council and I’m not talking about Mosby or Weaver.
+1
I agree 100 percent.
Do it. Thanks
Great news for the taxpayers. Thanks to Ms. Riley for standing up for the taxpayers. Looks like the new Council President John Friend let us down again by not taking the lead in correcting the Earthcare loan mess. In fact Ms. Riley shows she has more political balls than Mr. Friend.
Two thumbs up!
Fine work by Stephanie B. to: 1) Do the vetting of the Earthcare deal, and thus save taxpayers another $ 5,000,000; and 2) Finally putting this deal to bed.
That being said re: Item 2, I believe the agents of Earthcare signed personal guarantys, and the City needs to go after them. I am not in favor of writing off the $ 200K, just as I was not in favor of not pursuing the $ 800 K McCurdy ‘grant’ for work not done; nor am I in favor of letting VenuWorks double-dip us on their ERA and ERC contracts. Don’t get me started on Cripe !
I am an advocate for recovering all money not earned by vendors/business partners of the City.
Thanks a lot Stephanie for taking it to the powers that be. Looks like she the only one that has the good sense to realize a good business deal from a bad one. Wonder why Mr. Friend is keeping quiet on this issue? Guess he, Adams, O’Daniel, and Lindsey are waiting to see how the political winds blow. before taking a public stand. Shameful!
Mayor Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley
Mayor Stephanie
Mayor Riley
Mayor SBR
City Council should vote to disband the ERC and do whatever it take to make it impossible for the Mayor or his appointed entities to loan money without the Council’s approval.
This should have happened a long time ago.These clowns we have in city hall have sh@# for brains and it is time we get rid of them
Looks like a little more than 88% of the people support SBR.
Lead the way Stephanie, disband the ERC and the DMD. Stand up for the people who elected you. How about it Al? Are you willing to lead the charge? Dan, do what is right for the people of Evansville, disband these two organizations.
“It’s time to close the books on Earthcare Energy and learn from our mistakes.”
Stephanie, you are on it. Thanks again for taking a lead position. I particularly like the “learn from our mistakes” phrase. It is truly hoped that new rules and policies for handling vetting before spending are put into place. This will require lots of work and I wonder if you may need to set up a committee separate from council or to hire others to write a draft that is detailed and inclusive enough to do the job. I realize the city council members are working long hours for the council and in real life as it is and that to take this on with everything else would be huge. But I feel that it is a greatly needed project to protect and guide the constructive use of our city money going forward.
I believe we can turn this city around if we keep the intelligence, transparency, and willingness to work together, and drop the partisanship, backdoor dealing, and pressure to jump without research. I think that these are the things that some city council members, including you Stephanie, stand for in the public eye.
Thanks again!!
Comments are closed.