IS IT TRUE APRIL 21, 2014

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IS IT TRUE last night Mayor Winnecke told 1,000 plus members of CAJE that he votes no to a direct $2 million into the Affordable Hosing Trust Fund before the submission  of 2016 budget?  …it looks like the Mayors priority is to give hundred of thousands of dollars to select Downtown, Westside and North Main business owners for Facade Grants, spend $3 million dollars on a carousel for Mesker Zoo and a dog park rather than provide housing for the disadvantage of this community?

IS IT TRUE we want to thanks At Large City Councilman and Finance Chairman Coner O’Daniel for agreeing to amend the current City Municipal Code 3.35 which deals with the Affordable housing Trust Fund issue?  …that Councilman O’Daniel also wants to give structure and give definition to identify those funding sources which could be used in making this most reasonable request by CAJE for affordable housing opportunities for the disadvantage of this community a reality?  …we would like to give three cheers to Councilman O’Daniel for standing up for the disadvantage of this community?

IS IT TRUE if members of CAJE want to get a real idea about one of the Mayors worthless spending projects please drive downtown and look at the $130,000 mural  painted on a building behind McDonalds?

IS IT TRUE that the State Board of Accounts reported in the 2013 audited financial statements that the City is owed approximately $2,00,000 from the Evansville Redevelopment Authority?ERA is city sponsored organization and all of its members appointed by the Mayor?  … the Winnecke Administration paid a BIG CITY law firm to issue a statement that the SBOA findings were incorrect and the Evansville Redevelopment Authority do not owe the City the money?.

IS IT TRUE that the General Fund pays all of the police, firefighters and day to day expenses to run the city?  … the amount budgeted to do similar in 2015 is $84 million or $230,000 each and every day of the week?

IS IT TRUE that an independent source gave us some information about the spending habits at the Evansville Police Department?   …we were told that the Evansville Police Department spent $1,800 on a mural and nearly $6,000 on promotional stickers and buttons and magnets?   … it look like the EPD needs to prioritize their spending and invest in a life-saving drugs like Narcan?

IS IT TRUE that 1st Ward City Councilman Dan McGinn was the Zoo Director during the Weinzapfel administration and was in charge of building the Amazonian project that went over budget costing the taxpayers many thousands of dollars.  …we also hear that the Amazonian has become a major financial drain of the City budget since it was built?

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30 COMMENTS

  1. IIT that ERA is just another entity as the EVSC ($500,000) & the McCurdy ($1.3 million) that have been granted a free pass on it’s debts by the mayor?

    IIT that the City police are being chasten for wasteful spending while bringing up the “Narcan” subject for the umpteen time on this site?

    IIT that money would be better spent to issue all police officers a 30 Pound fire extinguishers as “first responders” for fires, and also eliminate the need of fire truck runs for fender benders?

    IIT that Dan McGinn personally did all soil exploration, compaction testing, concrete testing, designed and engineering, was project manager, and awarded the contracts to build the Amazonian project?

    • The City’s YEARS of financially mismanaging the McCurdy hotel is a community tragedy. Now the historic landmark sits rotting away. Decay, day by day. Remember this back from 2007?

      ‘The McCurdy renovations are scheduled to be finished by the end of next year. Plans are to develop more than 80 upper-end apartments and commercial space. ”

      http://www.courierpress.com/news/local-news/mccurdyparking-pricing

      Simply pitiful.

    • Everyone should carry a small fire extinguisher and have two of these inside their homes. That would help save the fire department some money on runs that would not need to be. So that actually would be a good idea for all the Police cars to carry a fire extinguisher and have it available to them at all times.

      I wonder just how many city firemen carry a personal firearm with them? Actually everyone should be carrying some form of personal protection with them these days with all the gangs going around and trying to prove to their gang members how tough they are by doing drive by shootings of little old ladies and kids in the streets.

  3. CCO Editor–re: money due from ERA to City:

    Drop back one step further . . . look at the Ford Center construction Review which was performed by the SBOA. It found that the City started making payments to the Redevelopment Authority even BEFORE they were contractually required, and that the City was entitled to a refund of over $ 3 Million. Russ Lloyd did step up and flatly DISAGREE WITH THE FINDINGS, and refused to try to collect from ERA. I sit back and wonder, were those overpayments like Elvis . . . they had already left the building . . . ?

    Kudos, CCO: the City needs to recover that money from ERA, keep digging

  4. The thing that should drive one crazy is they are NOT subject to AUDIT by the State Board of Accounts, i.e. ERA and all members are appointed by the Mayor, my dear Frank_Lee, you are probably dead on about the Elvis thing. . .why would you, if owed money would engage an Indy law Firm to present to your debtor a document that says to the debtor, “you do not owe me”. . . Our new name should be Suckersville on the Ohio. . . way too much Kool-Aid being consumed. . . .

    • @Meter Maid: I remember when the decision to let ERA “own” the Downtown Arena was made, and how the ERA had not had a meeting for the preceding four years until they were ‘reactivated’ by the City Administration. The whole “lease agreement”, and the Building Authority (Rector) doing the event set up work at the Arena, just struck me as the makings of big-time FRAUD. I did not know that the Redevelopment Authority isn’t audited (” how conveeenient”), and I didn’t know about the City hiring a lawyer to tell the SBOA that the ERA really didn’t owe the City $ 3.6 Million. I suspect that the $ 3.6 Million had already been chopped and distributed, not available for repayment to the City.

      For any diggers in the audience, locate the 2013 Audit Supplemental Findings, and look at pg. 18, captioned ‘Payment by the City of Evansville of Capitalized Interest on the Evansville Redevelopment Authority Lease Rental Revenue Bonds Series 2010B”.

      • SBOA Document # B44197

        Supplemental Compliance Report of City of Evansville
        Jan. 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013

        Reissued on 2/20/15 to report additional findings

  5. Where does ERA (thought it was ERC) get it’s funding, and if they didn’t receive the funds, who would?

  6. With regards to CAJE:
    “CAJE” is an acronym for Congregations Acting for Justice and Empowerment.
    When our leaders choose to invest in facades – over people in need – they so – in direct conflict with the spirit and compassion of those who have elected – seated and entrusted them to do their will.

    As therapy and inspiration – I recommend that our city leaders take a seat on the steps of the Civic Center – gaze across the street at the $200,000 dollar Vibrant River Sculpture – for a full five minutes. If they can even do this – and they still think that they are on the right track – by denying help to our homeless – then let them go on their blissful ways – in full confidence – that they are doing their very best – as compassionate caretakers of the public welfare.

    If they instead come away feeling embarrassed and with a sense of wasted resources – let them set aside all else – in favor of those projects that will – truly nurture – the welfare and well being of those who are most needful among us – …the homeless or otherwise disadvantaged Citizenry.

    Regarding the “NARCAN” issue: …if we – as a community – fail to embrace this life-saving technique – the lives lost as the result – are truly laid at our feet and are accountable to us.
    Regarding the cost: …if we we can continue to squeeze tens of millions from the budget to construct Municipal White Elephants in the downtown district – we can find the money to save some peoples lives – even if they might the lives of addicts.

    City leaders can feel proud AND – make us proud – if they just
    DO THE RIGHT THING!

    • We as a community are embracing nothing. We as a community are allowing liberal organizations to increase the workload of our public safety officers with their do good projects. Wonder what is next? If opiates addiction is a problem then our community needs to support the treatment modality that works worldwide which will never happen in this community.

    • He probably doesn’t like to spend all that extra appeal money with Billin’ to extend the Milan suit past the election. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him toss the chief under the Guardian before election time. Anything can happen but the inescapable fact of a no-accomplishment administration is going to be hard for Winnecke to overcome. He’s just reacting to events at this point. It won’t be enough.

      • Bandy
        The Magenheimer lawsuit (open carry at Mesker Zoo) lawsuit is also in the oven – and due to be served-up.
        What amazes me – is – there has been no movement (as far as I have seen) to change the policies that brought about these lawsuits in the first place.

        It would appear to the casual observer – that City leaders consider these embarrassing and expensive lawsuits to be a matter of course – and business as usual.

        Go figure? …

    • If Chief Bolin had of been appointed by a democrat he would be considered the best Chief of Police we ever had. The best Chief of Police ever appointed by a democrat mayor was Ray Hamner. The best democrat sheriff we ever had was Clarence Sheperd.

  8. McGinn’s signature accomplishment is now the subject of taxpayer subsidization. If your reputation lives by the butterfly it dies the same way.

  9. CAJE’s use of “affordable housing” seems odd to me. Correct me if I am wrong but they consider affordable housing on a case by case basis as a percentage of ones income. If some one is making minimum wage working 30 hours a week then affordable housing for their family would be like $50 a week for the family. This includes utilities. Is this a housing issue or an income issue?

    Plenty of affordable housing in Evansville. Why distract from the issue of poverty by calling it “affordable housing”? What happened to the term welfare? Let the state run the welfare programs. No need to go back to the county poor farm and township trustee poor relief funds supported by local property taxes. Calling welfare – affordable housing is just silly.

      • Should we have a city tax to pay people on minimum wage an extra dollar? That is what CAJE calls “affordable housing”.

    • Fred, I believe the term “affordable housing” to a group like this means “at no charge”.

      • Yes, Cowboy, If the income is low enough, free to the family would be affordable. Now the cost to the local taxpayer would most likely be significantly higher than what we consider affordable because the family could not live in anything substandard by the groups definition. In addition we will have the cost of administration. Sometimes the non profits such as this have a very low percentage of funds actually left for the cause after the cost of fundraising, advertising, salaries and campaign contributions. i might be wrong on this one – anyone with different information?

    • If we gave everyone in this country an annual income of a $100,000, it would be $10.000 less than what groups like CAJE would think they need. If we cut out all of the middle people, strap hangers, 501c3’s, food stamps, tanf, snap, trustees, food pantries, food banks and other do gooders we could easily give a family or individual more than adequate income to take care of their basic human needs. You tell this to a liberal and they will come up with thousands of reason this won’t work, what won’t work is they will be out of a job. Social services is an industry and they stay in business by riding on the back of the poor. Move all social services funds over to social security and let them distribute it, because this is all about social security. This could be taken care of by the tax dollars generated by doing away with 501c3’s and other tax exempt groups. Surely all of those church folks that belong to CAJE wouldn’t mind this small contribution. The ministers that receive these love gifts, like those big fancy cars, surely wouldn’t mind the money going to the least of god’s children.

      • Yes POV but we could still use some 501c3s to find a cure. Cure the number one and number two diseases in this country and smooth sailing. Number one – greed and number two – stupidity.

  10. The Combined sewers have been venting plenty, what ever the out come the CAJE group moves forward with, we’ d suggest finding a pathway that provides a home that is on a infrastructure that has the latest backflow check valves installed per property, along with a covered and working sump system. We observed that a child there, died from a severe asthma attack. Sad, having affordable housing is one thing, having a living space that has control of Chronic disease triggers is another. Evansville needs to get a grasp on the combined sewers overflows where many of those properties sit. All the budget talk and the EPA CSO mandate is still festering like a giant boil on the city of Evansville’s hind end. That’s sad as well.

    “What’s in your basement?”

  11. Ray Hamner was the best democrat-appointed CoP we ever had? Didn’t he steal $63K form the county??

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