IS IT TRUE December 12, 2012

19
The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE the list of spending that has been placed on the wish list by the Winnecke Administration either as the torch bearer for former Mayor Weinzapfel or with an original idea is growing exponentially?…the CCO would like to repeat and add up the new totals?…the Weinzapfel Administration passed the spending baton to Mayor Winnecke with a Johnson Controls deal of $54 Million, Centennial Park for $2 Million, the underfunded demolition of Roberts Stadium of a million bucks or so, and a pie in the sky downtown Convention Hotel that has now been exposed for needing over $40 Million in public funding to be real?…it looks as though this wish list foisted onto the Winnecke Administration totals to about $100 Million?…Mayor Winnecke in his first year at the helm of the City of Evansville has dreamed up a $10 Million dog park and just released findings that Mesker Amphitheatre that was first said to need $100,000 of minor repairs has been determined by a consultant’s study to need nearly $30 Million to be relevant?…between the two of these spendaholics there are now a total of $140 Million on the wish list for the City Council to make decisions about funding for?…that excludes a resurgent baseball park that will most certainly cost at least $10 Million by the time Evansville politicians get done with it?…that has a cool $150 Million in the queue for the City of Evansville to pony up for more temples to sport and non-essential spending during the next three years?

IS IT TRUE this is all going on with the $500+ Million sword of the EPA hanging over the heads of the people of the City of Evansville for repairs mandated to keep our feces from spilling directly into the Ohio River for the next 50 years?…this Mr. Mayor is an essential project?…all of those other things are play toys and should not be prioritized over essential services like sewers that are failing?…the CCO longs for a day when Mayor Winnecke musters the gumption to JUST SAY NO to former Mayor Weinzapfel’s $100 Million wish list?…it seems as though the city that cannot count also cannot think?…we intentionally did not assign a number to the public costs that will be incurred to get the McCurdy done right or demolished as there has been no definition of what its future may be?…when you do not have a MASTER PLAN this is what happens?…we hope the people of Evansville are watching and thinking this through?

IS IT TRUE that yesterday the State of Michigan followed the State of Indiana’s lead in voting in right to work laws?…that 50 years ago this would have been absolutely impossible as the UAW was a very prominent player in a state that was enjoying a long run of prosperity?…there was violence in the streets in front of the Michigan Capitol with a reporter getting beaten up, a tent destroyed with people in it, and a member of the house of representatives promising “THERE WILL BE BLOOD”?…one of the reasons cited for Michigan needing to take this step was the success of Indiana at seeing positive job creation since voting in right to work?…it was cited that Indiana had attracted some 5,000 jobs at a time that Michigan continued to see net losses?…there have indeed been many job attraction announcements in Indianapolis and points north but southern Indiana has seen little change with the recent exception of a fertilizer plant in Spencer County?…Michigan is seen by many as the straw that will break the camel’s back and start a cascade of right to work conversions in every state except California and New York?…all of this posturing and violence aside what people in this country and especially long suffering states like Michigan need are JOBS, JOBS, AND MORE JOBS?…we hope that economic prosperity can happen all over America without violence, envy, and promises of bloodshed?…this is a great opportunity for the unions of Michigan to prove their value like other private businesses that wield less political power have to all day every day to keep their jobs?

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19 COMMENTS

  1. Look at your present city council and tell me that you think none of this will take place. As a body, have you ever seen a more inept and partisan group of people holding the public’s checkbook?

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    • I agree. We seem to have a lot of people feigning responsibility, but when it comes to brass tacks, with a couple exceptions, they just go along with the spending. The 2013 Budget was pretty telling in that regard. Look at who spoke and voted against it and who went along with it. Despite everything else they might SAY, this was the litmus test.

    • Yes, 25 or 30 years ago, the Vanderburgh County Council was dubbed “The Gong Show.”

      There are some of the members of the Evansville City Council who are competent, but they can be out-voted by the less able among them.

  2. Come on Brad and Press give some credit to Mr. Friend for taking on issues about the Mayors not balancing city books since he been in office.

    Also he pushed city council to hire an outside independent auditor to check the past transactions of Ford Center and past financial deals concerning DMD.

    Oh, wasn’t Councilmen,John Friend and the oustside auditor who found the $1.6 million bookkeeping error between the city and the school system?

    • Not to dispute your claims….but I’m reasonably sure the $1.6m error was found by ONB or 5th3rd (can’t really remember which it was) not the finance chair or the new auditor.

      JMHO

    • I’m not the type to simply make enemies of people and declare them a “lost cause”. I judge the actions, not the man. I’ve said before Mr. Friend has had some victories I applaud him for, yet on the biggest issue, the issue of passing the requested spending for silly projects, he failed utterly.

      It’s too bad. People tend to remember the times they were screwed over, not the times they were helped. As a politician, Mr. Friend should have known that.

      • The “biggest issue” was that the man was finance chair for the last year of the Weinzapfel administration and continued in that position for another 9 months into the Winnecke administration before the an SBOA audit blew the lid off of the fact that the city’s ledgers had not been reconciled during that entire time period.

        Amazing that he is still there, and still chairs the finance committee. Only in Evansville is the public so ill informed of how government SHOULD WORK that they do not have sense enough to call for his job.

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  3. Hey guys, I still think you all are wrong about who found the $1.6 million mistake.

    Maybe John Friend will come forward and tell us who really found the $1.6 million dollar mistake.

    PLease Councilman Friend, come forward and clear us thids issue once and for all.

  4. Mole man it looks like you were wrong about your political buddy John Friend.

    Its been many hours since your post and Friend hasn’t responded to this issue.

    Looks like your political buddy Friend is not only running from this issue but also is hiding.

  5. CCO reader I know that Councilman Friend brought this issue to the public attention.

    John Friend is not only honest but also a watchdog of the public money.

    He has done an outstanding job as the city council budget chairmen.

  6. In order to clear the air concerning the facts, in July, 2012 in the effort of tracing ERA vouchers(disbursement approvals) to the trust accounts of ONB, Trust Account #2010B, it appeared that payments where made out of our Trust Account #2010B that did not meet the approval of ERA. However, research was undertaken to determine if the trust account was indirectly reimbursed for those questionable disbursements. The transactions occurred in September of 2011 amounting to approximately $1.434,000 and in April of 2012 in an approximate amount of $208,000. I requested a meeting with the Bank officials in October of 2012 to review the September and April 2012 transactions. During the review, I verified that on October 4, 2012, the Bank had refunded back into Trust Account #2010B, $1,645.000 into our account. When I asked the Bank official, who discovered this issue, that particular individual stated “it was our internal auditor.” I asked precisely, who, by name, and the individual could not recall the name of the I/A auditor. I requested email traffic documentation, and NEVER received the information.

    After leaving the Bank, I went directly to the Mayor’s office and had a meeting with Mayors Chief of Staff, Mr. Steve Schaefer, who was every upset about these facts and NEVER once indicated that the Department of Metro Developement had discovered the error. Considering the amount, you would think that the Mayors Chief of Staff would have said, “the DMD had already discovered the error.” Those who doubt this, than ask for the email transmissions between the Bank and DMD. In July, I informed our President of the City Council, Connie Robinson that we were due refunds in the amount of $1.6 million dollars but I’m the reviewing transactions to see if the refunds were inadvertently deposited into the Fifth/Third bank account.

    I want to stress that I do not believe that there was any impropriety in this unfortunate event. The Bank corrected the duplication of account names between the North High School and Arena projects. I fully understand how the error happened on the Bank side of things and do not have any negative comments towards ONB, they are a great corporate citizen and add wonderful value to our community.

    On May 23rd, in the present of auditors for the State Board of Accounts, concerning the audit commencement meeting for the 2011 annual City audit, I strongly urged the Mayor to request an audit of the Ford Center project and he agreed, instructing City Controller, Russ Lloyd, Jr. to draft a letter to the SBOA requesting the audit. By the way, no one mentioned that the bank reconcilations were not performed from January, 2011 through the time of that meeting.

    So, why would we not be surprised that DMD may not have reconciled the disbursements concerning the Ford Center? When I inquired into the baseline record keeping of the DMD of the SBOA, their response was less than positive. So, from May, 2012 meeting up to the discovery of the $1.6 million dollar problem , I called several times to the state examiner inquiring about the requested audit, and NEVER received a return call back and it wasn’t until I personally informed the SBOA of this unfortunate situation, that ACTION was instituted. I also informed the Administration while disclosing to our City Council President in July, 2012 the possibility of refunds.

    So, folks, this is my official statement concerning this event. But, let’s look on the bright side, we now have the funding to do the accounting forensics on the entire project.

    Finally, If the Mayor, his Chief of Staff and or the City Controller disagrees with this post I invite them to comment!

    Signed,

    John Friend, CPA and Evansville City Council menber

    • Thanks! No-one knows your ambitions, but, I find you to be a viable candidate for mayor. Please continue to shake off the fleas you will accumulate due to the political company you are forced to keep.
      Fare Well and Good Hunting. …

  7. What did I tell you’all that John Friend found this problem!

    Good night Press, Blanger, Brad and Stephen.

    • LOL….

      You might want to read his comment again…..

      “When I asked the Bank official, who discovered this issue, that particular individual stated “it was our internal auditor.”

      Statement made by ONB official.

      JMHO

  8. Thanks to Councilman, John Friend for explaining in detail the $1.6 million bank mistakes concerning city funds.

    I didn’t vote for you in last election but shall next time around.

    Do hope you consider running for Mayor because the presdent Mayor is a major disappointment.

  9. IS IT TRUE that it takes too long to load the Reader Poll> Yes. I have complained about this several months ago. If your IT specialist cannot solve the problem, you need to get help for him/her.

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