IS IT TRUE February 21, 2013

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The Mole #??
The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE February 21, 2013

IS IT TRUE the Evansville Redevelopment Commission (ERC) has voted to authorize carving the single block that Evansville City Administrations have been dreaming of a convention hotel sitting on for 5 years now into its own little Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District?…assuming that any future hotel will be granted the maximum 10 year tax abatement this makes the amount of money that can be collected by this new TIF limited to the non-hotel revenue from the complex?…it has been estimated that the taxes collected by this TIF will be less than $100,000 per year?…this is a drop in the bucket compared to the interest on the debt already incurred to build the Ford Center or the up-front cash incentives that will be required to close a deal with the Branson, Missouri based hotel developer that is in discussions with the Winnecke Administration right now?…this amount of money committed to be squirreled away to cover the City of Evansville’s anticipated incentive package is equivalent to a 14 year old squirreling away $50 for the purchase of a future automobile?…this is cute and thrifty for a teenager dedicated to hoarding enough money to buy a car but in the City’s case this is a fairly insignificant piece of the whole pie that is still a raw undeveloped parcel of land in downtown Evansville?…this looks a little bit desperate for every red cent that can be allocated to a hotel project?…every dollar that goes into this TIF is a dollar that the rest of the business owners and residents of Pigeon Township will get to pay for with a tax increase?

IS IT TRUE this new TIF is subject to approval of the Evansville City Council?…this would be a good time for our City Council to stop insulting each other and to put their Tom Terrific thinking caps on and figure out how this TIF effects this deal and how it effects the citizens of Evansville who own property in the Pigeon Township?…any member of the City Council who is not able to recite with understanding the potential unintended consequences of established this micro-TIF before casting a vote is undeserving of your future vote?…in cases like this a written test for the City Council is in order?…as a Washington based corporate site selector stated in a conversation in Monterrey, CA last night “the United States can no longer afford to have bumbling idiots in elected office”?…that echo’s a famous comedian George Carlin who always attributed this problem of fools in office to the fools who voted for them?…it is time for all of the people of this country to once again learn the process often called THINKING?

IS IT TRUE that the University of Vermont has released an in depth study of the happiest states in America?…in the Tri-State the State of Kentucky checked in at #28, Illinois was #31, and Indiana followed those two closely at #33?…that of course the happiest state is the State of Hawaii which should surprise no one who has been lucky enough to visit?…7 of the top 10 are western states while 7 of the bottom 10 come from the south?…the Midwestern states as they often do in nearly everything dominate the middle of the rankings?…as cities go the happiest city in America is Napa, California and the least happy is Beaumont, TX just on the Louisiana border?…Louisiana was ranked dead last for happiest?

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7 COMMENTS

  2. Glad we have that RTW law, our happiness ranking will skyrocket with lower and lower wages!

  3. I expect the silence of Complacency is about to change as those that have stood on the sidelines, not even voting sometimes as sign of their disgust, and lack of faith that anything would change with the election of either candidate are returning to the “Root” of the problem,…..Local Political Leadership. It’s where it all has to start, as an old Pol once said, “All Politics is Local”. It will be interesting to see what voter turn out will be in the coming Election cycles.
    I believe the Citizen Rally that the ill-conceived Power Grab attempt of the “Merger Plan” spawned was just the tip of the Iceberg that lies in the path of the ship called “Status Quo”.

    Change starts with you Evansville,…..standing up for your country starts when you vote.

  5. Why should we believe the City Council will do any serious thinking about another TIF district? Evansville tax revenues are bleeding money in all directions as everyone pretends any project that will benefit from a TIF is on a magic island, with no need to contribute to the support of the infrastructure surrounding it. If they want people to come and spend money there, they should carry their share of the expense.

    As for the City Council, they sold the people down the road for a mere $2.00 reduction in the Allied Trash Hauling contract. Any idiot can look at what we used to get, and what the new contract includes to see we are getting only 1/2 the trash hauled, less if you have branches, grass or leaves to be put in the ONE 96 gal. can that replaces the FOUR 48 gal. cans we bought and could put out in the past. In addition, we had recycling and yard waste pickup every other week. I will be looking for a full 96 gal. can of recycling material.

    Besides all new, ONE man trucks, Allied will be able to reduce its’ staffing by around 50% and only charge you $100 for a second trash can, the equivalent of 4 yrs & 2 mo. of those $2.oo savings.

    All the City Council needs to do is READ the new proposed contracts, compare them to what was provided in the old contract and do a little math. With lawyers, doctors, CPAs and other professional people on the City Council, you would think they could do a little comparative analysis and share their findings with the public before voting to approve changes in our services.

    They should know that all the city attorney is going to tell them is if there is anything illegal in the contract, NOT if it is the best deal for everyone, especially city residents or taxpayers. After all, that isn’t their job.

    No, Evansville is not a very happy city. Only the top echelon think everyone is happy, but they don’t come down to earth long enough to learn the truth.

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