IS IT TRUE JULY 17, 2015

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IS IT TRUE as the City County Observer predicted yesterday, members of Evansville Professional Firefighter’s Local 357 PAC announced their candidate endorsements for the City of Evansville 2015 upcoming General Elections?

IS IT TRUE the Evansville Professional Firefighters Local 357 PAC has endorsed the following candidates in the upcoming City election?

Mayor Gail Riecken (D).
City Council At-Large Dr. H. Dan Adams. (D).
City Council At-large Michelle Mercer (R).
City Council 3rd Ward Anna Hargis (R).
City Council 5th Ward Tom Shoulders (D).

IS IT TRUE that the above political endorsements by Local 357 Pac is considered to be a crushing blow political blow to Mayor Winnecke’s re-election campaign?

IS IT TRUE it’s also a major insult to the re-election efforts of 2nd Ward Councilwoman Missy Mosby and At- Large City Councilman Jonathon Weaver, since both are the City Council Representatives to the Fire Department?

IS IT TRUE members of Evansville Professional Firefighter’s Local 357 PAC recognize that public safety is one of the primary responsibilities of local government. Based on the results of our recent candidate’s night, and based on historical support of public safety concerns, they believe the above noted candidates are particularly aware of this responsibility, and have a stated willingness to provide our local first responders with the tools and funding they need to ensure continued excellence in service?  …they encourage the citizens of Evansville to consider these endorsements when they go to the polls this Fall to decide the candidates who want to vote for in the upcoming Fall election?

IS IT TRUE we asked President and At-Large City Councilman Dr. Dan Adams to expand on his announcement that he wants to give City employees a 2% pay raise for 2016? …posted below is Dr. Adams unedited response to our request?

DR. DAN ADAMS UNEDITED RESPONSE TO OUR REQUEST

The Mayor has recently suggested that there will be no salary increases for city employees next year. This on the heels of his administration’s inept ability to accurately project revenues and expenses for the city budget.

I will not support that position. I will support giving city workers a 2% pay raise in the coming year. This increase will maintain wage parity with other public employees in our area. This increase should not apply to the city council. I will not support a pay raise for the council.

I believe diligent budget review can result in identifying sources and adjustments that will yield the approximately $1.5 million needed to make this happen.

There is a disconnect between the needs of the city’s residents and the administration’s primary goals. The administration has tilted its priorities away from the core services that government is mandated to provide and that benefit all of the city’s residents toward aesthetics and eye-catching projects, often in a hurried process where lack of planning and rush timetables result in misspent funds. We are holding more public discussion meetings and repaving fewer streets.

The fire fighters, police and other city workers are essential for maintaining the core public safety, infrastructure and services for our city’s residents.
We know that the city’s workforce is one of our greatest resources. Keeping qualified, experienced workers must be a top priority.

In order to meet this objective and to move the city’s finances further down the path to solvency, this year’s budget review process must involve a critical look at every departmental proposal, not just to identify and probe increases, but to determine realistic funding needs. I will ask the tough questions so we have a true picture of how much it really costs to run each city department.

In addition, I will demand that the administration provide accurate budget revenue and expense projections for the coming year.

I have often said that my three budget priorities are to assure that public safety is maintained while providing tax payer value with a truly balance budget and building Evansville’s economic base with the Indiana University Medical School’s downtown facility.

There is no better way to assure that public safety is maintained than by preserving our professional and qualified fire fighter, police and city employee workforce.

There is little doubt that providing a modest 2% pay increase to these vital public servants will deliver value to our entire city.

IS IT TRUE it has been a long week and we hope you have enjoyable weekend?

Please take time and vote in today’s “Readers Poll”.  Don’t miss reading today’s Feature articles because they are always an interesting read. New addition to the CCO is the Cause of Death reports generated by the Vanderburgh County Health Department.

Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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12 COMMENTS

  1. WOW!
    Doc Adams takes the bull by the horns

    Acknowledging and addressing the fuzzy math and accounting that characterizes City business, supporting reasonable pay increases for City employees and unselfishly refusing to support an increase in his own remuneration, he personifies (in my mind) “Public Servant.”

    Further: identifying the “disconnect between the needs of the city’s residents and the administration’s primary goals” is a fundamental step in affecting the changes that MUST occur if we are to ever get on track.

    This reader recognizes a new hero and fresh hope for the City of Evansville.
    Thanks for stepping up Doc! …

    • And this reader recognizes that Adams loses credibility when he talks about a balanced budget and in the next breath proposes giving away $60+ million taxpayer for a downtown “Med School”.

  3. All in all ,I think Doc Adams is an honest man , he does know right from wrong , biggest problem I have with Mr Adams is he keeps drinking the Kool-Aid even when he knows it has already turned sour
    and rancid

  4. Looks like the firefighter’s union has turned their hose on Lloyd Winnecke. A devastating blow and an appropriate resurrection of an old Bull Connor tactic.

    • I am pleased to see your approval of the populist, progressive, life-long Democrat, Bull Connor. He was a great supporter of unions. I have no doubt that he would be behind Gail 100%! He would be outraged to learn that a union fireman had arrested just because he was drunk, disorderly, and assaulted a police officer.

      J. Coddington “Comrade Hugo” Fetlock IV
      Maximum co-coordinator
      Organizing for Idiocy
      Evansville Cell

      • We Marxists don’t usually believe in the supernatural, but the Ghost of Bull Connor said that he was outraged that a union fireman had BEEN arrested just because he was drunk, disorderly, and assaulted a police officer. He is perfectly OK with a drunk and disorderly union fireman who assaulted a police officer arresting people, though!

  5. Who did the firefighters endorse in the last election? If it was Rick Davis, I wouldn’t call their endorsement of Riecken a “crushing blow political blow to Mayor Winnecke’s re-election campaign”, What is a “crushing blow political blow” anyway?

    • Well if the firefighter”s Pac Carries any weight with their fellow men/women on the force (numbering about 247) and they lobby their extended families, and friends, if you take that number and extrapolate it could be more than a few thousand votes for Riecken which could be significant to say the least.

      • “What is a “crushing blow, political blow”? Sounds like an old nineteen nineties dirty political joke, with the abstracted answer being “Monica.” Other than that speculation, no other opinion included from the growing centrist crowd . Especially in that messed up political dirge in Evansville Indiana, however the abstract would fit well with some of those political types and their cronies there “Crash.”……..

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