IS IT TRUE May 25, 2012

43
The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE May 25, 2012

IS IT TRUE

the New Orleans Times Picayune a daily newspaper with a history going back over 100 years has faced the reality that printing a daily hard copy is a good way to lose money?…the Times Picayune announced yesterday that they will be printing a copy of the paper only on three days per week?…the focus of the great American paper is being shifted to providing online digital news content to the people of New Orleans?…that this half step will become a full step at some point as the business model for traditional print media has been disrupted forever?

IS IT TRUE the forces in support of and opposing next November’s vote on unified government in Vanderburgh County are both finally out in force trying to convince the voters to support their cause?…that both Mayor Winnecke and Sheriff Eric Williams are vocal proponents of VandyGov 2012 and are widely thought to be the candidates who will face each other to become Mayor of the County in the event that consolidation passes?…that the theory of consolidation is a very hard concept to argue effectively against?…that when one has a tangible plan in place that ignores the two most fruitful areas to provide the voters with the savings associated with consolidation and actually forbids that these sacred cows be discussed for 10 years, opposition forces can make a pretty good case that the planning process was partisan, selective, and really provides none of the benefits that could have been provided?…that the next 5 months will be quite interesting as this may come down to good theory vs. poor planning in the minds of voters?

IS IT TRUE the City County Observer is pleased to see that one of our favorite public servants, Ann Ennis who headed Keep Evansville Beautiful for many years has chosen to fire her distinguished career of service back up as opposed to heading out of town for greener pastures?…Ms. Ennis will be leading Ruth’s House and that we are sure that Ruth’s House will be better for her presence?…that Ms. Ennis’ decision is a counter to a recent pattern of exodus that has seen 12 adults with master’s degrees leave Evansville for better opportunities just since January 1st?…it is bad enough to lose the young educated professionals that all cities covet but losing people in that 40 – 60 age grouped of accomplished educated professionals with children poised to follow in their footsteps is in many ways much worse for a community?

IS IT TRUE the Kentucky Democrat primary came very close to dealing President Obama a loss in his own primary with no opposition?…if two of the 120 counties in Kentucky are removed from the totals that “Uncommitted” would have defeated President Obama by roughly 5,000 votes?…the two counties that pulled out the win for President Obama are Jefferson (Louisville) and Fayette (Lexington)?…this narrow win against no opponent was brought to you by the people of a state that depend very much on coal mining?…another state to watch for an indication of a shift from Obama to Romney is Wisconsin that is mired up in a recall election of Governor Scott Walker?…polls are tied in Wisconsin for president but that the probability of Governor Walker surviving this recall election are now at 94% on a website that allows gambling on elections (www.intrade.com)?…that if Wisconsin rejects this recall attempt that was initiated and bankrolled by the public employee unions it will not bode well for President Obama in Wisconsin?…that President Obama did make a 2008 campaign promise to walk the picket lines but thus far has not delivered on that promise?

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43 COMMENTS

  1. Good edition, as always. While there are pieces of the unification plan I would change, it’s far better than the status quo. The choice really comes down to more of the same, or a big shakeup that brings efficiency. I’m voting YES for unification!

    • If you are looking for a “big shakeup,” then you may want to remove from the current plan the provision that give a “transition team” comprised of the existing city council members, county council members, mayor, and county commissioners the power to gerrymander the metro council districts in order to facilitate the re-election of the same crew.

      I could go on and give several other examples of how the reorganization committee disregarded many suggestions to create a truly effective/efficient government and instead assembled a plant to give you more of the same old status quo … just spread out over a larger jurisdiction. But it seems you have made up your mind, so I’ll wait and see what you really want to know about the planners’ intent to avoid any real “shakeup.”

      • I agree! It will be the same crew of so-called leaders with a larger and ever expanding tax base to swindle more dollars to waste for their pet projects and pensions. They (insert either party as they are both the same in Evansville) will not vet their decisions as they will each have their own agendas. Please say no to the money grab consolidation. Please use the money already allocated for repairs in the budget. If there is not enough money, look at your budget again and make the hard decisions that Evansville leaders have avoided. Obviously, the money brought in each month for a water/sewer bill should have a percentage for maintenance. If it doesn’t, then make some cuts and allow for maintenance. As with all retired and current employees there will be cuts to benefits and retirements

    • If this consolidation goes through, there isn’t going to be any as you say “big shakeup that brings efficiency”. The consolidation team identified nothing that would either bring efficiency or save money. Until they are willing to make hard choices and show how the consolidation will bring efficiency and savings, it doesn’t make sense to do it. With the current plan, all it would do is bring more tax money to the city so they can waste it on their hairbrained projects.

  2. the only senario for a big “shake up” is either rapid growth or rapid failure… one reason our economy has been stagnet for fifty years…. status qou preserves existing power structures…. consolidation could set us up for rapid growth whereas non-consolidation could set us up for rapid failure… either way we get the shake…..

    • No vote means no shake. The City has proven in the last 4 months that Republicans are no better than the Democrats and that it is determined to continue the 50 year drift to the bottom.

      The real question is whether or not the City will ruin the County as it has ruined itself. My bet is that there is not enough money or will in the county to reverse the path of the City. Unification in that case will be like a poor swimmer trying to rescue a drowning person. Both end up at the bottom of the river.

      The irony is that there was only one way for the committee to destroy any chance for a shake-up and that is the path they chose. The best case if this passes is more of the same. The fools have prevented any real change by writing the pln the way they did.

    • Consolidation sets us up for rapid failure by virtue of bigger government, a more powerful Mayor who appoints the Deputy Mayor, Director of Finance, Public Information Officer, and Legal Counsel for both the Mayor and Combined Government. Not to mention the 229 appointments he would have for the various boards. Article 2.8…Mayoral appointments shall not require advice or consent of the Common Council…..duh! “The most efficient form is government is a dictatorship” (not my quote) and consolidation is looking more like that in every article of the “Plan for Reorganization”.

  3. CCO Editors how about a listing of just where all the candidates on the ballot this year stand on the consolidation issue?

  4. Is it true that one of the candidates who is running to replace Alberta for clerk is for consolidation (and so is her boss) which would eliminate the Clerk’s position and her staff? Hint she works for Z-Tuley a Main Stream Democrat.

    • Thank goodness. Having two clerk’s offices is stupid and wasteful. The only people who would favor keeping that are big government advocates who want to continue leeching off the taxpayer with overpaid gov’t jobs. It’s time to make gov’t leaner and end the idiotic reliance on needless public jobs.

      • So having two clerks offices is stupid and wasteful but having two police departments is not? Why cannot the county recorder be mergered into the county auditor’s office as a recording clerk’s division? Why cannot the county treasurer and the county auditor be merged into the municipality’s controllers office? How about merging the county surveyor’s office into the municipal engineering office?

        If you really want lean government it does not happen by only eliminating the city clerk and reducing the councils and commissioners from 19 members to 15. The plan is a political accommodation plan that caters to the powers that be so that the city form of government with a strong mayor can be impressed on the rural county property owners.

      • I guess going from 9 City Council and 3 County Commissioners to 15 Combined Government Councilpersons is getting leaner???

  5. I’ll keep saying this until it comes to pass: The only way to consolidate Evansville and Vanderburgh County into one political entity is to hold a referendum in which a “Yes” vote commands the mayor and city council to shred the city charter and Fed Ex it to the Secretary of State in Indy. What will remain will be County Government, which will merge city departments into the county. No more crooked or bozo mayors, no more former welfare queen running the city council.

    • Uh, have you even read the plan? That’s basically what it does. It shreds both the city charter and the county charter and starts over with something far more sensible.

    • OK…make up your silly mind already. You “CON-servatives” spend soo much time whining and moaning about people on “welfare.” However, when someone does make it off of assistance (as you allege in your statement), then they have not earned the right to serve their people? Now, I assume to know who you are referring to, and if correct, I am no fan of hers either, but I am a little insulted by the dichotomy of your thinking: Bad to be on welfare, bad to be off? Come on…which is it?

  6. Dr. John is right. The City is so stupid and mismanaged it should not be given anything else to manage. If you can’t do the little stuff like paint Mesker and pick up needles you have no business taking on bigger jobs.

    Putting the city in charge of the county makes about as much sense as putting Solyndra in charge of Apple.

          • With a name like MainStreetDemo, I highly doubt you are one to pontificate on the intelligence of others. After all, it is YOUR gang of cronies who has gotten us ALL into this mess. Now, what are you going to do to fix it? I’d start with asking for some resignations from the city council.

    • I agree we should take away the city’s control and power. That’s one reason why I’m for unification. We finally give control of local government to the county, not the city. Get educated about it and you’ll learn that it gives nothing to the city. Instead it does away with it.

      • Wrong! The plan is designed to impress the city form of government with a strong mayor onto the rural county property owners in order to capture 100% control of collecting and spending the countywide tax base. Under the plan the mayor sets a budget, written for the entire county by the mayor’s hand picked budget director, and the council can change a line item only with a 2/3 vote. That certainly is not how the county council does it now. There is a lot more in the plan that proves it would be an extention of the city government by one mass annexation. It is you who needs to get educated about the plan. You can start by reading it slowly and carefully.

      • Rev Adams, how do you think the county will control the government under ewe-nification, when there are only four districts outside the Urban Service District? That leaves 11 seats that will be filled from the Urban Service District. Do you think the next Mayor would come from the General Service District? No way, even the current County Commissioners all live within the City limits, but represent the rural residents. Would you like the ewe-nificationed Mayor to be from Darmstadt, or Armstrong Township (they didn’t even get a voting booth this year)? Would that Mayor have the same goals for the combined government as Winnecke or any other City resident?

        • You forgot to include the county council in your count of elected officials. We get to shed 6 unnecessary beaurecrats under unification.

          And you’re right that very few of our local elected officials live outside city limits, including county officials. That’s a travesty and unification helps fix that. We’ll be guaranteed far more council members outside city limits since its required they live outside city limits.

          • City council 9 + county council 7 + county commissioners 3 = 19.

            Plan calls for 15 members on new metro council. That only sheds 4 + the city clerk all of whom are elected officials, not bureaucrats.

  9. Would our proposed plan include a capital improvement board (CIB) like Indy?

    One that is capable of running the local government so far into debt that you have to petition the state legislature to write statute that allows the taxing of every citizen in the state of Indiana in order to slake the local Chamber’s thirst for spending?

    __

    • No it gives all those powers to the mayor, his/her hand picked budget director, and the mayor’s majority appointed redevelopment commission.

        • Nothing. That’s how the city does it now. I have said before and will say again that the committee intended the plan to extend the existing city form of government to all four corners of the county. You and I agree on that. And they call it reform.

    • GOOD POINT! Perhaps Indy’s CIB is what is sending the state into a downward spiral?

      • Having lived in the Indy area for over 30 years, I can definitely say that the CIB is a train wreck!! Indianapolis believes it is all of Indiana. The rest of us are only there to pay their support (taxes). We count for nothing. I wouldn’t bank on the new candidates from southern Indiana to change that either. Once in Indy attitudes really change.

  10. CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION

    BTW, I believe that Dan McGinn and Wayne Parke held the more principled positions at the council meeting.

    They recognized that imposing your personal feelings, in the form of a city council resolution, about a current collective bargaining issue between a city vendor and its contract employees, was not only overstepping, it was despicable behavior that pandered to certain voters.

    Cheers for Councilman McGinn. Jeers for the 6 misguided individuals who sought to abuse their council positions.

    __

  11. Dan McGinn is the polar opposite of Weaver, Robinson and Mosby, but unfortunately their votes all count the same.

  12. If you think there are a lot of houses on the market that will not move now……. just wait if forced merger takes place. You’ll just put a sign on your house if it’s NOT for sale.

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