IS IT TRUE that big red area on the weather radar is a warning that we are about to have another couple of days of combined sewer overflows which should be a stark reminder to the people of Evansville about the failures of a half century of our elected leadership to keep our infrastructure up to date?…whether one believes in climate change or not a host of “presents” left in the front yard,the street, or floating in the Ohio River is something even the most challenged thinkers can understand as being wrong?…The Pooh as some of our readers have been calling this recurring phenomena is absolutely a repellent to attracting business to the City of Evansville, and spreads disease to the population?…sitting idly by dreaming of fun and games projects to squander good money to distract the huddled masses will be an issue in the 2015 city elections?
IS IT TRUE there are many options for savings in the City of Evansville budget for 2014 that have been sent to the City County Observer by the MOLE NATION and one of the most implementable and popular ones seems to be to reduce the budget for legal fees?…this is something that the CCO has advocated for in the past as it seems like there are so many lawyers latched onto the City’s teet through the politically appointed City Attorney Ted Ziemer that an in-house solution is of merit?…given the efficacy of some of the work that the current legal providers have turned out (Earthcare contract being the prime example of horribleness) it seems as though cutting at least a million bucks from the milk and honey legal budget should be low hanging fruit? …we are disappointed that 6th Ward City Councilman Al Lindsey didn’t follow through with his public statement that he wanted City Council to look at putting legal services in house?
IS IT TRUE most of the readers of the City County Observer agree with our assertions that any and all fun, games, parks, pools, etc. need to be deferred until the infrastructure of Evansville, Indiana is fixed?…our readers also recognize the need to improve the local public school system to be able to keep pace in the workforce department when the few companies who are interested come calling?…the reserve accounts have been drawn down over the last couple of years to defer dealing with the reality of declining revenue to beyond the next election cycle?…one thing is for sure and that is someday a reckoning will occur and the punch bowl will be empty?…declining balances in reserve accounts is exactly what happens when an imaginary revenue forecast comes face to face with the reality of day to day spending?…this is not the first year that Evansville has budgeted in fantasy fashion but it may well be the last given the amount of reserves that remain?
IS IT TRUE Indiana politicians have been wailing like banshees about the 1% cap on property taxes ever since it was enacted to protect homeowners from excessive taxation?…what the challenged politicians are failing to acknowledge is that the way to deal with stagnating property tax revenue is through a robust economy that drives the value of housing up?…for example in a city that has flat or declining real estate values these collections really do stay the same or even go down?…in cities that have a healthy appreciation in housing values this problem takes care of itself because the assessments are mandated to be at MARKET PRICE?…what they are not telling us is that when that $100,000 house that is capped $1,000 per year in taxes increases to be a $110,000 house the cap goes up to $1,100 thus giving the tax collector a 10% raise too?…now that Mayor Winnecke is on record as saying that assessed values in Evansville are growing at 4% per year his need for revenue should be covered if that is true?…the real question is “who in the heck in Evansville has seen a 4% annual increase in their property values?”…in a property assessed population of homes the only way to increase the assessment by 4% is for the values to actually go up by 4%?…in an under assessed population of homes 4% increases of assessment can occur but that means that tax money was left on the table due to incompetence in the previous year?…that datacom reports that the median price of a home in Evansville is $90,000 down from $100,000 in 2009 (5 years ago)?…that sure is not 4% appreciation and all homeowners know it?…there are still plenty of houses in this region that are worth less than they were 5, 10, or even 20 years ago?…the reality is crime is up, housing is down, and the Pooh is about to hit the shore, so our leaders need to stop whining and start concentrating on substance?
IS IT TRUE if the electeds really want to solve the flat revenue problem what they need is economic growth and that comes with good jobs?…good jobs are not the product of fun and games?…good jobs and housing demand come from exemplary infrastructure, great schools, clean air, clean water, good roads, safe neighborhoods, and favorable outlooks for the future?…that all adds up to good public policy?…we hope they are listening?
The truth about the “assessed value” claim by Mayor McClintock is that the Vanderburgh County Assessor is playing games with the assessed value of everyone’s home in Vanderburgh County (city and county). The assessed values are jacked up to cover the tax cap and they in no way reflect the actual value of anyone’s home. If you disagree with the assessed value that is placed upon your home you are forced to hire a professional appraiser as the “assessor appeal/review board” will not accept values presented by homeowners, not even assessed values for comparable properties in the same neighborhood and posted on the Vanderburgh County Assessor’s website (www.vanderburghassessor.org). And should you be able to prove to the review board that the assessment is too high and they do reduce it, guess what, next year you’ll be hit with the same original assessment forcing you to go through the same procedure again. It’s just a scam perpetrated by the city and county governments to increase their tax base and tax income. And it also benefits the professional real estate property appraisers as the review/appeal board will only accept documented (read:$$$ in their pockets) appraisals from those firms.
I have challenged assessed values on three occasions without paying an appraiser. To be fair I did look up comps and do appraisals myself in the same way a paid appraiser would have and then backed that up with cash value analysis. In all three cases the process worked as it should and my analysis prevailed over the assessor’s opinion.
In one case it was as simple as catching a 2,000 square foot error in the number of square feet my home had. Of course they had over-estimated the size and had to back the assessment off when they actually did the measurement. The others were just incorrect values that were corrected when faced with accurate analysis.
I too have been successful with two challenged assessments, and the lower assessments have stayed with me for the past two years with no attempt of an increase.
The Citizens desperately need the City Council to assert itself, and stand up to the challenges facing Evansville.
Time to ignore the irrational babbling of the Lame Duck, –Evansville’s idiot Mayor/Creep .
The City Council really needs the Citizens to step up and assert themselves, too. That’s a two-way street, and we have a few good people on City Council. Even the not-so-good ones will be more responsive as their elections draw near.
I couldn’t go to the City Council meeting last night, but I recorded it and watched when I got home. I was appalled at the MINO’s (Mayor-In-Name-Only) toadies who showed up to babble about how much we need Robert’s Park. Those people, who are allegedly civic-minded community leaders, should be ashamed of themselves if they have a sense of shame.
On the other hand, I was impressed with the “real people” who showed up to support the really-needed assets that the Parks Dept. already has. The people who spoke in favor of Lorraine Pool give me hope for the genuine Evansville that they live in, as opposed to the goofy fantasy land that MINO and his Missus reside in. The wonderful gentleman who takes his own time and money to maintain Helfrich Park reminded me of what a great place Evansville was before the good people stepped aside and let the phonies take over. We have plenty of good people in this city, but they need to come forward and take the helm before the drunk-with-hubris crew “totals” Evansville against the brick wall of reality.
Where is Helfrich Park? I only know of the school.
I am referring to the area near the school, public pool, and fire station, south of the Golf Course. That’s the area that the gentleman at last night’s meeting mows and cleans up. I’m going to replay the meeting today when I have time and find out his name. He deserves some token of appreciation from the public, I believe. All of our neighborhood parks need “Booster Clubs” to help maintain and improve them, IMHO. That would help instill some neighborhood feeling and pride that would hopefully spill over into the surrounding areas.
The Police Department will confirm, that park area you refer to is an active drug transaction location.
All the more reason to keep it clean.
I doubt we have a local park that isn’t. Are you advocating that all parks be done away with?
LK, no…no…not at all.
Phyllip, ask a cop. Lots of arrests at there. It’s a popular westside drug dropoff/buy location.
When I was at GAGE, the park at the corner of 4th and Main was also a drug exchange. An SUV would drive up and the distributors on bicycles would come get their backpacks full of “products” to sell every morning. We took pictures and sent them to the EPD and the Mayor. We even captured a direct exchange of cash for white powder. An arrest never happened that we witnessed. Everyone in the office knew the SUV and the runners by sight. During lunch when there were activities going on the druggies were not there. So the idea of a park being both a drug exchange and a park effectively has precedent down on Main Street.
Helfrich Park is the three baseball diamonds and the swimming pool. I drive by there daily and I often see a man out there doing maintenance. I did not know that he was doing it one his own time & dime. The next time that I drive by, I’ll definitely stop to thank him and offer him a hand. I find it hard to believe that it has any drug activity considering it’s next to a fire station & school. Plus it’s heavily trafficked with pedestrians that walk the lap around the golf course and cars travelling on Maryland. Shem, are you sure that you’re not thinking about Howell Park?
I belive he is the person than runs or ran an independent baseball league. Unless another person does this in the off season. The other field is now maintained by Golfmore.
West Side Independent League is the one closest to Helfrich and one closest to the fire station is maintained by Golfmore now I am pretty sure.
+1 LKB, tell it like it is!
As far as legal fees, first question is to ask what cities that are similar in size do for their legal work. Is it in house, or outsource? Could it be the standard to outsource?
There was a interview of recent, of a county commissioner candidate on channel 7 that a question/statement was made. Appears the intent of the county government is to speed up urban sprawl for the results of more tax revenue. As a person who hands and feet are tied to the soil that produce the grains that are needed in a persons daily lives, I find this bad in several ways.
It takes soil out of production that was mostly cleared by the sweat of the brow of hand saws and horse/mules.
It takes capitol up front to put in the infrastructure needed for the sprawl.
It takes residents/business out of city limits and reduce tax income for the city coffers.
Creates blight inside city limits, and destroy the country beauty.
Developers/realtors are the benefit of this of which are represented heavily in our local government. (we had “temporarily” weed out one this past spring!)
Eventuality city government will annex these places on the county governments dime. (yes, I know city residents are county government too.)
I am confused. Friend claims that the Cash Balance in certain funds have plummeted in the 3 years Finnecke has been in office. The Lloydster claims that “we have lived within our means”. Couldn’t someone just grab the City’s Annual Financial Report (“the Yellow Book”) and break the tie ? What was the Cash Balance when Winnecke was sworn in (1-1-2012), and what is the Cash Balance today ?
Oh, wait: The SBOA Audit Supervisor (back when the opinion was ‘Qualified’) said on the SBR recording that you could take the Yellow Book ” and throw it in the trash can”.
The Courier and Press reported yesterday that Friend quoted Dan Hedden, an accountant with Umbaugh (Indy) to the effect that Hedden told the Council on a conference call ” you people need to come up with a spending plan, and quickly”. Really ? And all these years I thought a ‘Budget’ was a ‘spending plan’ ? Did Hedden mean the S.S. Evansville will be taking on water by year’s end without an austerity plan ?
BTW, Dan Hedden was plugger-in-chief for Rusty Lloyd. Hedden was hired in very early 2012 to start dealing with the fraud and incompetence which were entangled in the 2011 accounting (disclaimer of opinion).. Hedden did teach Lloyd the art of ’rounding’ the numbers, in this case to the closest $ 30 Million.
Also, if Russ Lloyd is a licensed CPA, why does he have to hire a fellow CPA to advise him on the City’s finances ? Wouldn’t that also be low hanging fruit (i.e., either disco Hedden or fire Llloyd) re: budget cuts ?
EDITOR:
What was the total billings for Scott Dank’s office for 2012 and 2013?
Do you know these annual amounts?
R.
I believe that the City Council attorney is paid a flat rate, but I’d be interested in knowing if he also bills for “special services”. I remember a figure of $60,000 for his services and I believe that he was given an additional $25,000 during last year’s budget for a administrative assistant to help cover his workload.
Lower the raises from 2.9 to 2%, change to a 401k, come election time do not shuffle or create positions for special employees, private fund your dog park and on and on. Done. What is next on the agenda?
Hint:
Hedden did teach Lloyd the art of ’rounding’ the numbers, in this case to the closest $ 30 Million.
Any attempts by The Poop to make the focus of his DOA budget his beloved ‘dog park’, or any park, should raise eyebrows. Nobody is that ridiculous. Another weak try at misdirection by Winnie? Watch what the little Funster is doing with his other hand. His desperate attempt to pack the council meeting last night with his clackers fell flat, he’s in way over his head. A weak administrator can at least surround himself with able people, for the most part he didn’t even do that.
Cut his money, see if the next mayor can straighten things out, she won’t do any worse. Mark the Winnecke Administration down to an expensive electoral fluke, which it was, and move on. Hope the next time the local Democrats turn on themselves they only hurt themselves and not the whole city. Write letters to the IU Trustees protesting the oddball siting of the Medical School. Don’t give Winnie a pass on anything, he has abused his office. The willful little marionette has failed as our mayor and no amount of spending is going to change that. I’d guess at this point him and his consiglieres are hoping for a second term to give them more time to spread the heat around and pick the bones before their ultimate dismissal. They are reduced to an especially nauseating strain of fear-mongering as they strive like the dickens to get their latest pet projects funded.
We need someone who will work with the EPA on the sewer mandate, not unnecessarily antagonize them. Someone who will listen to the people of Evansville, not just his little band of sycophants. A mayor who cares about running the city right, not dressing up like a circus clown and making a national fool of himself and Evansville.
Bing-O!!! You hit it out of the (dog) park, Bandana.
Pooch parlay, chamber of canines .
http://www.mascotarios.org/wp-content/gallery/afghan-hound/afghan-hound-5.jpg
Yes he did!
Wondering how much money has been collected on the water/sewer rate increase and where/how much is now sitting to be available for CSO separation?
Awarded: Three more universal thermodynamic credits, (UTC’s) entropic value, for fair barter on fare balances.
BTW, Bandana: The remaining system models we’ve been observing in Vanderburgh and Evansville handled the storm balance last night with spare incremental balance.
Validated again. Worked perfectly as the time span was pretty short during the utmost climate migration deliveries.
Of course the old downtown Evansville combined sewer system experienced some failures, as always expected. Thus the Strategic Ohio river drainage basins available clean water balance took the nasty tipping points as an additional again. Has to be addressed before further or additional sewer loading is added in Evansville’s downtown. Period. Cost, cost, and more expenditures,
predictable by any estimate.
How that’s paid for is where it gets odoriferous. That’s just the type of resilient climate migration infrastructure planning we’ve been working on. The issue is a National problem, Evansville is one place on the map. (A large ongoing incursion as listed.) Solving that is a National problem, so obstructing that, is to. Vote obstruction out.
There in lays the problem. The solution is in real Metro Regional Redevelopment Planning with infrastructure built and maintained resilient enough to handle climate migrations in this century. That old Evansville downtown is just a minor incremental balance with the overall city input.
Who’s comes first? The revenue base paying the increases, or the suckers that bought into the last three Evansville mayors _ord center downtown redevelopment plan? The answer is apparent to our social economic environmental analytical consortium as the scientific data.
That’s no secret “everybody knows it.”
The planets balanced elemental approach to that issue was practically programmed to coincide with the opening discussions at the Evansville city council meeting, due the actuality of the revenue funding as available for a balanced sustainability with viable or predictable incoming revenues, as well.
Coincidently, our modelling throughout the region, and especially what’s recently been modeled through onsite cooperative effort in certain Southeastern Illinois agricultural applications, also incrementally balanced well for the previous overall systems conceptual predictions.
co·in·cide
ËŒkÅÉ™nˈsÄ«d/Submit
verb
occur at or during the same time.
“publication is timed to coincide with a major exhibition”
synonyms: occur simultaneously, happen together, be concurrent, concur, coexist
“the events coincided”
correspond in nature; tally.
“the interests of employers and employees do not always coincide”
synonyms: correspond, tally, agree, accord, concur, match, fit, be consistent, equate, harmonize, be compatible, dovetail, correlate;
“their interests do not always coincide”
correspond in position; meet or intersect.
“the two long-distance walks briefly coincide here”
Thanks V, I’m spending those as they accrue. The Cork is a good sport and readily accepts them. Cuts down on their liability when a customer orders a very well done steak.
Something planet smart bouncing around the networks for the “elementary school kids” today.
http://www.epa.gov/climatestudents/impacts/signs/sea-level.html
I wonder how our MINO justifies closing public swimming pools in a fat, miserable city. I’d guess those pools are a better source of exercise for residents than his embarrassing “Chicken Fat” video.
Don’t know what comment caused it but They’re it goes again, EKB, its that positioning thingy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP6pV0auwgQ
I love this!
IS IT TRUE if the electeds really want to solve the flat revenue problem what they need is economic growth and that comes with good jobs?…good jobs are not the product of fun and games?…good jobs and housing demand come from exemplary infrastructure, great schools, clean air, clean water, good roads, safe neighborhoods, and favorable outlooks for the future?…that all adds up to good public policy?…we hope they are listening?
Excellent!
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