IS IT TRUE September 10, 2012
IS IT TRUE the City of Carmel, Indiana an upscale suburb of Indianapolis that recently had the distinction of being called the “Best Place in America†to live has itself in a tight spot financially?…it is actually more than a tight spot, it is a situation called unsustainable by financial analysts and the City of Carmel will soon run out of money and default on debt is changes their massive debt is not refinanced at a lower interest rate?…the way that this seemingly prosperous city that is home to the entrepreneurs and movers and shakers of the Indianapolis area got into a default position should sound familiar and surprise no one?…what happened is that Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard and his hand-picked appointees in the Carmel Redevelopment Commission used loopholes in Indiana law to borrow roughly $260 Million to go on a binge building beautiful temples to art and excessive living without even asking the Carmel City Council to approve the funding?…Brainard and his cronies on the CRC must have been borrowing from The Bank of Guido as their interest rates are around 8%?…that now Brainard and his cronies way out is to get the Carmel City Council to issue general obligation bonds to refinance their building binge debt at lower interest rates?…the people of Carmel and their City Council will probably have to give in because the alternative is to become the Stockton of the Midwest?…without a change in Indiana law Brainard and his pals on the CRC could then turn around and start another binge by borrowing hard money from Guido?…You can read more details about the travails of Indiana’s richest city per capita on the following link?
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201209081517/NEWS/209090333&nclick_check=1
IS IT TRUE that in another article in the Indianapolis Star the details of just how Mayor Brainard and his select members of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission used loopholes in Indiana Law to use third parties and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to build things without asking the City Council or the people of Carmel via a referendum?…Mayor Brainard of course sought legal council to get favorable opinions prior to embarking on this SNEGAL ambition?…that even with expensive favorable opinions from elite Indianapolis law firms that are as familiar as the names of relatives in the Evansville Civic Center and among local elected officials that this borrowing activity is still under the scrutiny of the Indiana State Board of Accounts?…you can read all about this SNEGAL scheme on the following link?
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120908/NEWS/209090334
IS IT TRUE that all of this coming from Carmel makes us wonder if Evansville is sitting on a debt bomb that could easily reach a tipping point that forces the “tax increase or default†scenario to unfold on the banks of the Ohio?…the dragging out of the budgets of the City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County are clear signals of caution which can be a good thing?…the words from Civic Center moles regarding what the forthcoming Indiana State Board of Accounts report will contain about the financial activities of the City of Evansville also will invite comparisons to financially embattled cities?
IS IT TRUE that Vanderburgh County officeholders got a directive Friday from the Vanderburgh County Auditor to fill out transfer documents or documents seeking an appropriation to supplement fourth quarter PERF payments to the State of Indiana?…this request was supposedly made because of an apparent failure to communicate?…since there is no surplus to transfer in most departments, one must assume the majority of department heads will be seeking additional appropriations to cover employee retirement funding.
The gang of cronies can get only so much money out of Evansville before the well runs dry!!! Look out county the city needs more money so here we come!!! Vote No to consolidation an incomplete plan that is out to rape the county to pat fo Weinzapfels folly!!!!!
Gas is going up again today. Fill up earlier rather than later or it will cost you.
I believe you. You’ve been on the money before.
But wholesale gasoline went down this morning, down about 6 cents to $3.005 or so. Add in the 62c for fed and state tax, plus 3 to 6 cents for the retailers’ spread, and anything over about $3.699 is a rip-off.
You know, Mr. Editor, an article on Mississippi Governor’s prosecution of gasoline price gougers might make a good comparison to Indiana state officials’ pitiful stance on the same quasi-criminal behavior. Excessive gasoline pricing is wrecking our local economy.
What is gas now?
It was $3.99 and $3.97 at the stations I passed yesterday afternoon, Pappa.
But this morning wholesale gasoline is still $3.02 per gallon, pretty much the same price as it was before the mighty hurricane Isaac threatened to shut down the Gulf refineries. Pretty much the same price as it was through the Labor Day weekend. Exactly what it was last Friday.
I guess the cabal of gasoline retailers know something that no one else knows about gasoline. Maybe there’s going to be a sudden and massive shortage.
More likely retailers know they can fix prices and fix them at an unreasonably high level with impunity. They know from experience that no Indiana official is going to raise a question, much less pass a law prohibiting or prosecute gasoline price fixing and customer gouging.
We’ve sure got a bunch of lame lawmakers and governors who have the nerve to claim “Hoosier values” when they run for office.
Don’t tell me that the same financial problems happening in Carmel,In. could happen here in Evansville?
No wonder why Taxapple decided not to run again for Mayor!
Can’t wait for the state audit of the Ford Center to begin!
I hear it’s not going to be a pretty sight.
I would not get too exercised over the SBOA audit. After all any audit agency that can overlook $300. million sitting in an electronic account is surely not that sharp.
When they come to town I get the feeling they are here more for damage control than to do a legitimate audit and let the chips fall where they may.
How many audits do you think the SBOA has done on the City of Carmel over the last 5 or 10 years? Are they really JUST NOW becoming aware of “discrepancies”?
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Who should be blamed for the major financial shortfall problems concerning Vanderburgh County fourth quarter PERF payments.
Could be Mayor LLoyd Winnenke, Russ Lloyd, Jr., Joe Kiefer, Steve Melcher, Marsha Abell, Z Tuley, Bill Fluty, Gries or all the present members of the Vanderburgh County Council?
Bottom line, someone is to blamed for this major financial mistake concerning the county employees PERF payments! It’s time to woman or man up! The county employees and taxpayers demand an answer!
city watch
I have the answer to your question concerning whom is responsible for the Vanderburgh County PERF mess up.
The answer is, County Auditior-Joe Gries and the Vanderburgh County Council controlled by the alledged taxpayers financial watchdogs, Jim Raben and Tom Shelter!
Word at Civic Center is that the State Board of Accounts audits findings concerning the financial activities of the city over the last couple of years may not be a pretty read!
Problem with County County members is that Jim Raben and Tom Shelter gives everthing to Vandy Sheriff, Eric Williams that he requests. This one of the major reasons for County’s financial shotfall!
Can’t to see how the County Council and County Auditior, Joe Geies are going to replace the PERF short fall.
This Carmel stuff looks very much like what Weinzapfel and his cronies did to finance the Ford Center. Overestimating TIF $, selling bonds at premium interest rates, and heading for a bailout. Yep that fits well down here in the Pocket City.
It was revealed in tonight’s Evansville City Council meeting that the flood wall from Garvin Park west to First Ave. is being pushed out at the bottom from the weight of the Greenway project that runs next to the wall.
I am sure that some engineering company was paid handsomely to engineer that section of the Greenway and would like to know just which company was paid for the work.
The monitoring devices, that are required to collect data for the Corps of Engineers, collective will cost about $100,000. It was mentioned that there are contractors drilling core samples or placing supports down 90 feet to the bedrock as we speak.
So we paid for this once already, and now, because it was half-assed in the first place we get to pony up ???? who knows how much again?
Where is the insurance coverage for this sort of boondoggle?
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Yes this should have been look at when the Greenway was built. This may be a blessing in disguise because it likely identified a very weak spot in the flood wall which likely would not have been found until we had a major flood–to late to prevent huge damage.
If faulty engineering is “a blessing in disguise” then this is one “blessed” city!
Having lived in the Indy area for many years, you all need to know that Carmel is a joke. Kind of like Ky jokes only with their nose in the air. There was quite a long series of Carmel housewife jokes too. The folks immediately north of Indy think an awful lot of themselves and are proud of it. Looks like they got a little too big for their britches this times though. Can’t say I am surprised. Unfortunately there is enough money up there to buy their way out of this so, unlike Evansville, they may get by smelling like roses rather than the dirty Ohio River.
Just viewed the City Council meeting on Channel 12 TV this evening. Was stunned to hear the city controller, Russ Lloyd, Jr. tell city council he has no idea what kind of profit the Ford Center made so far in 2012.
IT”S obvious that we have major financial problems here in “RIVER CITY”!
I really feel sorry for Russ Lloyd, Jr. because he is now working in the “den of thiefs”.
Just a matter of time that they will set him up to take the professional fall!
I agree that the Mayor Winnenke back room boys are going to set him up to be a financial and political fall guy.
It’s common knowledge that Lloyd W has always been jealous of Russ Lloyd, Jr.
I pray that Russ Lloyd, Jr. gets away from Winnenke before it’s to late.
He is one huck of an honest person and I hate to see him set up by the Mayor’s back room boys.
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