We hope that today’s “Readers Forumâ€Â will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way?
IS IT TRUE that yesterday a member of the CCO staff talked with a potential candidate considering running for the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor on the Democratic ticket in the upcoming General election? Â …if this individual decides to run for this office it looks like the current Vanderburgh County Prosecutor will be involved in the biggest political battle of his career? Â …please don’t ask us to divulge his name because we pledged not to do it?
IS IT TRUE we been informed that that lifelong Democrat Steve Melcher recently bolted and announced that he is now a Republican must now depend on future campaign contributions to come from non-union sources? Â …were told that when Melcher ran as a Democrat around 90% of his political contributions came from local union members?
IS IT TRUE we are wondering why our City officials are being extremely quiet concerning the details of the proposed 2019 city budget? …we are told that the deficit spending habits of our city officials have finally caught up with them?
IS IT TRUE we still stand behind our predictions that in order to fund the City Of Evansville 2019 budget request either the City Council or the Mayor will have to make serious budget cuts?
IS IT TRUE it seems as though that a couple of the powers that be are bound and determined to drive people out of Vanderburgh County?…with the water and sewer bills projected to rocket into the $250 per month range when the EPA mandate is satisfied, projected property tax increases over the next several years, another reduction of the Homestead tax credit for 2019 may be planned, and an increase in the local income tax in 2018 things are looking dim for the average taxpayer beginning in 2019?
IS IT TRUE we wonder if the Evansville Water and Sewer Utilities Department are still providing the owners of the McCurdy with water and sewer services even though they owe the City around a $1 1/2 million dollars for past water and sewer bills?  …if we owed a water and sewer bill for over six (6) months our water would have long been shut off?
IS IT TRUE that the CPA firm of London Witte advised the Winnecke Administration to implement a “budget spending plan” more than three years ago? Â …as of today that no “budget spending plan” has been developed by the administration as of this date? …we wonder why not one member of City Council confronted the Mayor about this issue?
IS IT TRUE the best way for Evansville City Council to balance the 2019 budget is to make budget cuts not increase taxes?
IS IT TRUEÂ that last year out of town developers announced that they were planning to renovate the former Old National Bank tower at 420 Main Street in downtown Evansville ran into a snag in getting the project financed?…the 18 story building has been sparsely occupied and on a starvation level of maintenance since ONB moved out of the building years ago? …we wonder why the proposed developers are having problems with financing the renovatio9ns effort of this building because the sale price is extremely affordable?
IS IT TRUE  that last year the CVB committed a whopping $300,000 request ($100,000 per year for three year period) to help fund the “E Is For Everyone” campaign?  …we wonder how that investment has turned out so far?
IS IT TRUEÂ we are pleased that at least a couple of City of Evansville Council members finally realizes that the city doesn’t have a revenue problem but they do have a spending problem
IS IT TRUE that the excise tax revenue collected by the State of California on recreational cannabis during the first quarter of 2018 was just released yesterday?…excise tax is not collected on medicinal cannabis so this tax is a real indicator of the expectations for recreational use?…the number is $34 million which may sound like a lot of money but when one considers that there are 40 million Californians, the reality sets in that the state collected less than one penny per day for each resident?…it is mind boggling to think that there was such delusion about the money that would come in that some officials were counting on recreational cannabis taxes to solve pension problems, finance education reform and even buy Hummers for law enforcement officers?…the cost of the regulatory agency to oversee recreational cannabis already costs nearly $5 million per quarter so there is a distinct possibility that the state will lose money on this little venture?
IS IT TRUE that the cost of compliance is estimated at $560 per pound and the retail tax of 35% make the cost to break even calculate to $95 per ounce?…the street price of cannabis is already below $100 per ounce so that means that a legal operation can not compete with illegal sellers which guarantees a permanent black market?…the State of California has done something that is difficult and thought to be impossible and that is the fact that they have made it impossible to make a profit by selling weed?…of course all of the government officials are aghast at the collapse of pricing and the obvious fact that cannabis will not be the goose that lays golden eggs?…they sure sold it to voters like a sure fire ticket to become the golden state again?
IS IT TRUE the underperformance of cannabis as a tax generator after a hype campaign to rival the Weinzapfel Administration’s outrageous claims that a downtown hockey rink would not only pay for itself but would also bring in an unsubsidized hotel?…the reality is that while cannabis is not going to make every Californian rich, it is positive cash flow unlike Weinzapfel’s folly on Main Street that costs the taxpayers of Evansville $9 million per year?…what really seems impossible is expecting politicians who want something to tell the truth about the outcomes?…it is mind boggling to reflect on how far short the Ford Center’s financial performance has been when compared to the sales job that the hand picked consultants projected?…it would have at least been a plus to legalize weed and keep Roberts Stadium in place?
Todays READERS POLL question is: Do you feel its time for the taxpayers of this community to start holding our public officials accountable for their bad business decisions concerning tax increases?
Please take time and read our articles entitled “STATEHOUSE Files, CHANNEL 44 NEWS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, READERS POLL, BIRTHDAYS, HOT JOBS†and “LOCAL SPORTSâ€.
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