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Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley Speaks Out About Requested Transfer And The 2016 Budget

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This letter was sent to Mayor Lloyd Winnecke by Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley via e-mail

Lloyd,

I am writing on two issues-the requested transfer and the proposed 2016 City budget.

I will vote for the transfer of $8 million in rainy day and Riverboat funds to pay bills in the general fund. I believe the purpose of the ordinance was to increase transparency in the use of funds to cover shortages in property taxes and general revenue. It was not to impede government operations. I think it’s important to understand in real time what is happening to the City’s budget due to stagnant revenue and for there to be a conversation about how the City adjusts in the long-term.

Whether the City is able to reimburse those accounts and still pay all of its bills for 2015 is a question I believe will be answered negatively. However, that is to a certain extent beyond my control and an election issue at this point. We are all well aware of the City’s ability to sit on bills that come in for the months of November and December and to get advances on 2016 revenue. I suspect the City will be able to manipulate its way into a positive number in ending the year. However, it begs the question of how healthy this system really is for the future and how stable it would be with an unforeseen economic crisis.

I do hope the conversation about revenue shortfalls that the ordinance was meant to trigger actually occurs. I know from meeting with Russ Lloyd, Jr. expenditures exceeded revenue by $5 million as of June 30th of this year. Revenue was $43 million and expenditures were $48 million. Russ told me that he expected revenue for the year in the civil budget to be $79 million. I believe the estimated revenue is high, and most of the need to transfer funds stems from chronic overspending.

The City had over $9 million in County Option Income Taxes (COIT) on January 1. 2012. Those funds have been all but eliminated in the overspending of 2012, 2013 and 2014. I do agree with Conor O’Daniel that transfers in prior administrations to cover budget shortfalls were largely covered by excess COIT funds.

Civil budget revenue over 2012 to 2014 has not kept up with expenditures. Expenditures, according to the annual reports, for 2012 were $76 million, for 2013 were $79.2 million and for 2104 were $79.5 million. Revenue has been largely flat over the three years ranging from $75 million to $76.5 million. I believe this failure to adjust to property tax caps has exhausted extra funds previously used to cover the months when property tax receipts are not available (March/April and September/October). The City typically starts getting advances on the property tax receipts at the end of April and end of October.

The problem with using Riverboat funds to float the budget at any point is these funds are all earmarked for capital projects. The 2015 budget for Riverboat funds is $13,123,156 in revenue and $13,033,410 in spending. Capital projects are affected when these funds are tied up. The same is true for current COIT funds, as the budget for 2015 is $15,560,894 in revenue and $16,879,431 in spending. The proposed budget for 2016 as to these funds is similar in that there is not much, if anything, to use for other purposes. Keeping the COIT funds that had been built up should have been a priority in managing the City’s cash flow.

I will not vote for the amended budget as present to the Finance Chairman last week, because it allows spending at a level that will not be covered with available revenue. Russ told us at a City Council meeting that revenue for the civil budget for 2016 is likely to be under $80 million. Getting to $79-80 million largely comes from an increased fee to cable companies and a higher payment request to Evansville Water and Sewer. It does not come from an increase in property tax receipts in any real amount. Although I applaud the Administrations’s efforts to find new revenue sources, we have a problem with largely stagnant revenue and the inability to keep up with the growth in fixed costs.

I cannot in good conscious vote for a budget that allows $85 million in spending. I understand the argument that the Administration will not actually spend $85 million, and mostly because the money won’t be there to spend, but the high cap is likely to mean the Administration will continue to spend more than it takes in.

In looking at labor costs as 87% of the civil budget, I can’t help but focus in on the 39-44 new employees that you have hired. Not all are full-time, but most are full-time, and all are perpetual. I confirmed this number with George Fithian this morning. You weren’t just handed an expensive government, your decisions are contributing to the problem.

My other problem with the City’s amended 2016 budget is the cut to funds for the demolition of 161 uninhabitable houses that will likely now be auctioned later this year. A group of people spent 8 months trying to break the cycle of blight perpetuated by the annual auction. The demolition cost for these homes is approximately $1 million. Even if government officials cannot agree on whether or how to land bank, we do the citizens of Evansville a disservice when we allow these homes to be auctioned.

If nothing else, I believe there are five votes on the City Council to transfer $1 million in existing Riverboat funds to demolish these houses, so that the County is auctioning lots instead of structures. The County would hopefully delay the auction to accomplish the demolitions. Like structures, 70% of vacant lots that are auctioned return to be auctioned again. However, in the meantime at least unsophisticated and unsuspecting families won’t end up renting one of these structures before it makes its way back to County ownership.

We have been reminded in the transfer debate that the City has stockpiled Riverboat funds. I think most of these funds are earmarked for capital projects, but if not, it’s a fine use of these funds to demolish this year’s crop of uninhabitable houses, as well as next year’s crop. Hopefully, down the road there will be tax credit legislation for new construction on vacant lots and the tax abatement program for investment in blighted structures allowed by Senate Bill 415 will be developed for local use.

I appreciate your time. Please let me know if you would like to discuss these issues further.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley

City Council member From The 3rd Ward

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. Please scroll at the bottom of our paper so you can enjoy our creative political cartoons. Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without our permission

IS IT TRUE SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

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IS IT TRUE  we are extremely disappointed in the vote that 7 out of 8 Council members cast at Monday evening City Council meeting?  …City Council went along with the Mayor and his City Controller recommendations to lend the city $8 million dollars from the Riverboat and Rainey Day funds to pay overdue bills and make employee payroll?  …whats disappointing about this transaction was that 7 members of Council bluntly violated City Ordinance that clearly states that Riverboat funds can’t be used  to pay for operational expenses?  …its our opinion that the Mayor, his Controller and 7 members of City Council didn’t practice “good stewardship” on behalf of their constituencies by illegally taking money from the Riverboat fund to  pay overdue city bills?   …wonder why City didn’t take a short term loan with a local bank to pay the unpaid bills?…we are pleased that City Council Finance Chairman Conner O’Daniel voted against the Administration illegal $8 million dollar loan request?  …that Council member Connie Robinson was out of town on business and didn’t attend this meeting?

IS IT TRUE Mayor Winnecke is the CEO of a multi million dollar business called the City of Evansville ?  …its his responsibility is to ensure that the City is on solid financial footing so city services can be provided in the most efficient manner?  …City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr is responsible for insuring that all of the revenue collected in 2015, pay bills in a timely manner and stays within the budgetary restraints mandated to him by City Council?  … City Council members are the Board of Directors for Evansville and should insure that City revenues are being spent within the budget guidelines that they approved at the beginning of 2015?

IS IT TRUE the Mayor,  his City Controller and City Council all failed the taxpayers of this community by allowing the 2015 City budget to be over spent by a whooping $8 million dollars plus?  …if the above individuals were in charge of a multi million Corporation in the private sector that business would be forced to the brink of bankruptcy?  …the bottom line is that the Mayor, his Controller and City Council have failed to practice sound fiscal management that insures “GOOD PUBLIC POLICY” decisions?

IS IT TRUE even after the City has overspent $8 million dollars so far in the 2015 budget the Mayor is now talking about new  capital projects he wants to do in his second term?  …the Mayor wants to spend many million of dollars on Roberts Park,  $13 million dollars on North Main project, spend millions of dollars on new attractions for Mesker Zoo, relocate Lloyd pool at an underdetermined cost,  and who knows what else?  …we almost forgot to point out that the multi million dollar Johnson Control new water meter project is still going on?  … we are also facing a $87 million dollar funding liability for building the IU Medical School a new Downtown Hotel?  …we wonder how many more capital projects can the taxpayers of Evansville afford to fund under the current tax structure?

IS IT TRUE that ordinance C 2015-15 was quietly passed at last night’s council meeting.?  …that this ordinance pulled properties from the tax sale to be demolished?  …that this was accomplished without a Brownfields expansion of their Land Banking operation as alleged was necessary, in numerous Courier and Press articles, to accomplish such transfer or stopping of properties going to the tax sale?  …that this is more evidence to stop funding going to the Brownfields Corporation as a gift,  as the Mayor has proposed,  and appropriate funds within the budget for Demolition?

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. Please scroll at the bottom of our paper so you can enjoy our creative political cartoons. Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without our permission

COA splits over terminating parental rights to twins

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Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the decision to terminate the parental rights of a mother to her twin daughters based on insufficient evidence, although one judge believed the termination should have been upheld. The court unanimously affirmed the decision to end her parental rights to her son.

Mother A.C. appealed the termination of parental rights regarding son N.G. and daughters L.C. and M.C., who were 11 and eight, respectively, when the judgment was issued. They were removed from her care after N.G. was hit with a belt and was injured; A.C. claimed her boyfriend did it; N.G. alleged his mother had hit him.

Mother is bipolar and has a history of not taking her medication and physically abusing N.G., who has been seeing therapists since he was 3 years old.

The children were removed from her care in 2011 and placed with their father, but then moved to foster care when father was convicted of molesting his stepdaughter. Mother did not always comply with parenting and therapy sessions as ordered and was not always able to control her children’s behavior during supervised visits. But at the time of the termination, she had a stable home, remarried, was employed, and had consistently had taken her medication for bipolar disorder for six months.

The majority, in In the Matter of the Term. of the Parent-Child Relationship of: N.G., L.C., and M.C. (Minor Children), and A.C. (Mother) v. The Ind. Dept. of Child Services, 02A04-1412-JT-605, reversed termination regarding the twins due to lack of evidence. Judge John Baker, writing for the majority, noted that there is no evidence the girls were physically abused.

“DCS’s case in support of termination in regard to L.C. and M.C. rests entirely on the premise that the children suffer emotionally as a result of contact with Mother. However, as previously discussed, the evidence does not indicate that L.C. and M.C.’s negative reactions towards Mother are anything other than the foreseeable consequence of years of separation with limited contact,” he wrote.

Judge James Kirsch would uphold mother’s termination regarding the twins, noting that it might be “a close call,” but deference to the trial court’s decision should be given in these matters. He pointed to the girls’ behavior following the visits with their mother, which included nightmares, bedwetting, and crying. He was also not swayed by her recent decision to stay on medication.

But the judges agreed that mother’s parental rights should be terminated regarding N.G. as it is in his best interest and supported by evidence given mother’s past inability to control his behavior and her history of resorting to physical abuse.

19th Annual American Sewing Guild Sewing and Craft Show

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    October 3, 2015    1:00PM    at Bethel United Church of Christ,  3029 N. Green River Road  (between Lynch & Morgan).
                             Free Admission
Sewing Guild members will model clothing, quilts and other items’
Goodies  bags, Door Prizes, Sale tables.  Vendors with sewing, Embroidery, and craft items.
Chances to benefit Community Service Projects;
    1st. Prize  Bernette sewing Machine
     2nd Prize Panasonic Iron
     3rd. Prize Ott Light
For more information  e-mail    Evansville@asg.org    or call 812-568-2515

USI Respiratory Therapy Program adds bachelor of science degree

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The Indiana Commission for Higher Education has approved a four-year degree program for respiratory therapy in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of Southern Indiana. The current two-year Associate of Science in Respiratory Therapy (ASRT) degree program will transition to a four-year Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy (BSRT) degree program in the fall of 2016.

“This is an historic move for USI,” said Wes Phy, program chair. “Our program has served the community well for many years, but we will now be evolving into a much more advanced program that will move our profession into the next generation. USI will be one of only four programs in the state of Indiana to offer a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy.”

All core curriculum courses and most respiratory therapy courses are offered at the USI campus. Clinical training is provided at Deaconess Hospital, Deaconess Gateway Hospital, Methodist Hospital, Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, Select Specialty Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center, under qualified medical supervision.

In addition, the Respiratory Therapy Program also will offer a degree-completion section (AS degree to BS degree), which will allow current registered respiratory therapists (RRT) with a two-year associate degree to complete course requirements for the BSRT from USI entirely through distance education.. “Working registered respiratory therapists can complete the BSRT in four semesters of full-time study or six semesters of part-time study,” said Phy.

Information on both degree completion and entry-level programs can be found at USI.edu/respiratory-therapy

State Senator Jim Tomes to Visit Evans

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Thursday, Oct. 1
1 p.m.

Evans School, 2727 N. Evans Ave.

 

Indiana State Senator Jim Tomes will speak with fourth grade students at Evans School on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. Tomes will discuss Indiana history and government.

Zoeller, state AGs urge Congress to pass legislation to address opioid, heroin addiction

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – As states continue to address the epidemic of heroin and opioid-based painkiller addiction and its devastating effect on public health, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and37 other state and territorial attorneys general today sent a letter to the leadership of the Committee on the Judiciary for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives urging passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015.

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 524/HR 953) would provide states with the necessary tools to more effectively confront the growing challenge of heroin and opioid abuse and addiction.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdoses now surpass automobile accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death for Americans between the ages of 25 and 64.  More than 100 Americans die as a result of overdose in this country every day – more than half of them caused by prescription drugs or heroin.

“Indiana is not alone in its fight against rising heroin and opioid addiction,” said Zoeller, creator and co-chair of Indiana’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force. “This nationwide epidemic demands a comprehensive response with a strong focus on addiction treatment and recovery. Law enforcement and health-care solutions must be implemented in tandem if we hope to see real impact and save lives.”

The more than 100-member Task Force – made up of medical professionals, law enforcement, lawmakers and other stakeholders in Indiana – is supportive of the proposed federal legislation.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, only about 10 percent of Americans who need treatment for drug addiction are receiving it.

In the letter, the attorneys general write, “Law enforcement has always been on the frontline when it comes to drug crises, but we cannot arrest ourselves out of this current epidemic.  Research shows the best way to address this challenge is though a strategy that includes prevention, law enforcement, reduction of overdose deaths, evidence-based treatment, and support for those in, or seeking, recovery.”

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 would:

  • Expand prevention and educational efforts – particularly aimed at teens, parents and other caretakers, and aging populations – to prevent the abuse of opioids and heroin and to promote treatment and recovery;
  • Expand the availability of naloxone to law enforcement agencies and other first responders to help in the reversal of overdoses to save lives;
  • Expand resources to identify and treat incarcerated individuals suffering from addiction disorders promptly by collaborating with criminal justice stakeholders and by providing evidence-based treatment;
  • Expand disposal sites for unwanted prescription medications to keep them out of the hands of children and adolescents;
  • Launch an evidence-based opioids and heroin treatment and intervention program to assist in treatment and recovery throughout the country; and
  • Strengthen prescription drug monitoring programs to help states monitor and track prescription drug diversion and to help at-risk individuals access services.

Zoeller said Indiana has made important gains to reduce opioid abuse – including more oversight for pain clinic operators, stronger reporting requirements to the state’s prescription drug monitoring program, increased medication disposal options, and greater access to addiction treatment services and to the overdose antidote naloxone – but federal support is needed to further such efforts.

Earlier this month, the Task Force met with the U.S. Surgeon General to discuss the prescription drug abuse epidemic in Indiana, progress being made to combat this scourge and areas of continued need.

More information on the Task Force, the Attorney General’s efforts to reduce prescription drug abuse and resources for the public can be found at www.BitterPill.in.gov.

A copy of the letter sent to the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary today is available here.

Ivy Tech and Old National Bank Announce Statewide Partnership

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Ivy Tech Community College and Old National Bank (ONB) announced a new statewide partnership today, Achieve Your Degree. The ONB Achieve Your Degree partnership provides guidance and financial assistance to ONB associates interested in continuing their education through classes at Ivy Tech Community College.

 

The Achieve Your Degree partnership has been designed to incorporate a special ONB Certificate that will be a recognized credential in the company as associates are considered for advancement opportunities. The certificate is a component of the Ivy Tech Business Administration technical certificate curriculum. Additionally, ONB will provide each Achieve Your Degree participant with an e-reader to access books online. Associates who earn the ONB Achieve Your Degree certificate will be awarded the e-reader as a graduation gift.

 

“It simply makes sense for Old National Bank, the largest financial institution headquartered in Indiana, to partner with Ivy Tech, the state’s largest public post-secondary institution,” said Old National President & CEO Bob Jones. “Old National and Ivy Tech not only share a common geography, we share an understanding of the critical importance of higher education as a building block to achieving personal success.  We believe this partnership provides our associates with a unique opportunity to achieve that success.”

ONB associates can begin participating in Achieve your Degree immediately. Ivy Tech’s many locations throughout Indiana will make it convenient for ONB associates to take classes close to home as well as online. Ivy Tech has 32 degree granting locations and offers classes in more than 75 communities across the state. The credits ONB associates earn at Ivy Tech will also transfer to many colleges and universities in Indiana.

 

“Achieve Your Degree is an example of the essential collaboration between higher education and employers. It also addresses our mission of increasing statewide college attainment rates,” said Ivy Tech Chancellor Jonathan Weinzapfel. “In addition to being an exceptional benefit for the thousands of ONB associates, this new partnership will allow ONB to further enhance the skills of their workforce and increase employee job satisfaction.”