IS IT TRUEÂ the Evansville Police Department’s plan to sell confiscated weapons taken from criminals to an out of the area Wholesaler/Gun Dealer may have fallen through because of State law?
IS IT TRUE we are shocked to find out that  local “Blight Fighterâ€Â George Lumley has a CPA certification and was a past employee of the State Board of Accounts? …it looks like  some of the people employed by the DMD better stop trying to discredit Mr. Lumley by claiming  that he doesn’t know what he is talking about? …it looks like DMD Director Kelly Coures just might have an intellectual “Tiger by the Tail”?
IS IT TRUE in trying to deflect  the truth,  that the City of Evansville’s attempt to get a loan for the hotel project this year was not as well received by bond rating agencies as the loan for the arena in 2010,  Winnecke told a whopper? …it was reported by Channel 25 that Winnecke stated his administration was handling the books so well the arena bond rating was upgraded in 2013? …this couldn’t be further from the truth? …the arena bond was initially rated as a single A in 2010 but with the possibility the rating could change when the bonds were sold, depending on the market? …the bonds were sold and garnered a double A rating? …that double A rating was outlined in the 2012 annual report and reaffirmed by the rating agency in 2013?…on Saturday, the bond rating for the remaining loans on the Ford Center were graded A? …if Winnecke is correct, that he got the rating raised to a double A in 2013, what’s his explanation for the lower rating of a single A in 2015?
IS IT TRUE the remaining arena bonds being graded a single A, which is like getting a C in school, is troubling given the unique nature of the arena bonds? …the loans taken out to build the arena have a funding source no other bond in the City has with Food & Beverage taxes pledged? …these taxes will generate more than 4 million towards the arena loan payments beginning in 2018 after the Old National Events Plaza is paid off? …the Hotel and Medical School loans will not have this funding source pledged and will be backed up with income taxes, property taxes and casino funds? …with the hotel coming in with an A bond rating and recent Water and Sewer project loans in the same class, the City of Evansville now has the same bond rating as the states of Illinois and California?…one should contrast this with the state of Indiana’s bond rating which is a triple A – the highest achievable rate?
IS IT TRUE the City of Evansville is trending down in its bond rating? …although this was seen as somewhat typical by the expert consulted by the local newspaper, it shouldn’t make the citizenry feel any better?….When bond ratings are triple A and double A, they are viewed as largely insulated from a variety of circumstances that make lower rated bonds susceptible to default? …when a bond is rated in the medium class of A or triple B, the bond is seen by investors as susceptible to outside forces that could affect the borrower’s ability to repay the loan? …examples of such factors that could impact loan repayment over the 20 year term of the bonds include legislative actions to reduce casino revenue received by the City, the casino closing, cumulative population decline, the state legislature re-figuring or reducing income taxes collected, or how they are distributed, and the loss of commercial entities within the downtown tax zone?
IS IT TRUE the risk factors listed above don’t create a situation of the City defaulting on its payments so much as it creates potential for austerity measures within the City’s operating and capital budgets? …the City receives roughly 30 million annually from the casino and from income taxes distributed by the state government? …after commercial property taxes in the downtown area, these are the two sources pledged to pay the hotel and medical school loans? …of these sources, roughly 17 million is already pledged to the City’s operating fund or already pledged to these and the arena bond payments? …the rest is for capital investment in public safety equipment, parks, City owned buildings, and now the Mayor’s new blight elimination plan? …the last source pledged to pay these loans is our property taxes, which currently contribute to the City’s operating budget? …if the City has outside forces that impact its’ ability to make the loan payments related to the arena, hotel and medical school, the first thing to go will be our capital funds? …the capital funds are already being slowly siphoned off to pay an ever imbalanced operating budget, and their latest threat is bond payments?
IS IT TRUE according to the Administration, 87% of its roughly 79 million operating budget for 2014 was labor costs? …roughly 69 million of the 79 million spent was on City employees? …10 million of the 2014 budget was spent on consumables like office supplies, travel costs and contractual services? …if the City struggles down the road to make bond payments, there is only so much capital investment that can be ignored? …employees which deliver services to the public will be impacted?…police and firefighters already claim that there is not enough spent on equipment? …residents complain about the lack of investment in Mesker zoo, sidewalks, roads, our parks and pools? …there is a day of reckoning coming for the City of Evansville?  …if revenue continues to remain flat or grow at the rate we’ve seen over the last 3 years, which is flat or 1-2% increases? …it’s bizarre under the circumstances to not acknowledge the impact of 13-14 million in annual bond payments? …there is a strategy for economic growth in place? …and that if it misses the mark, it will have devastating consequences on the citizens of Evansville?
