IS IT TRUE we have been told by reliable sources that Evansville Chief Police Billy Bolin has informed his men that the City will not be cashed out for earned comp time again this year?  …the police Department can’t afford to change the oil in police cruisers for rest of the year and now earned comp time owed to our outstanding men and women in blue for this year won’t be paid to them by the city because of budget issues?…the priorities of the Winnecke Administration are on par with a teenager on prom night?

IS IT TRUE that the Old National Bank’s $14 Million contribution for the downtown hotel hidden behind a nonsense naming rights deal for The Centre is coming apart at the seams a full year after all of the beautiful people danced around a golden shovel to celebrate what was a dubious decision to begin with?…AS THE CITY COUNTY OBSERVER HAS SAID FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, the value of these naming rights is much less than $14 Million, ONB is a public company with shareholders and regulators, and they will not be allowed to pay more for naming rights than the advertising is worth?…the Ford Center which is a larger venue with more exposure got a naming rights deal for $400,000 per year for 10 years?…one thing is for certain and that is that the naming rights for The Centre is LESS THAN WHAT THE FORD CENTER NAMING RIGHTS ARE WORTH?…when we find out just how short the pile of cash is going to be, we will learn just how much more money HCW will be asking the City of Evansville for?…it is time to put a stop to this madness and forget about a convention hotel until a private company will build one?…maybe a medical school will make that happen and maybe it won’t?…WE TOLD YOU SO?

IT TRUE the attorneys for Mayor Winnecke and for the City Council disagree on how the so called “home rule” ordinance will apply when it comes to the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility Board?…that particular five member board are all appointed by the mayor and that right now four of them live outside the city limits and will not be eligible to serve according to the City Council’s interpretation of the rules?…Utility Board membership is governed by state statute, and there is no residency requirement period, in direct contradiction with the City Council’s opinion?…the Water and Sewer Utility has many customers who live outside the city limits, that are already incensed over being charged a 35% premium over what city residents pay?…in the case if this particular board, it is quite possible that seating a new board that is made up of only city residents may just set off some “taxation without representation” sentiment among the county dwellers who pay that 35% premium?…we are looking forward to seeing the opposing attorney’s opinions tested to see if sanity will prevail in the political appointment process?

IS IT TRUE that the revelations about the edicted increase in the assessments in the Orchard Parke neighborhood with a basis of comps from brand new homes targeting a different demographic is not the way to comply with the constitutional mandate for market value assessments?…assessments are easily appealed and any homeowner who has a solid argument based on recent sales or comps will prevail in the appeal process?…it is up to the homeowner to challenge any assessment that is out of line and the process to do so is quite simple?…we encourage any of our readers who believe their assessments are out of line to formally appeal their assessments?…this writer has done this several times with a 100% success rate?

IS IT TRUE public investment in projects like the Ford Center, the proposed downtown hotel, and the IU Medical School is dependent on the wealth created from private production and private profit?…what happens when governments large and small fail to inspire free market profits (the sources of taxes) while constantly increasing public spending is that you don’t have enough of the one to support the other?…when well intentioned TIF districts do not collect enough incremental taxes to pay for the projects they were asserted to have the economic impact to pay for, they cross what is respectfully known as the Thatcher Line?…British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously said in a radio interview that “the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money to spend?”…this has been formalized as the Thatcher Line: the point at which the burden of government begins to overwhelm the ability of the private sector to pay for it?…dear readers, it seems as though Evansville’s Thatcher Line lies about $77 Million of additional debt from where we are right now and the City of Evansville’s bond counsel knows it?…it seems with the revelation that the downtown hotel is over budget again that a choice will have to be made in the near future on which project the City can afford to borrow money to give away for?…if logic prevails, and with the City of Evansville that is a stretch, it is time to admit this financial problem and put the hotel on indefinite hold?

IS iT TRUE we hear that an  extremely well known and highly respected business person has decided to run as Republican in the First Ward City Council seat  …that Councilman McGinn’s challenger has a great chance to upset McGinn because he is a bone fide conservative that shall have broad base appeal with the First Ward voters?  …that Councilman McGinn has lost a great deal of his broad support because he has turned in a political mouth piece for the Mayor and has lost his independent zeal?  …McGinn has of late been a one issue Councilman?  …all he talks about is spending millions of taxpayers dollars on Mesker Zoo.

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IS IT TRUE we hear that the Mayor is getting a lot of political heat from his union buddies and business leaders to veto the newly passed “Home Rule” ordinance by the City Council?  … they feel that the Mayors veto will give them  time to put political pressure on select City Council members to change their first vote when it comes to a second vote to override the Mayors veto?  …we can’t wait  to see how the Mayor will decide to resolve this issue?

IS IT TRUE after further reflection on Evansville City Councilman Jonathan Weaver’s proposed amendment to make it illegal to serve on the City Council unless one owns a home with a HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION in the City of Evansville, it is more disturbing than it seemed when it was directed at his fellow democrat Councilman Al Lindsey?…Councilman Weaver showed a glimpse of some true colors Monday night with his swipe at Councilman Lindsey?…to meet Councilman Weaver’s criteria one would HAVE to be a landowner to hold office?…such rules that benefitted the Gentry were once common in European nations where one’s bloodline meant more than one’s intelligence or motive?…Weaver’s personal tirade at Lindsey exposed a fundamental preference for landowners over renters which would further erode the pool of candidates to hold office in Evansville to those who are property owners?…perhaps a title will be his next demand?…if it is title that Weaver wants, it is title that we shall give him?…from this day forward, for his zeal to create a class of landowning rulers in Evansville, Councilman Weaver shall be dubbed Sir Jonathan the Second the Grand Duke of the Gentry?

IS IT TRUE it seems as though the “We are Evansville” shirts that put some smiles on some faces a couple of summers ago have worn out?…the shirts were of course a subliminal part of the effort to form a county wide government that eventually was trounced at the ballot box by a 2 to 1 margin?…the unification effort failed because the pitch was hollow and condescending?…pretty T Shirts were not enough to hide that fact and did nothing to bring the city and county closer together?…the City Council’s decision is just the latest response to the rejection of unification?…for many years (even though some served illegally), people from outside the city were routinely recruited to serve on boards and commissions appointed by the Mayor and the City Council?…the governing body of Evansville has spoken and the “We are Evansville” mantra will now recognize political boundaries when it comes to voluntary service?…we wish them well but will keep a close eye out for patronage appointments who will vote as they are told?…that has really been the problem all along?

IS IT TRUE the City Council should extend this new “home rule” movement to include political donations?…it is only right that the greenbacks of people from outside the political boundaries should be banned from contaminating the 2015 City elections?…the people of this fair city would have been served better in the past if the political contributions from Indianapolis, Washington, and Daylight had been banned from peddling their influence into lucrative projects like the Ford Center and the McCurdy Hotel?…if the Council is genuine in their thirst for “home rule”, they need to ban outside contributions right now before the taint of foreign money corrupts the 2015 elections?

IS IT TRUE the other area that needs to be banned is paying any kind of incentive to businesses that are not owned by people who live in the City of Evansville?…that should apply to facade grants, cash subsidies, and tax phase ins?…the only logical conclusion to extending “home rule” to its altruistic limit is to exclude outsiders from eligibility for incentives?…these outsider owned job creators like Berry Plastics, Mead Johnson, SS&C, and a boatload of businesses owned by people who grew up in Evansville but now live in the county should never see a dime of incentives that should be preserved for real Evansvillians?…if we are all in for home rule, let’s not pick and choose, let’s get busy with a Great Wall of Evansville to make it real and lasting?

IS IT TRUE seeing a crowd marching in the streets of New York chanting “what do we want, Dead Cops–when do we want it Now!”, is an example of our rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, but has the potential to ignite a firestorm should this crowd inspire someone to give them what they say they want?…the irony is that it was “live cops” who were protecting the crowd as they chanted for blood?…New York City has in many ways been a model for street protests as no property has been torched and no other violence aside from words has been reported?…what the crowd does not seem to understand is just how rapidly chaos and anarchy would take over New York if all the police vacated the place?…we had a glimpse of an unpoliced New York back in the 1970’s when it was all quite dangerous under Mayor Ed Koch with Central Park being a clearing house of drug dealers, prostitutes, and gang violence?…if the current rift between the Mayor and the police continues we may just get to witness a digression into the “good old days” that were not really good at all?

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