IS IT TRUE that big red area on the weather radar is a warning that we are about to have another couple of days of combined sewer overflows which should be a stark reminder to the people of Evansville about the failures of a half century of our elected leadership to keep our infrastructure up to date?…whether one believes in climate change or not a host of “presents” left in the front yard,the street, or floating in the Ohio River is something even the most challenged thinkers can understand as being wrong?…The Pooh as some of our readers have been calling this recurring phenomena is absolutely a repellent to attracting business to the City of Evansville, and spreads disease to the population?…sitting idly by dreaming of fun and games projects to squander good money to distract the huddled masses will be an issue in the 2015 city elections?

IS IT TRUE there are many options for savings in the City of Evansville budget for 2014 that have been sent to the City County Observer by the MOLE NATION and one of the most implementable and popular ones seems to be to reduce the budget for legal fees?…this is something that the CCO has advocated for in the past as it seems like there are so many lawyers latched onto the City’s teet through the politically appointed City Attorney Ted Ziemer that an in-house solution is of merit?…given the efficacy of some of the work that the current legal providers have turned out (Earthcare contract being the prime example of horribleness) it seems as though cutting at least a million bucks from the milk and honey legal budget should be low hanging fruit? …we are disappointed that 6th Ward City Councilman Al Lindsey didn’t follow through with his public statement that he wanted City Council to look at putting legal services in house?

IS IT TRUE most of the readers of the City County Observer agree with our assertions that any and all fun, games, parks, pools, etc. need to be deferred until the infrastructure of Evansville, Indiana is fixed?…our readers also recognize the need to improve the local public school system to be able to keep pace in the workforce department when the few companies who are interested come calling?…the reserve accounts have been drawn down over the last couple of years to defer dealing with the reality of declining revenue to beyond the next election cycle?…one thing is for sure and that is someday a reckoning will occur and the punch bowl will be empty?…declining balances in reserve accounts is exactly what happens when an imaginary revenue forecast comes face to face with the reality of day to day spending?…this is not the first year that Evansville has budgeted in fantasy fashion but it may well be the last given the amount of reserves that remain?

IS IT TRUE Indiana politicians have been wailing like banshees about the 1% cap on property taxes ever since it was enacted to protect homeowners from excessive taxation?…what the challenged politicians are failing to acknowledge is that the way to deal with stagnating property tax revenue is through a robust economy that drives the value of housing up?…for example in a city that has flat or declining real estate values these collections really do stay the same or even go down?…in cities that have a healthy appreciation in housing values this problem takes care of itself because the assessments are mandated to be at MARKET PRICE?…what they are not telling us is that when that $100,000 house that is capped $1,000 per year in taxes increases to be a $110,000 house the cap goes up to $1,100 thus giving the tax collector a 10% raise too?…now that Mayor Winnecke is on record as saying that assessed values in Evansville are growing at 4% per year his need for revenue should be covered if that is true?…the real question is “who in the heck in Evansville has seen a 4% annual increase in their property values?”…in a property assessed population of homes the only way to increase the assessment by 4% is for the values to actually go up by 4%?…in an under assessed population of homes 4% increases of assessment can occur but that means that tax money was left on the table due to incompetence in the previous year?…that datacom reports that the median price of a home in Evansville is $90,000 down from $100,000 in 2009 (5 years ago)?…that sure is not 4% appreciation and all homeowners know it?…there are still plenty of houses in this region that are worth less than they were 5, 10, or even 20 years ago?…the reality is crime is up, housing is down, and the Pooh is about to hit the shore, so our leaders need to stop whining and start concentrating on substance?

IS IT TRUE if the electeds really want to solve the flat revenue problem what they need is economic growth and that comes with good jobs?…good jobs are not the product of fun and games?…good jobs and housing demand come from exemplary infrastructure, great schools, clean air, clean water, good roads, safe neighborhoods, and favorable outlooks for the future?…that all adds up to good public policy?…we hope they are listening?