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Vanderburgh County Recent Bookings Report
Democrats to meet for convention Saturday in Indy
By Paige Clark
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Democrats will pick nominees for state treasurer, auditor and secretary of state this Saturday in downtown Indianapolis – although none of the nominations will be contested.
“Were going to have about 1,800 folks in attendance that are delegates,†said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody. “I expect a lot of energy and a lot excitement moving this fall.â€
The nominations will include:
Mike Boland, treasurer
Boland was a longtime Illinois state representative fromm 1995-2010. He is most known for speaking out about a scandal involving admissions at the University of Illinois. Boland left the Illinois House to run for lieutenant governor in 2010 but lost the bid. In 2011 he ran for the state senate and lost again. He moved to Fishers with his wife Mary to be closer to his kids and grandchildren. He said he is running to bring balance and accountability to the state.
Mike Claytor, auditor
Claytor graduated from Ball State in 1974 and became a licensed certified public accountant shortly after in 1979. In 1983 he obtained a law degree from the Indianapolis School of Law. In 1989, Claytor began work at Crow Chizek, now Crow Horwath. Three years later, he became a partner. Claytor said he is running to balance the books of the state auditor and balance the political power in Indiana.
Beth White, secretary of state
A Bloomington native, White is now the clerk in Marion County, the state’s largest county. She is also the secretary of the local election board and a member of the Indiana Public School Education Foundation Board. White created yVote!, a voter education program to encourage eligible high school students to vote and has registered more then 2,5000 student voters. She also attends naturalization ceremonies and has helped registered 6,000 new Hoosiers to vote.
Zody predicted Saturday’s nominating process will be a smooth one.
“We’ve got great candidates, people with professional experience running for statewide office,†he said.
Democrats will meet from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Indiana Convention Center following a number of caucuses and other meetings. Republicans are planning a convention later this month, where delegates will also nominate candidates for secretary of state, treasurer and auditor.
Neither party will have a statewide candidate seeking reelection in the fall – although Secretary of State Connie Lawson will be the incumbent in her race. She was appointed to the post after the GOP’s last nominee – Charlie White – had to resign after his election following a conviction on voter fraud charges.
“I think the playing field is a little more even than some people might think,†Zody said. “So we’ll keep the energy up.â€
Paige Clark is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
EVSC to Host Bus Driver Career Fair
Are you looking for a career change? Driving our future with part-time hours and full-time benefits is the message that the EVSC’s Office of Transportation wants people to know about school bus drivers. To help get that message out and to find new drivers, the EVSC is hosting a Bus Driver Career Fair on Wednesday, June 11, from 8 a.m. to noon at Bosse High School, located at 1300 Washington Avenue.
The career fair will give interested individuals an opportunity to get behind the wheel of a school bus and talk with EVSC Bus Transportation management. EVSC trainers also will be available to answer any questions related to driving a school bus such as work schedule, licensing, school bus laws and more. In addition, the EVSC will be holding on-the-spot interviews for interested individuals.
To attend the event, individuals must have a current driver’s license. No CDL is required at this time. Once hired, the EVSC will train individuals and assist them in getting their CDL.
As a school bus driver, individuals work from approximately 6 to 8 a.m. and again from 2 to 4 p.m. with additional hours available, if interested. Full-time benefits including medical insurance, holiday pay, personal and sick leave and more are available to EVSC drivers.
For more information, visit www.evscschools.com and see the link for Bus Driver Career Fair under Community at the top, or call 435-1BUS.
Evansville Police Department Police Pension Board Meeting
The Evansville Police Department Police Pension Board will hold an Executive Session on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 8:15 a.m. The Meeting will be held at the Evansville Police Department Personnel & Training office located at 15 NW ML King Jr. Blvd., Evansville, Indiana.
The Executive Session will be closed as provided by:
I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(7) For discussion of records classified as confidential by state or federal statute.
Immediately following the Executive Session, a regular Open Session will be held.
Spangler supports increase in the Minimum Wage.
“Look how well our stock market is doing. It is now time for the hourly minimum wage worker to share in this prosperityâ€
Indiana’s 8th district Congressional Candidate Tom Spangler announced today that he fully supports an increase in the minimum wage to at least $10.10 per hour.
“In reviewing current economic data it certainly dismisses the Republican Congressional obstructionist position that an increase in the minimum wage would hurt and even cause a decline in job growth stated Spangler. “ At the beginning of 2014, thirteen states increased their minimum wage either by passed legislation and or automatically increased in line with inflation. There was little to no evidence for the claim that raising the minimum wage threatens job creation efforts.
“We need to focus and have a caring and compassionate attitude towards the hard working Hoosier families that are earning minimum wage and having to work two jobs, and still are not able to rise above the poverty level. I have always lived by God’s law that a worker is worthy of his wages. When businesses, large and small reaps large profits and are not willing to fairly share with their hard working employee’s that is nothing but greedâ€, stated Spangler.
There are two other changes that he would like to see happen from our Congress. We need to tie any and all future automatic increases to the minimum wage to the rate of inflation which will give more security to the Hoosier worker instead of being a political football for our career and do nothing politicians. Additionally, change the name to “Sustainable Wageâ€. This will bring the right identification and help our hard working Hoosiers get closer to self-sufficiency.
Contact: Tom Spangler (Spangler For Congress) www.spanglerforcongress.com 812-630-0600
Members of the local Service Dog Support and Advocacy Group provided a series of presentations to our deputies….
SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.
The Sheriff’s Office was fortunate this week to have members of the local Service Dog Support and Advocacy Group provide a series of presentations to our deputies…. goo.gl/odsmriff’s Office was fortunate this week to have members of the local Service Dog Support and Advocacy Group provide a series of presentations to our deputies…. goo.gl/odsmbK
Tom Spangler Candidate for 8th District Congressional Seat
This weeks City County Observer and the Wood and Woods show special guest will be Tom Spangler Democratic candidate for the 8th District Congressional seat.  This is a must watch TV program concerning Mr. Spangler reasons why he running  for US Congress.  The Tri-StateVoices show was created by the City County Observer, recorded and edited by Wood and Woods law firm and produced by ME TV TRI-STATE.
The shows host is well known lawyer Mike Woods. The Tri-StateVoices program features current topics and issues of importance to this region. This public affairs program is 30 minutes in length. The City County Observer ,Woods and Woods, Tri-StateVoices show will air on ME TV TRI-STATE each Sunday at 11:30 am and can viewed on the following TV Channels: Channels 36.1 and 20.1. WOW 105. Insight -186 and Time Warner -3 and 14. If you miss the TRI-STATE VOICES show on ME TV TRI-STATE you may view it on the City County Observer newly creative “MOLE TV†video channel located on this site.
TOM Â SPANGLER Â BIO IS AS FOLLOWS:
Throughout his entire business career, Tom Spangler has placed faith and prayer as his most important life values. Combining these talents with an entrepreneurial business spirit, he has always had the courage to challenge the status quo with positive solutions.
Tom is now ready to take his business experience to challenge and break the gridlock in Washington.
After attending two years at Stautzenberger Business College, Toledo, Ohio, Spangler joined La-Z-Boy Chair Co. He was instrumental in the start-up and maturing of a new commercial furniture division for La-Z-Boy. In 1984 he came to southern Indiana to help guide and grow Executive Furniture Inc. to become a multi – million dollar company with over 300,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space.
Spangler obtained his business goal in 2002 of owning his own company by purchasing The L.U.I. Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland and moving it to Jasper, Indiana. He has developed strong working relationships with a number of American manufacturing companies to build its branded products.
Tom and his wife, Penny, live in Jasper, Indiana. Married for over 43 years, Tom and Penny are the parents of two married children. They have six grandchildren.
Audit Excerpts: “Overdrawn Cash Balances and Comp Time Violations”
OVERDRAWN CASH BALANCES (City)
The cash balances of the Purchasing Internal Service, Community Dev Block Grant, Emergency
Shelter Grant, and Accounts Receivable Clearing funds were overdrawn at December 31, 2012. A similar
comment appeared in the prior Report B41037.
The cash balance of any fund may not be reduced below zero. Routinely overdrawn funds could be
an indicator of serious financial problems which should be investigated by the governmental unit. (Accounting
and Uniform Compliance Guidelines Manual for Cities and Towns, Chapter 7)
COMPENSATORY TIME IN EXCESS OF FEDERAL MAXIMUM ALLOWED (City)
As of December 31, 2012, 52 of the City’s employees had accrued compensatory leave balances in
excess of the maximum allowed by the Federal Labor Standards Act. Of these employees, 1 person was an
Emergency Management Agency employee, 4 were police officers, and the remaining 47 were firefighters.
The current total liability of compensatory leave in excess of the federal maximum was approximately
$1,100,000 as of December 31, 2012.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, As
Amended Sec. 207(o)(3)(A) provides: “If the work of an employee for which compensatory time may be
provided included work in a public safety activity, an emergency response activity, or a seasonal activity, the
employee engaged in such work may accrue not more than 480 hours of compensatory time for hours worked
after April 15, 1986. If such work was any other work, the employee engaged in such work may accrue not
more than 240 hours of compensatory time for hours worked after April 15, 1986. Any such employee who,
after April 15, 1986, has accrued 480 or 240 hours, as the case may be, of compensatory time off shall, for
additional overtime hours of work, be paid overtime compensation.”
BREAKING NEWS: Shake Up At The Civic Center
The City County Observer has learned that DMD Director Phillip Hooper is no longer an employee of the City of Evansville and that well known local personality Kelley Coures has been named as the acting replacement for the time being.
No information on the reason for the shake up has been released by the Winnecke Administration that held a news conference earlier today to announce that the 2012 City audit was “clean”. Â On examination of the findings of the audit the words “adverse” and “material weakness” appear frequently as does the auditors opinion that the financial accounts of the City of Evansville are not reconciled as Mayor Winnecke has claimed. It is not known if the audit results are related to the departure of Mr. Hooper.
This is a developing story.
Excerpts from Audit: Reconciliation Errors Discussed
CITY OF EVANSVILLE
AUDIT RESULTS AND COMMENTS
BANK ACCOUNT RECONCILIATIONS (City, Water Utility, and Wastewater Utility)
City cash and investment fund balances, including Water and Wastewater funds, were not properly
reconciled to bank balances.
Multiple bank reconcilements were presented for audit. Errors noted on the City’s bank reconcilements included:
1. One bank account was not included in the City’s original bank reconcilement.
2. The wrong balances from some of the bank statements were used in the City’s reconcilement.
3. Outstanding checks at December 31, 2012, were overstated.
4. Fund transactions were withdrawn from the incorrect bank account.
5. Random adjustments were added and later deleted from reconcilements presented for audit.
As a result of incomplete and inaccurate reconcilements, improper accounting for cash and investments and incorrect postings s to the records remained undiscovered by the City. When aggregated, the errors
and discrepancies noted on the bank reconcilement resulted in a difference between the record balance and  bank balance that was not considered material.
Indiana Code 5-13-6-1(e) states: “All local investment officers shall reconcile at least monthly the balance of public funds, as disclosed by the records of the local officers, with the balance statements provided by the respective depositories.”
ANNUAL REPORT (City, Water Utility, and Wastewater Utility)
The Annual Report submitted through the Gateway system for 2012 contained material errors. Â Several adjustments to the beginning balances, receipts and disbursements were proposed during the audit
and made by the City. A similar comment appeared in prior Report B41037.