The City Of Evansville has posted  substantial losses for the operation of the VICTORY THEATER for 2013.   VENUWORKS reported that the operating income for 2013 the Victory Theatre was $583,206.   They also reported that that the Victory Theater operating expenses for 2013 were $926,263.   The reports cites that the Victory Theatre losses for 2013 was a whooping $343,057.   No explanations were given in the financial report how the financial short falls (losses) were subsidized.  Calls to local VENUWORKS executive  Scott Schoenike  went unanswered.

VENUWORKS 2013 FINANCIALS REPORT FOR VICTORY THEATRE

                                                                 Actual                                    Budget

                                                                   FY2013                                  FY 2013

                                                                     Total  Operating Revenue

     Event Related Revenue                              $507,922                                   $318,248

    Food & Beverage                                            $75,284                                        $40,30

   Total Operating Revenue                          $583,206                           $358,548

 For the second consecutive year the a substantial loss has been announced by Venuworks for the operations of the Ford Center. The Ford Center financial report states that operating income for 2013 was $8.5 Million. The Ford Center expenses were stated to be about $7.5 million.  The annual report cites extremely high utilities and labor costs is hurting the Ford Center bottom line. It also warned that the City needs to be aware that the Ford Center budget has no long-term  plans in the capital budget to make major repairs.  One of the major operating costs added to the  over all operating costs for the Ford Center was a 1.48 million expense incurred due to the contract with the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Building Authority.  These charges were for repairs, maintenance, security, traffic control, and utilities.  The $474,077 financial shortfall was paid by the city.  Posted below is the FORD CENTER 2013  financial statement.

                                      VENUWORKS FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR FORD CENTER 2013

                                                                                   Actual                 Actual                           Budgeted

                   Operating Revenue                            FY 2012                FY 2013                         FY2013

Event Related                                        $ 3,613,803           $ 3,918,445                   $ 2,743,993

Food & Beverage                                   $ 2,706,546           $ 2,791,674                   $ 2,689,500

Suites & Sponsorships                         $ 1,734,242            $ 1,862,970                  $ 1,440,320

             Total Operating Revenue                      $ 8,054,591          $ 8,573,090              $ 6,873,813

                                                                                                Operating  Expense

                                 Event Related Expenses               $ 2,364,775             $ 2,565,872               $ 1,476,500

 Food & Beverage Expenses           $ 824,895             $ 839,659               $  752,410

         Personnel Full Time                           $ 1,008,820             $1,010,005                $ 1,089,750

           Personnel Part Time                              $ 844,141               $ 820,717               $ 726,300

   Operating Expenses                                  $ 1,343,160               $ 1,409,381               $ 1,184,923

        Utilities                                                       $ 349,645               $ 554,687                $ 648,000

Total Operating expenses                       $ 7,025,974             $ 7,559,599             $6,285,222

NET OPERATING PROFIT                    $ 1,028,616               $ 1,013,491             $ 588,591

By Dan Carpenter

Dr. Bucshon comments on ObamaCare delay – On Monday, Congressman Larry Bucshon, a physician from Southern Indiana, released the following statement after the Administration again unilaterally delayed part of ObamaCare. (2/10/14)

Manchin: Just Delay the Whole Law till 2015 – As he was headed to the Democratic caucus lunch yesterday, Senator Joe Manchin had strong words about the president’s extension of the employer mandate deadline. “You’re just picking and choosing,” the West Virginia Democrat said of the administration’s decision. “First it’s basically the large employers, then it’s medium groups, then it’s 50 to 100 — medium-sized. If there’s a problem, there’s a problem.” (National Review; 2/12/14)

ObamaCare Raises Medicaid Cost as Insurers Shift Tax Bill – Health insurers told to pay $150 billion in taxes over a decade to help fund ObamaCare are now shifting at least part of that cost back to taxpayers. (Bloomberg; 2/12/14)

The Whatever President – We were told that President Obama would wield his executive power this year to defy Congress. Instead, he is defying his own health-care law. The Obama administration announced this week it is delaying and changing the law’s employer mandate, the latest in a series of seat-of-the-pants revisions to ObamaCare. The president was eager to highlight steps he was taking to bypass Congress in his State of the Union last month, but left this one out. If he had demanded congressional action to delay the employer mandate, he surely would have gotten a bipartisan bill on his desk forthwith. Maybe we should revise his call for executive unilateralism in his speech: “If Congress will act … I still prefer to act on my own.” (Politico; 2/12/14)

New delay ensures ObamaCare to be issue in 2014, 2016 elections – President Barack Obama on Tuesday defended his administration’s latest decision to delay an aspect of the Affordable Care Act, saying the move was about “smoothing out” the health care law’s rocky implementation. Obama acknowledged that “challenges” exist in implementing the massive Affordable Care Act. (CNN; 2/11/14)

ObamaCare patients may encounter fewer doctors, longer wait times – Those who signed up for ObamaCare or were forced into it now are learning they’re going to face some nasty surprises when they seek care. “Many consumers ended up purchasing a plan through the exchange, thinking it would cover their normal set of physicians, and hospitals,” says Jim Capretta of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. “Now as they are using services, they are figuring out that they don’t.” (Fox News; 2/11/14)

California’s Physician Directories Removed Because of Errors  - The California health care exchange has taken down its physician directories, amid continuing complaints from doctors and patients alike that the lists of doctors and hospitals included in each insurance plan were error-riddled and unreliable. Since the October rollout of Covered California, inaccuracies have posed countless problems: The lists described doctors as fluent in languages they did not speak; obstetricians were labeled as ophthalmologists; and physicians were falsely listed under insurance plans that did not cover care at their offices. (The New York Times; 2/10/14)

Two years ago Mayor Winnecke smiled and announced that the City of Evansville was going into business with Earthcare Energy LLC and would be providing financing in the amount of $5.0 Million to make that happen. Earthcare committed to create 120 jobs in Evansville and pay energy royalties back to the City.

After the City Council approved a $4.8 Million loan to Earthcare by a 5 – 4 controversial vote it was discovered that the City of Evansville had sneaked a $200,000 loan to Earthcare Energy through a little known loan committee. That loan is now due, the deal is off, and not one single job was created. The day of reckoning is upon the Civic Center doorstep. What can we expect next? Here are the options:

1. Get on with the collection of the money by whatever means is necessary.

2. Just forgive the loan and save us the expensive court battle to collect as the claims of the City for breach of contract will be difficult to prove.

3. Do nothing and hope this goes away and people just forget about it.

4. Enter into an extension agreement to delay the DAY OF RECKONING for someone else to deal with.

Of all of the choices #4 is the most cowardly but may well be the most likely given the past performance of the powers that be.

The following link is to the loan agreement that is now due in full. According to our sources the outstanding balance is $186,000.

Earthcare Loan Agreement