I am humbled at the results of the poll that is in the City County Observer today that has me leading the race for the Democrat nominee for Mayor of Evansville in 2015. I am truly a blue dog Democrat and was aptly named BLUE by my adoptive family who are incidentally prominent Democrats in Nashville. As I love my family very much and in the words of the late great Democrat President of the United States Lyndon Johnson, “I will not seek nor will I accept your nomination as the Democrat candidate for Mayor of Evansville”.

I have respectfully asked the editor of the CCO to remove my name from the poll and allow you readers to ponder which of the Evansville Democrat Trinity of former Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, Councilman John Friend, or the upstart Councilman Jonathan Weaver they would prefer. Please do not circulate a petition to draft me as I am enjoying life in Nashville chasing cats and begging for scraps from the table.

I thank you for the vote of confidence and still bark with humor that a dog named Blue garnered more votes than three elected officials combined.

Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R-Fort Wayne) has appointed State Sen. Vaneta Becker (R-Evansville) to serve on the Health Finance Commission and Joint Study Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Assessment and Solutions for 2013.

“Both of these committees have vital issues to consider, from making sure our roads are fully funded to addressing Indiana’s role in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act,” Becker said. “The primary purpose of these study committees is to give lawmakers more time to hear from experts, seek input from the public and ultimately find the best solutions for Hoosiers.”

Each summer and fall — when Indiana’s part-time legislature is not in session — lawmakers are assigned to interim study committees that meet to review the state’s top issues, as identified by the General Assembly during the prior legislative session.

“Study committees are an essential part of Indiana’s legislative process,” Long said. “Many of the issues that lawmakers consider during the summer and fall months are the foundation for legislation that will come before the General Assembly in the upcoming session.”

Becker was also appointed to serve on the following committees:

· Indiana Commission for Women

· Council on Evansville State Hospitals

· Commission on Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises

Study committee topics are assigned by the Legislative Council, comprised of 16 voting members — eight from the House of Representatives and eight from the Senate.

Tuesday, June 25, and Wednesday, June 26

2:30 p.m.

Ivy Tech Community College, 3501 N. First Ave.

Students in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation’s 21st Century Summer Enrichment Program will get a nice reward for good attendance and behavior tomorrow as they participate in the 2013 Annual Bike Give-a-way Event. Students who exemplified outstanding behavior and attendance during the 21st Century program this summer will be included in a chance to win one of the bikes that will be given away tomorrow, June 25, and Wednesday, June 26, at Ivy Tech Community College. The bike give-a-way will begin at 1:30 p.m. both days with a safety video and discussion regarding bicycle safety. Bikes will be awarded beginning at 2:30 p.m.

In all, nearly 150 bikes, along with two adaptive bicycles, will be given away this year.

The Evansville Bicycle Club and Gerling Law will be assisting with the event and will help adjust bike seats and helmets to ensure a proper fit.

As of 2:45pm, Evansville/ Vanderburgh County Central Dispatch sent emergency crews to 39 seperate calls related to motorists being impacted on flooded roadways.
There were 12 water rescues, 9 calls to assists motorists who were stranded but out of harms way, and 18 hazard calls for abandoned cars blocking the roadway.
Police are again reminding motorist who left thier cars on the roadways that they are responsible to have them removed when the water goes down. The cars only need to be removed enough to allow traffic to pass through the area. As long as the car is not obstructing traffic, the owners will be given time to retrieve the car.

Evansville Police are reminding motorist who have abandoned their cars during the flooding to make arrangements to retrieve their cars once the water has gone down.
Abandoned cars that prevent the roadway from re-opening may be towed at the owners expense.

I received a number of very positive comments in response to my recent commentary on the current discussions in City government. Some of the feedback I received leads me to try and further explain the specifics of the State Board of Accounts report regarding the Ford Center.

On June 7, the City released a State Board of Accounts report reviewing the capital expenditures associated with the construction of the Ford Center. There were several inaccuracies in the report and a lot of bluster following its release. I want to clear up some misconceptions.

Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and City Controller Russell Lloyd, Jr. were right about several aspects of the report. The Ford Center was completed on time and under-budget. The State Board of Accounts asserted that the project was over-budget, but it failed to include $1.3 million in funds left over from the project and count the double payments made by the bond trustee to contractors in making its conclusion. Furthermore, the State Board of Accounts itself says that $5.8 million which is attributed to the purchase of the former Executive Inn property should be allocated to the hotel project instead of the arena project. Once you take this into account, it appears that the arena project was at least $7.5 million under budget.

The other issue cited by the State Board of Accounts was the bond trustee’s overpayments to vendors and contractors who worked on the arena. The City, working through its bond trustee, is currently seeking repayment.

Many people do not understand the role of the bond trustee. The bond trustee is put in place to operate “independently” of the city. Typically, it is a bank trust department and its job is to make sure that you have an independent financial firm monitoring the income and expenses, paying the bills and generally assuming the accounting and financial aspects of a project of this magnitude. You don’t manage the bond trustee. Instead, once a project is complete, the City should audit the bond trustee’s activities to make sure all funds were handled correctly and professionally.

Consequently, contrary to statements made, at no place in the State Board of Accounts report does it state that the city’s oversight of the project and its bond trustee was insufficient. So, any calls for enhanced oversight should be closely scrutinized. With a project the size of the Ford Center, there will be errors made by the bond trustee. This is inevitable. However, these errors are generally found by the bond trustee or found during the audit process and then corrected. This in fact is what happened. There were some overpayments and some accounting errors made by the bond trustee, however, with the process that was set in place, these matters were found and corrected. This is how it should work.

We have heard that there needs to be greater supervision of the bond trustee. This assertion undercuts the independence of the bond trustee. Furthermore, how would the city actually supervise a bank’s trust department? Again, the proper approach would be to audit the project and bond trustee’s activities when the project is complete.

Some have suggested that in the future the City should hire an owner’s representative whose role will be to focus on project finances and provide monthly reports to both the Administration and City Council. I agree. However, this is nothing new. That is exactly the role that John Kish played in managing the construction of the Ford Center. John has a long history of managing major projects and was hired to represent the city’s bestinterests.

Others have stated that some problems were caused because the Redevelopment Commission and the Redevelopment Authority did not know what the other was doing. Frankly, this is simply untrue. These two bodies played different yet complementary roles as facilitators of the project and its financing. They shared the same staff at the Department of Metropolitan Development. Kish would take decisions made by one to be reviewed and approved by the other. It is very clear that the project was appropriately coordinated between the two bodies because the work was handled by the same staff.

Additionally, others have said that the State Board of Accounts report demonstrates that there needs to be an internal auditor to review these transactions and report back to the city council on a regular basis. As stated above, the proper time to review the work of the bond trustee is when the project is completed. Furthermore, if city staff is not managing a project well, then replace them or get them some help. Adding an internal auditor that reports to the city council is simply an effort to usurp the responsibilities of the executive branch of city government.

The Ford Center was a high profile project, the largest that the city has ever undertaken. It should be highly scrutinized. However, city officials should be careful with their rhetoric and chest thumping. At every level of government, citizens are rightfully calling for public officials to operate with civility and honesty, and they rightfully are tired of the type of political posturing they have witnessed of late. It is time for all officials to rise to the public’s expectations, and it can start right here with our own city government.

I recently heard a public official state that you don’t get things accomplished in government by shaking your fist. Instead, you roll up your sleeves and find a way to work together to get the job done. Isn’t that what really needs to be happening right now?

Jonathan Weinzapfel

THIS LETTER WAS POSTED WITOUT EDITING, OPINION OR BIAS.