IS IT TRUE yet another financial question involving a large drop in the balance of a critical account of the City of Evansville was pointed out to the City County Observer yesterday?…this time it is the “hospitalization” account that has been depleted in a single year from well over $5 Million down to a critically low level of about $400,000?…over the course of 2012 the balance of this hospitalization account fell by $5.2 Million?…that works out to an average decline of $433,000 per month?…if that is a valid indicator or the cash flow this fund expends the people who depend on this fund had reserves of only one month on hand in the City of Evansville coffers to pay for hospitalization services?…in the course of 2012 the City of Evansville let this account dwindle from having a 13 month reserve to a single month?…this deserves and explanation from the City Controller’s office?…one explanation could be just one more instance of robbing Peter to pay Paul by moving money from one account to another ad nauseum to cover up for insufficient reserves in critical accounts?

IS IT TRUE that it has been over a year since the Earthcare Energy fiasco was in full bloom in the City of Evansville?…the monthly minimum payments continue to roll in and the status of the $200,000 loan is “current”?…if and we do mean if this money is ever repaid which it must be by this time next year to maintain its account status as “current”, this $200,000 will be the focus of competition for all of the City of Evansville accounts that are at critically low levels?…in the same Gateway report on the City of Evansville’s finances that exposed the $5.2 Million hole in the hospitalization fund it is also easy to figure out that the City of Evansville spent over $22 Million more than it took in from revenue in 2012?…we seem to remember the 2013 budget that was approved by your City Council without the benefit of having the books reconciled increased spending by much more than the cost of living index?…this is happening in a time of declining municipal revenues?…it is mind boggling to think that the Winnecke Administration is serious about spending $10 Million on dog parks and skateboard parks and a $54 million downtown hotel with a negative operating budget?…Evansville is pulling the same stunts that bankrupt cities like Detroit were pulling 10 years ago and the long term result may well be the same no matter what the recent bond rating reiteration was?

IS IT TRUE that the City of Henderson has made public the fact that they are considering merging the Chamber of Commerce with Northwest Kentucky Forward?…Northwest Kentucky Forward has been the rough equivalent of a combination of GAGE and the SW Indiana Coalition for Economic Development since it was formed several years ago?…to merge such an entity with a Chamber of Commerce is an unusual decision to say the least?…Henderson is either a national leader in such things if this merger goes forward or are simply trying to avoid having to lay another six figure salary on the line by merging?…the acting Executive Director of Northwest Kentucky Forward was just named and he is the current CEO of the Chamber of Commerce?…he reportedly applied for the job and was willing to consider a move from the Chamber to NKF?…it will be interesting to see if this gentleman gets double pay for double duty?…we are betting not?

IS IT TRUE that Congressman Larry Buschon is pushing for a bill that will suspend President Barack Obama’s salary until there is a federal budget passed?…that President Obama has never managed the country under an approved budget and that he has been derelict in his duties to present a budget to congress for approval?…that the reality is that no budget the President may have submitted would have passed through Congress without opposition and alteration?…we like Congressman Buschon’s idea but think that idea needs to be extended to the entire Congress along with the President?…the truth is that neither the President nor the Congress are doing this vital part of their job and they all need a looming consequence to motivate a sane compromise?…the President has been quite skilled at manufacturing a crisis so let’s see if we can give him one by suspending his paycheck along with all of Congress until we have a budget that has majority support of the American people?

IS IT TRUE that the Libertarian Party of Vanderburgh County has announced a new candidate seeking the office of Sheriff?…that his name is JD Walters?…that a new Facebook page has been set up to handle public relations?…that already the question of a hypothetical Department of Homeland Security firearm confiscation has been addressed and a full platform has been released?…this platform includes bullet points denouncing any attempts at federal firearm confiscation, the use of drone technology, and the acceptance of any federal funds?…that the platform also includes mandatory customer service training for all officers and a return to an emphasis on curbing reckless and dangerous driving?.. the platform signoff includes the Patrick Henry reference “Liberty or Death”?…that this should make for an interesting injection of ideas into an otherwise dull race for the office of Vanderburgh County Sheriff and we look forward to seeing it unfold?

IS IT TRUE that it was revealed by the Associated Press that the application for Obamacare is 17 pages long?…even the most complicated tax returns with multiple schedules, ownership in private companies, and capital gains do not usually get to be that long?…the only federal program that real people have to routinely deal with that even approximates 17 pages of complex questions is the FAFSA that is used to evaluate college students eligibility for federal financial aid?…several years after FAFSA was introduced it was recognized that low income and low education families were not filling out the forms thus leaving lots of financial assistance and more importantly the opportunity for their children to get an education on the table?…the FAFSA was shunned because it was intimidating for the very people who need it to fill out?…now there is a cottage industry around helping people fill out a FAFSA by entrepreneurs who do it for A FEE?…all of the claims about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) being an engine of job creation may just come true?…it won’t be what was advertised though?…these jobs will be replicating the business model of H. R. Block and Liberty Tax Services into yet another service industry that would not exist if federal programs were simple and short?…look for franchise service providers like ObamaCare-R-Us or even Health Forms & Go to join the ranks of tax preparers, payday loans, and pawn shops feeding on the poor and the uneducated?…Obamacare will well deserve the credit for any jobs that come from yet another unnecessary service industry?

IS IT TRUE that the zinger of the week comes from Evansville City Council President Connie Robinson and was directed at Councilman Jonathan Weaver at Monday night’s meeting of the City Council?…this zinger came as a result of the Council being asked who had read a 60 page document they were being asked to discuss?…of the 9 members of the City Council Mr. Weaver was the only member to have read it?…the zinger was along the lines of “the real estate business must not be doing so well if you had time to read 60 pages on a Sunday”?…while this zinger is funny, the reality is that Councilman Weaver is to be commended for budgeting his time well enough to have read the document before the council meeting?…it is not reading documents before voting for them that has the whole country in a bit of trouble now regarding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and many other complex laws that have been passed without the benefit of reading or understanding by our lawmakers?

IS IT TRUE that last weekend’s Great Lakes Valley Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments had a surprisingly low attendance even with two local teams in the field?…it is now apparent that the average attendance for men’s two game sessions were under 1,000 and the women’s were under 500?…one would think that with local teams in the tourney that friends and family would have drawn more than that alone?…even with a pub crawl type of event organized in downtown Evansville the attendance at the games was not even at a level of doormat high school team attendance?…while 500 to 1,000 people look like allot out in the street, that number of people in Ford Center make the place look deserted?…the CCO hopes that in the future and especially at next year’s division 2 championship at least 5,000 people will show up just for the love of the game of basketball?…we are also hoping for a USI vs. Kentucky Wesleyan final?…if that does not pack the Ford Center then nothing in division 2 ever will?