IS IT TRUE this is the week that the rubber meets the road for the funding of the Evansville Human Relations Commission?…it seems as though the Vanderburgh County Commissioners are following through and reducing their contribution to the 9% level that they have been contractually on the hook to pay for many years now?…this whole brouhaha has exposed that the County has been overpaying for longer than anyone can count and no one knows why?…it has been reported that over a period of 8 years in which the HRC spent nearly $4 Million in taxpayer dollars to operate their investigators took on 1,500 cases of which only 5 resulted in probably cause of discrimination?…with a ratio like that and a cost this high ($800,000 per probably cause) it is the overall budget that should be under the microscope as opposed to the percentages that the City and County pay?…with less than 1 probable cause per year it seems as though a more appropriate budget for the HRC would be what is needed for one investigator as opposed to six?…that oftentimes governments are absolutely reluctant to cut anything at all for the sole reason that elected officials do not like the scrutiny that comes from cutting budgets of these so called “necessary” offices?…somewhere in the bowels of the federal government there is a civil servant earning over $100,000 per year to taste tea?…the tea taster is not needed, wastes taxpayer money, but is defending his or her job as vital?…it is time for Evansville to examine the size of the need for the HRC and to make cuts where cuts are needed just like the federal government should with tea tasters and other unnecessary and unproductive legacy jobs?

IS IT TRUE that several of our moles tell us that the State of Indiana has interpreted candidacy laws in favor of Karen Ragland and that the teacher from the Joshua Academy is eligible to run for school board after all?

IS IT TRUE the building of 40 more Front Door Pride houses is proceeding just as the Weinzapfel Administration planned for it too?…there are still at least 6 of the original 17 Front Door Pride houses on the market for $130,000 after taxpayers spent over $200,000 each to build them?…keeping the utilities on so the pipes do not burst and mold does not set in is in all likelihood costing the people of Evansville something like $2,500 per month just for these 6 empty houses that no one is coming forward to buy?…with such a demand no sane business would dare expand such a program without FREE GOVERNMENT MONEY to pay for them?…these next 40 houses are not only being built by a Cleveland based business using mostly out of town labor but that the United States government is footing the entire bill through TAX CREDITS that are reportedly at the level of $10 Million?…that means taxpayer dollars are dropping another $250,000 per house to build houses that are next to crack houses and abandoned buildings that essentially have no value at all?…not to worry because these 40 houses will be rental houses that have rents that start at under $300 per month and scale up to $700 per month depending on the tenant’s income?…that FAIR MARKET RENT in the real world for a structure that costs $250,000 is more like $2,000 per month?…if one want to see GOVERNMENT WASTE IN ACTION, then one needs to travel no further than the Goosetown area of Evansville, IN where taxpayer dollars have fuelled a building binge of $250,000 houses that would not have a vibrant market unless the prices were dropped to under $100,000?…no wonder our country is in debt nearing the point of GREECE, IRELAND, PORTUGAL, and ITALY?

IS IT TRUE that if this company from Cleveland is so intent on taking $10 Million off of the hands of our government to get some houses in Evansville that they should start by buying the 6 remaining Front Door Pride houses from the City of Evansville for $250,000 each?…that would at least take these houses out of the hands of poor management and into the hands of uncertain management?…the legacy of waste and idiocy continues?

IS IT TRUE that Americans lacking a high school diploma found disturbingly sharp drops in life expectancy for Caucasians since 1990?…that white women without a high school diploma have seen their life expectancy drop by five years while white males have seen a three year decline?…potential reasons cited among the contributors to this startling statistic are higher smoking rates, a dramatic increase in obesity, and a failure to maintain good health?…that the same University of Illinois, Chicago study found a steady increase in life expectancy among the uneducated members of other races?…that the stark reality of this study is that IGNORANCE KILLS?…every location in the United States does offer free public education through high school so this can’t be blamed on the high cost of high school?…if this is not a wake-up call to families across America we do not know what is?

IS IT TRUE that three Evansville City Council members were spotted having lunch with a high ranking IT consultant of the firm that is on call to handle the IT needs of the City of Evansville?…we hope at least one of the topics of the conversation is the Million Dollar software that has been reported to not be up and running yet?…while the failure to have this software up and running is of concern such projects do typically take longer than expected to integrate and most eventually work as even the most inept government purchasing agents insist on buying something that has been proven as opposed to being a guinea pig on the people’s dime?…the real decision that is mystifying is why an old clunker system that was still doing the job was not continued in parallel until the new shiny one was proven to be working for a period of at least 3 months?…the three members of the City Council whom we certainly hope were seeking to solve this problem as opposed to spinning a story were Jonathan Weaver, Dr. Dan Adams, and John Friend, CPA who is chairman of the budget committee and has expressed displeasure with the running of the City of Evansville IT department for about as long as the books have not been reconciled?

IS IT TRUE there is no Council Chamber large enough to accommodate a 15 member governing board in Vanderburgh County?…if consolidation passes there will be an immediate need for a remodeling job somewhere in the Civic Center to establish such a place?…we could not find any place in the cost analysis of consolidation that discloses the costs associated with facilities needs to function as a consolidated government as spelled out by Becky Kasha and her consolidation committee?…such a section should have been included?…it is very probable that expanding the Council Chamber to accommodate a council of 15 members is rumored to be in the Million Dollar range?…if this rumor has the same credibility of the widely promoted first Roberts Stadium demolition bid we can expect a 5 Million price tag for this remodeling job?…this is just one more example of a failure to disclose material information by the consolidation committee?…the identified savings from consolidation’s first year or two and maybe even up to five years will be eaten up by adding 6 chairs to the room?

IS IT TRUE that listed in the 2013 City Budget it looks like a new position shall be funded?…that the new position is called Chief Information Officer (CIO) with a budgeted salary of exactly of $81,000?…also listed in the 2013 City Budget is the General Manager of the Water Department who was paid a salary of $94,102 in 2012?…the proposed salary for this position in 2013 shall be a whopping $103,000?…we wonder why one thinks this person needs a $9,000 increase for 2013?…that the position of Accountant for the Water Department shall be paid a whopping $85,000 for 2013? …that this position was funded at $83,000 in 2012?…that this position pays as much as the City Controller earns each year?

IS IT TRUE that the only city in Indiana with a consolidated government is Indianapolis?…that Indianapolis consolidated under special legislation that is written so that no other city or county in Indiana can employ due to population criteria?…Evansville is the only other city in Indiana currently in the referendum process to unify city and county government?…if Evansville and Vanderburgh County consolidate under this statute, this community may be the only Indiana community to ever do so because the statute language has been amended to include a rejection threshold?,,, voters in the unconsolidated area of Vanderburgh County may be the only voters in the state of Indiana ever to be subjected to a shotgun wedding style consolidation process under the now amended statutory process?

IS IT TRUE that the Mole Nation tells the City County Observer that Evansville “First Lady” McClintock has been calling Neighborhood Association officers and “strong arming” them in attempts to intimidate them into supporting Yes! for Unification?… her efforts in large part have met with no success and have actually created some ill will in the community?…Hillary Clinton made Tammy Wynette’s song “Stand by Your Man” famous when her husband enlisted her to do his bidding and it looks like in modern day Evansville that “First Lady” Carol McClintock is doing her own Tammy Wynette or even a Hillary Clinton imitation?

IS IT TRUE local favorite employer and Evansville success story Berry Plastics announced yesterday that they will be offering shares to the public in an IPO in early October at a price that will make the company have a value of about $2 Billion?…the current majority owners are reported to have paid just over 10% over that in 2006?…if they were to unload their shares with the IPO which they likely can’t they would have to absorb a loss of over $200 Million?…that does now sound to great of a proposition but it is way better than the United States government has done with their investment in General Motors?…the USA would have to see the shares of GM increase from its current $22 price to roughly $53 per share (a 165% increase) just to break even?…at a respectable growth rate of 6% per year it will take the USA 16 years to get back its investment without taking inflation or a declining currency into consideration?…with those things considered the payback time may be over 30 years in the best case?…the management of GM was quoted last week as wishing the government would dump their shares at a loss so they could GET ON WITH RUNNING THE COMPANY LIKE A BUSINESS?…we wish Berry Plastics well with their IPO and are looking forward to getting a look at the prospectus to understand what the real financial condition of Berry really is and whether or not this is a good investment to consider?

IS IT TRUE that after two political conventions, planted videos from both campaigns, and gaffes from both candidates for President that the polls with decent track records are right back to where they were before all of this hoopla?…that if these polls are correct and the election were held today that both the popular vote and the electoral vote in enough swing states are within the margin of error and the end result could depend on what people had for breakfast before voting?…that candidates have both been floating in the 45% – 47% range when the Kool-Aid has found its way to the water treatment plant for a couple of months now?…the next opportunity for either candidate to move the needle favorable will come at the first debate in two weeks?…of course everyday is an opportunity for both candidates and their running mates to pull a Biden and say something incredibly stupid?…that incredibly stupid remarks do not seem to be making much difference in that 45% – 47% window that each candidate consistently gets?…that maybe just maybe if the candidates will start talking about them, economic plans will be what moves the needle and allows a cognizant choice to be made for president?…in the absence of understandable economic plans decisions will continue to be made on the basis of hate and envy which are despicable ways to choose the leader of the free world?