IS IT TRUE that pondering the whole Johnson Controls mess that former Mayor Weinzapfel selfishly committed the City of Evansville to during his final hours this may be evolving through an exercise of diligence by both Mayor Winnecke and the Evansville City Council into something that fixes broken infrastructure and does not raise the water rates?…this contract by definition can’t cause a rate increase but the unpublicized reality is that people will pay more due to better and more accurate readings?…this is fair game for those whose meters are so bad that for example every 10 gallons used is only measured as 9 gallons?…there are indeed already some new and perfectly accurate meters in Evansville and the people who have them are subsidizing people who have old under reporting meters?…accuracy breeds fairness when it comes to charging for bulk commodities?…in that sense replacing needed water meters may be a positive step forward?
IS IT TRUE the beauty of such deals is that they pay for themselves sort of like putting in PV Solar does in certain locations where electric rates are high and the sun shines often?…the fundamental problem with the contract in its present form is that Johnson Controls is responsible for both the implementation and the measurement?…this is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken house?…there needs to be some third party verification of the financial performance of this contract over the entire duration of the bonds sold?…that would make this much better?

IS IT TRUE there are those who are targeting the FOG (fats, oils, and grease) provision that turns FOG into electricity for some of the savings?…the assertion is that local government has no business making electricity for its own use?…that may be true in some cases but a broad brush statement like that is not true in every case?…we should ask the people of Henderson, KY if they would trade their 5 cent per kilowatt*hour electric bills for the 16 cent per kilowatt*hour rates that the people of SW Indiana are paying Vectren?…Henderson Power and Light seems to work well and efficiently for the people of Henderson proving that local government can do power if it tries hard enough?…if FOG to power generates electricity for less money than Vectren charges the City of Evansville the FOG may indeed be a good idea and certainly would pay its own way?…having said that, if FOG is not cheaper than Vectren it needs to be taken out of the contract just like the other $11 Million of unnecessary fluff was?

IS IT TRUE in a personal issue of this writer’s own home it is my best interest to become my own electricity provider?…SoCal Edison the local provider has a tiered rate structure that ranges from 13 cents to 36 cents per kW*hr depending on use?…most residents average paying Edison about 16 cents per kWhr over an average year?…with the pricing structure that is in place for rooftop solar along with the temporary incentives offered by the federal government the amortized cost per kWhr for installing a PV solar on this home works out to 5.9 cents per kWhr?…for roughly $18,000 I shall never have another electric bill?…at today’s electrical rates over the 25 year life of the system my electric bills would amount to roughly $100,000?…that assumes rates never rise?…spending $18,000 to avoid spending well over $100,000 is as they say “a no-brainer”…the same logic applies to local government?…my solar would be worth it even without the tax break?…the sun does not shine as much in Evansville but who knows the numbers may work out there too?

IS IT TRUE the federal government of the United States has been exposed for yet another action that could only come from the mind of a paranoid control freak?…it was reported yesterday that under a court order granted by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on April 25 and that is good until July 19 Verizon Wireless with 121 Million customers is requiring to provide the National Security Agency (NSA) records of all phone calls domestic and international on an ongoing, daily basis? …the report stated that a copy of the court order of which it had obtained, shows for the first time that under the Obama administration the communication records of millions of U.S. citizens were being collected indiscriminately and in bulk for government scrutiny?…this was going on, regardless of whether they were suspected of any wrongdoing?…this is comparable to the Iranian government under the Ayatollah Khomeini going through trash bins and reconstructing shredded documents from unwilling foreign embassies during the hostage crisis?…come to think of it the indiscriminate gathering and inspection of phone records is worse than what the Ayatollah presided over?…this sort of thing makes “robo cops” handing out tickets and parking armored surveillance trucks in bad neighborhoods look like simple eavesdropping?…when we were children there were still “party lines” in rural areas for phone service?…now with the help of big data and sound recognition it seems as though the world is one big party line?

IS IT TRUE in another example of judgment that is pretty difficult to understand, the Obama Administration has appointed Susan Rice, the lady who was the willing mouthpiece of lies about Benghazi on the Sunday morning talk shows to be the next National Security Advisor?…that unlike the nonsense with Verizon that can’t yet be traced to an order from President Barack Obama, the appointment of Ms. Rice came straight from the top?…this is of course the same top that appointed the people who have created scandals at the IRS and the Department of Justice?

IS IT TRUE June 5, 2013

IS IT TRUE Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke recently met with City Council President Connie Robinson to brief her on the Administration’s work to make final changes to the Johnson Controls contract?…the Mayor and the City had to respond to new knowledge brought to light private sector businesses who came forward with various Network Communications options in lieu of the City building and owning a Fiber Optic Ring Network?…Mayor Winnecke seeking to better understand these options and gain an unbiased perspective convened a group of local CIOs to discuss these alternative solutions?…solutions that would meet the Utility’s needs for the Automated Meter Reading Infrastructure were identified and discussed plus the CIO’s suggested the Administration consider other options in the future to meet the City’s Network Communication needs?…by seeking the council of the private sector it is possible that Mayor Winnecke will be deciding to change part of the course defined by former Mayor Weinzapfel in his last minute spending spree and forget about the redundancy of a City Owned Fiber Optic Ring Network.

IS IT TRUE the Mole Nation tells the CCO that Johnson Controls has agreed to remove the fiber optic ring network from the Weinzapfel contract?…removing this unnecessary hardware will save the taxpayers of Evansville about $6.4M from the Weinzapfel contract on top of the other things removed that saved $4 Million after the IURC shot it down as not providing enough margin?…the fiber optic network will be replaced with a private sector solution, which will create significantly greater savings that the public option was alleged to have saved?…it is the intent of the Winnecke Administration to announce these supposedly final changes this week and seek approval of a revised bond resolution by the Utility Board on June 11th and file a bond ordinance with City Council for 1st reading on June 24th?… at the July 8th meeting, Winnecke and friends will present and answer questions on the final contract and bond ordinance?…true to form the Winnecke Administration is planning to arrange meetings with Council members on an individual basis to answer questions and twist some arms?…we really wish these discussions would be held in a public forum so the people of this town do not get yet another closed door deal shoved down their throats?

IS IT TRUE it is somewhat encouraging to see that some level of due diligence is working down at the Civic Center?…this due diligence is being led by Budget Chairman Councilman John Friend with his opposition and questioning of what former Mayor Weinzapfel tried to deal from the bottom of the deck on his way out of office?…this unnecessary contract has now shrunk by $10.5 Million which is a step in the right direction?…it is still appropriate to question the need to replace all of those water meters that are attached to aging and dilapidated pipes?…it would be more prudent to replace 5% of the meters per year along with 5% of the rotten old pipes per year for the next 20 years along with the sewer repairs so at least in 20 years we can say that Evansville has a functional and maintainable water and sewer system for the first time ever?…there is still some more carving to do on this contract and we are counting on our City Council to do their job and keep Mayor Winnecke’s feet to the fire before selling any bonds or cutting any checks?…we have hope that this project that started out as a boondoggle of cronyism may just work out well for the people of Evansville if and only if the financial diligence is maintained?

IS IT TRUE that Mole #33 tells us that GAGE will be adding a seat on its board of directors for a member of the Evansville City Council?…the Mayor of Evansville has always been on this board with the executive committee formed of 3 elected officials, 3 private business people, and one member from USI?…this addition to the GAGE board tips the balance of power to politicians?…this is not a trivial issue?…we are betting that Councilman John Friend may just end up with this appointment?…we wonder if Councilman Friend would have gone along with former Mayor and GAGE Board Chairman Weinzapfel’s scheme to pay former DMD Director Tom Barnett a supplement to his salary through a phantom contract with GAGE?…financial due diligence can help any organization that is dependent on the taxpayers to survive?

IS IT TRUE that USI is raising its tuition by $551 (9%) at a time that salaries are frozen and jobs for graduates are hard to find?…given the state of the economy and the difficulty that graduates are having finding any employment at all much less a job that can support college loans, we find this move to be self serving and usury?…the trustees of USI will be voting on this June 11th and the CCO encourages them to hold the line on tuition until an increase in the value of a diploma can justify the tuition increase?…a time when the value of a formal education is being questioned is no time to raise the price on a USI degree which is not well recognized outside of a few counties anyway?