IS IT TRUE March 12, 2013
IS IT TRUE that last night’s meeting of the Evansville City Council was filled with contention and anxious moments as many have been lately over the aggressive nature of Councilman Jonathan Weaver and the apparent alliance between Councilman Weaver and Councilwoman Missy Mosby together in opposition to any form of outside financial oversight that other members of the City Council support?…in another vote of 7 – 2 in favor of hiring outside financial oversight Weaver and Mosby found themselves once again as standing alone against outside financial oversight?…this time the object of outside oversight being considered is the Ford Center construction project?…City Councilman Dr. H. Dan Adams who has consistently been a voice of reason since his election in 2007 stated that he wants to put “heavy rumors†to rest regarding the financial oversight during the construction phase of the project?…last night’s City Council meeting was not the first time that the words “Fraud Center†have been uttered with respect to the Ford Center construction project?…that without making any allegation that Councilman Weaver pushed Dr. Adams for, Adams made a strong enough case to conduct a forensic audit of the Ford Center construction project that it was passed by a clear majority of the City Council?
IS IT TRUE in defense of the position of hiring no after the fact outside oversight that Weaver and Mosby have been hanging together on, this kind of oversight SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN PLACE FROM DAY ONE THROUGH THE DURATION OF THE PROJECT?…unfortunately outside financial oversight was not one of the things made a part of the deal so now that the project is over and the financial performance is not up to the projections set forth in the series of public meetings held by the committee appointed by former Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, people are asking questions?…respectfully speaking, the rumors of fraud or mismanagement need to be put to rest and hopefully a forensic audit that comes up clean will do that?…this is what happens when things get shoved down the voters throat without a referendum?…let this lesson be learned by all politicians past and future that circumventing the will of the people has consequences and this “pall of fraud†that the constituency of each and every one of the 9 City Council members are concerned over will not be the last unintended consequence as a result of doing and end run to build the Ford Center?
IS IT TRUE there is one cure for the suspicions of the citizenry and that is profitable performance by the Ford Center?…the City County Observer is fairly certain that whomever conducts this forensic audit whether it is a big name CPA firm, a local bookkeeper, or a high school math project WILL FIND instances of poor decisions, overpaying for items, cronyism, and differences in the specifications and reality?…none of those things rise to the level of fraud and we do not expect that fraud will be exposed?…as with nearly every other project taken on by the City of Evansville during the last 10 years from the McCurdy debacle, the Executive Inn dilemma, the demolition of Roberts Stadium, the $20 Million ball fields, the Earthcare Energy fiasco or the dozen moronic dramas that end with GATE, what will be exposed is abject ignorance and a cavalier attitude about said ignorance?
IS IT TRUE as Metallica wrote in their classic song Holier than Thou, “Arrogance and Ignorance go hand in handâ€?…that the voters of Evansville who are now disappointed in the apparent arrogance and ignorance that have dominated nearly every project brought forth by the last two administrations are no more disappointed than those who expected competence and oversight in local governance?…we have gotten neither?
IS IT TRUE we were looking forward to seeing the scheduled public exhibition of the latest round in the David Garrett vs. the Winnecke Administration regarding the report Garrett made to the City Council last week?…a reasonable discussion without the press conference staged before the event and the calling off of a private meeting last week by City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr. could have been constructive and even respectful?…in this case the pregame press conference served much like a tent revival in Salem, MA in 1692 that was well planned to froth the crowd up for a witch burning?…David Garrett chose not to attend the City Council meeting last night even after Mayor Winnecke asked him to?…Mr. Garrett’s boss in this matter is the City Council and not the Mayor of Evansville?…perhaps if Mayor Winnecke would have asked Mr. Garrett’s client (the City Council) to request his attendance he would have attended?…in the absence of a direct client request the WITCH BURNING PARTY WAS AVOIDED?
