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Comparing the Budgets: Evansville-Vanderburgh to Lexington Metro

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As per reader request to ignore the number of employees in local government and to compare budgets between Lexington, KY and Evansville and Vanderburgh County the CCO has done some analysis and has found the following budget numbers online:

Lexington Metro Government Approved 2013 Data

Budget: $290 Million
Population: 301,569
Spending per person: $961.63

Evansville Vanderburgh Combined Data (City 2013, County 2012)

Combined Budget: $339 Million
Population: 180,000
Spending per person: $1,883

City of Evansville Budget: $253 Million
Population: 117,000
Spending per person: $2,162

This comparison surely brings up some serious questions regarding the differences in spending per person. By any way of examining these budgets it is blatantly obvious that Evansville-Vanderburgh in part or in whole are spending double the amount per person than Lexington Metro is. Then the question arises as to whether or not such savings are to be attributed to consolidation of Lexington and Fayette County that happened well over 30 years ago. That is impossible to tell but it does make one wonder with these budgets readily available why the consolidation committee here could not find any significant savings. It is to be acknowledged that just over $700,000 in annual savings has been identified but is rather insignificant (0.21%) when compared to a $339 Million annual budget.

To achieve the resident efficiency of Lexington Metro on a scaled basis Evansville-Vanderburgh would need to propose a consolidated budget of $173 Million or nearly 50% of what is currently budgeted to be spent. The CCO is going to go out on a limb here and postulate that IF and we do mean IF the consolidation committee were proposing a budget that saves $166 Million through consolidation efficiency that the consolidation referendum would pass by a wide margin.

That begs the question of “why did the consolidation committee fail to identify or propose such savings”?

2013_City of Evansville Summary_Budget

Link to Complete 2013 Lexington Metro Budget:

http://www.lexingtonky.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=20806

Gallup-Rasmussen Poll Average: August 20, 2012

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The Rasmussen Tracking poll today shows Mitt Romney with a 44% – 43% lead President Obama Romney while Gallup’s Tracking poll shows Romney maintaining a lead of 47% – 45%.

The average of these two polls is now showing the Romney/Ryan campaign with 45.5% and the Obama/Biden at 44.0% both garnering slightly less support than last week.

The average approval rate for President Obama is now even meaning that the same percentage of those polled approve and disapprove of the Presidents job performance. The average approval rating for the President was 48.0% and the average disapproval was 48%.

In an examination of all polls published after August 13th and applying them to the elector count, if the election were held today and the most recent polls are accurate Romney would win the presidency over Obama by an electoral vote of 282 – 256

Taking Back Tax Abatements: What the Code Says

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The Commission shall require that applicants for Economic Revitalization Area designation enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the City following adoption of a preliminary resolution, and prior to the adoption of a final resolution. The Memorandum of Agreement shall contain the capital investment levels, job creation and/or retention levels and hourly wage rates the Applicant has committed to the City in order to receive consideration for Economic Revitalization Area designation. The Memorandum of Agreement shall also contain information relative to what the City and Applicant have agreed upon as “substantial compliance” levels for capital investment, job creation and/or retention and wage rates and/or salaries associated with the Project or Equipment.

Additionally, the Memorandum of Agreement shall indicate that the City, by and through the Commission, reserves the right to terminate an Economic Revitalization Area designation and the associated property tax abatement deductions if it determines that the Applicant has not made reasonable efforts to substantially comply with all of the commitments. If the City terminates the Economic Revitalization Area designation and associated tax abatement deductions, it may require the Applicant to repay the City all or a portion of the tax abatement savings received through the date of such termination. Additional details relative to the repayment of tax abatement savings shall be contained in the Memorandum of Agreement.

The applicant has executed a memorandum of agreement (“memorandum of agreement”) prepared by the Community and Economic Development Department. The memorandum of agreement is a legally binding agreement representing a contractual relationship between the applicant and the Council. It may become effective upon the Council granting the abatement, which includes provisions setting forth:

a. The tax abatement recipient’s agreement to fulfill the conditions upon which the tax
abatement is based (“conditions of abatement”);
b. The time within which the tax abatement recipient must comply with the conditions of abatement;

c. The tax abatement recipient’s obligation to respond to periodic surveys regarding compliance with the conditions of abatement;

d. The tax abatement recipient’s obligation to allow representatives of the Community and Economic Development Department to have access to the project premises and to perform inspections and audits as necessary to verify compliance with the conditions of abatement.
(4) Neither the applicant nor any related party of the applicant is delinquent or in default

e. The events which:
1. Shall entitle the Council to terminate the tax abatement in whole or in part; and
2. Shall cause the tax abatement recipient to be obligated to repay all or a portion of the property tax savings received.

Letter to the Editor by Gail Riecken

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State Representative Gail Riecken

To the Editor:

Andrea Neal’s recent column about the state’s Department of Child Services (DCS) highlighted the very concerns that worry so many of us who are disturbed about the agency and other departments under this administration.

More specifically, we are concerned that this column continues to advocate a delivery of services promoted by this administration that runs contrary to DCS’ goal of protecting the safety of children.

By describing these concerns in simplistic terms that reduce them to complaints that range from “DCS is taking too many kids” to “DCS is not taking enough kids,” the administration prefers to simplify issues rather than understand the root causes of the problems that so many of us have with this agency and its leader.

When the common refrain of “standardizing services” is used to explain changes made to any state department – be it DCS or the Family and Social Services Agency (FSSA) or the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) in its handling of unemployment insurance claims – what it truly means is that experienced, trained local departments are being ravaged in order to bring all resources to a centralized location in Indianapolis.

This control means two things. It gives leadership a better chance to keep an eye on all workers and keep a lid on opinions and actions that run contrary to the company line, and it gradually erodes the decision-making away from the local officials who have the hands-on experience and expertise to deal with problems at the local level.

This philosophy of management runs completely contrary to the missions these agencies should follow. There is no trust, no training and no investment in local officials to make important decisions. Rather, the approach is “Take it to Indy and we’ll hope for the best.”

What is the result?

At DCS, an inefficient, ineffective hotline that hurts kids.

At DWD, a system that requires out-of-work Hoosiers to wait more than 8 weeks to get their first check.

At FSSA, continued mismanagement that causes sick Hoosiers to lose benefits through no fault of their own.

In so many ways, our state government is failing to live up to its responsibilities. All of us who serve the people of Indiana need to recognize that fact, and work to truly improve services.

Gail Riecken

State Representative

Indiana House District 77

IS IT TRUE August 20, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE August 20, 2012

IS IT TRUE with all of the posturing about the IT Budget and the need for an audit by City Councilman and Budget Chairman John Friend, CPA we are expecting to hear some discussion about this budget pretty soon?…that some members of the Mole Nation have told us that Vanderburgh County is backing out of their commitment to pay their part of this consolidated department and cutting Councilman Friend off at the knees in his quest to add some accountability to the IT Department that recently lost their head?…there are many questions about past IT spending that need to be answered with the solution adopted at the Ford Center being at the top of the list?

IS IT TRUE that the merged Lexington-Fayette Urban County government found that before their consolidation, there was one full time public employee for every 85 residents?….that twenty years after consolidation there was one public employee for every 100 residents?…that due to consolidation Lexington-Fayette appears to be getting more mileage for the same dollars?…that while Lexington’s consolidation appears to have worked in achieving efficiency and streamlining government, there is no guarantee that would happen in Evansville?…that ultimately, whether a decision to vote for or against consolidation is not the most important vote to achieve good public policy and efficiency?…,the people we elect will have the biggest impact on the city’s success?…if the City of Evansville has a legacy if poor public policy it is the people who have been elected AND the people who did the electing that are to blame?…it was the late great comedian/philosopher George Carlin who is credited with saying “the sure way to assure that fools are elected is to have a majority of fools casting the votes”?

IS IT TRUE the resolution floated by Dr. Dan Adams to limit any increases in salary to non-union City of Evansville employees to 3% or less is alleged to have stirred up some union leaders?…there are a couple of City Center Moles who have told the CCO that union leaders are of the opinion that such a resolution would violate existing union contracts?…we wonder why a union contract would have any clause in it that had something to say about the wages of people who are outside of the collective bargaining units it represents?…that seems to be over reaching on the control system?…in a recent bid for a quasi public entity to do a small construction job there were two prices quoted?…if the job is required to comply with Davis-Bacon laws (prevailing wage) the quote is $420,000 and if the job is exempted from those laws the quote is $140,000?…that federal funds for this project are going to be refused because it is a 50/50 matching situation and the local funding is less expensive by choosing to turn down the governments offer of a $210,000 matching grant with Davis-Bacon strings attached to it?

IS IT TRUE that the University of Evansville just announced that it will be freezing tuition for the incoming freshmen so that they will pay the same price for the four years that they attend?…that tuition is currently just shy of $30,000 per year?…that this writer is a proud graduate of UE and remembers writing those tuition checks in the late 70’s and early 80’s?…the tuition at that time was closer to $3,000 per year?…that my co-op job at the time paid well enough that a year’s tuition at UE from my earnings alone could be paid for with roughly 500 hours of work after taxes?…that a typical student today would have to earn $60 per hour after taxes or about $80 per hour before taxes to be able to pay for a year at UE from working at night and on weekends?…that at a more typical co-op student paycheck of $15 per hour, today’s students would have to work more like 2,500 hours (48 hours per week) to pay for their tuition as they go as I was able to do?…that in terms of the hours worked to cover the tuition prices have increased by 400% since 1980 at UE and many other campuses around the country?…prices for education are now so high that the value proposition is being questioned?…the same things have happened to the purchasing power of the parents of students during the last 30 years?…that most students do get financial aid but the value proposition is still dubious in today’s economy where lawyers, engineers, and other educated professionals find themselves competing for retail jobs to make ends meet?…that at today’s prices that this guy may very well have had to make different decisions in the pursuit of an education?

University of Evansville Announces Tuition Freeze and Four-Year Price Guarantee

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The University of Evansville today announced that it is implementing an immediate freeze on undergraduate tuition. For incoming students who arrive in Fall 2013, tuition is guaranteed to remain fixed at its current level for four years. Tuition for returning students will be locked in until those students have completed four years at the University.

The Board of Trustees approved the tuition freeze and four-year lock-in during a special meeting on July 31.

“In the midst of the national dialogue about college affordability and the challenging economic climate, we hear the concerns of our students and families, and we’re taking action,” said UE President Thomas A. Kazee. “We are committed to making a quality college education affordable for our current and prospective students, and to helping them plan for their investment by eliminating the financial uncertainty of rising costs.”

With annual tuition increases at private, nonprofit universities averaging about 4 to 5 percent each year, UE’s four-year tuition guarantee offers significant savings to families. Tuition is locked at the current (2012-13) price of $29,740, and more than 95 percent of UE students receive financial aid to attend the University.

The tuition initiative is accompanied by new and expanded programs in UE’s Center for Career Development. Beginning in Fall 2012, prospective students visiting campus will have the chance to meet with a Center for Career Development staff member as part of UE’s new Career Advantage program, which helps students determine academic majors and careers that would be a good fit.

Similar career exploration opportunities are available to current UE students as part of the Advanced Career Education certificate program, and new graduates benefit from UE Connect, a mentoring initiative that connects them with successful UE alumni.

“We care about where students are going before they even enroll here,” Kazee added, “and we continue to support them after they graduate. In today’s challenging job market, extensive career preparation and a strong alumni network will give students an advantage as they launch their careers. A UE education is a smart investment now more than ever.”

The University is rich with opportunities for its student body of approximately 2,400 undergraduates. UE offers nationally renowned programs in liberal arts and preprofessional disciplines, and is one of the top universities in the Midwest. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked UE in the top 10 master’s-granting institutions in the region, as well as the top 3 “Great Schools at Great Prices.” The University also has been named a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review, ranked among the top master’s universities by Washington Monthly, and declared one of the nation’s “Coolest Schools” for sustainability by Sierra Magazine.

To learn more about the tuition freeze and four-year price guarantee, please visit www.evansville.edu/bigfreeze or contact the Office of Admission at 812-488-2468 or admission@evansville.edu. For more information on career development services at UE, please contact the Center for Career Development at 812-488-1083.

Chonda Pierce “Live, Love, Laugh” Tour Coming to Victory Theatre

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Oct. 2 @ 7:00pm

With Special guest Warren Barfield

Evansville, IN ~ Chonda Pierce is fully mobilized with tour bus, stocked with stacks of funny

new material from her just released I’m Kind of A Big Deal DVD and ready to disarm her
audience with her “Live, Love, Laugh Tour on October 2nd at Victory Theatre. Tickets go on sale
Monday, August 20 at 10:00am.

Outfitted with an abundance of unpretentious Southern charm and laser sharp wit, Chonda has
long proven to have perfected the art of winning applause with hand-to-hand comedy.

Part of her affinity for getting to “preach to the choir” is Chonda’s deft talent for imparting
thought provoking gems of wisdom amid the laughter. “Within comedy you can get by with
saying things you could never say if you were preaching a sermon,” she noted in a recent
interview. “People are having fun and being entertained and all of a sudden I’ll see those telling
looks on faces in the audience…it’s ‘ha ha….pause…oh my…what she just said is SO true!’ I love
those moments!”

Her fresh approach to wholesome comedy has birthed a unique franchise. Her DVDs are
consistently strong sellers, both on tour and at retail. Four titles have already been certified
platinum with seven gold certifications for sales of over 100,000 to her credit. With an
increasingly busy booking event schedule at major churches across the U.S., Chonda has found
time to author half dozen best-selling books-including her latest-Laughing In The Dark (Simon
& Schuster). She is recipient of the 2009 ‘Comedian of the Year’ Visionary Award. With her own

CMT-TV comedy special This Ain’t Prettyville and regular appearances on XM and Sirius satellite
radio, her visibility has ushering in a growing base of dedicated Christians–women in particular-
-who love to laugh at the everyday circumstances of life that Chonda can suddenly transform
into the hilarious!

April marked the birth of Chonda’s latest comedy brain-child–the new comedy DVD christened
I’m Kind of A Big Deal–and filled with the zany musings and reflections of new laughs close to
her heart. As the nationally acclaimed darling of laughter to a legion of fans, there’s little that
Chonda Pierce can’t spin to the funny side. But explaining the title of her latest DVD, she struck
a serious moment. “To me the whole project says that as Christians we are a ‘big deal’–we can
run with the big dogs because of who our Daddy is. Looking back, it’s been an amazing story for
a girl who grew up on the second row as a preacher’s kid back in South Carolina.”

Special musical guest and host Warren Barfield joins Chonda on tour.

Tickets are 27.00 & 22.00 and can be purchased at The Centre Box Office Monday through
Friday from 10am – 5pm, www.ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000.

For more information on the tour please go to www.chondra.org

Illegal calls trigger more than 660 complaints, state lawsuit

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AG Zoeller obtains temporary restraining order against Safeline Alert to stop calls now

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order against a Florida company accused of Illegally calling more than 660 Hoosiers and offering medical alert devices.

According to the lawsuit, Safeline Alert or Elite Information Services called more than 620 numbers registered on Indiana’s Do Not Call list between June and August of this year. Zoeller said more than 540 of the complainants said they received an automated message or robo-call – which is a violation of the state’s Auto-Dialer Act.

“In this case, the Attorney General’s Office successfully received a temporary restraining order to help stop Hoosiers from receiving any more of these unwanted calls,” Zoeller said. “These actions should send a strong message to those businesses violating the state’s strict telephone privacy laws. Our office acknowledges that our Do Not Call law is not impervious to those who intend to deceive Hoosiers and break the law. However, our commitment to enforcing the state’s statutes remains strong and we will continue to seek new ways to stop these calls and prosecute violators.”

According the Safeline’s website, the company offers products such as medical alert devices and monitoring services. The complaint filed in Marion County alleges the company violated Indiana’s Do Not Call law and Auto-Dialer law. The company also does not have a Certificate of Authority from the Indiana Secretary of State to conduct business.

The Attorney General’s Office seeks a permanent injunction against future calls, civil penalties, consumer restitution and attorney fees.

Since Indiana’s Do Not Call law took effect in January of 2002, the Attorney General’s Office has obtained 296 settlements with, or judgments against, telemarketers resulting in awards of penalties and costs totaling more than $16.8 million.

Do Not Call Deadline

Additionally, Zoeller issued a reminder that the next quarterly deadline to help block annoying sales calls and text messages is August 21. Residential landline, cell, VOIP or prepaid wireless numbers registered by that date should start to see a decrease in calls after October 1 when the list is updated.

Individuals do not need to re-register unless their address has changed. To sign up or to file a complaint, visit www.IndianaConsumer.com or call 1.888.834.9969. Out-of-state area codes can also be added as long as the billing address is located in Indiana.

Boscoe’s Winning Performance in LA

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EPD Activity Report: August 18, 2012

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EPD Activity Report August 18, 2012

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