IS IT TRUE the Evansville City Council heard a plea last night from a group of citizens who utilize the Metropolitan Evansville Transit System (METS) to commute to and from their jobs?…this plea was to add Sunday service which has never been provided so they can ride the bus to their jobs on Sunday?…Evansville and other cities have been off of blue law time for many years and that Sunday is one of the busiest days of the week for retail trade, restaurants, and even hospitality?…public recreation areas are also open on Sundays and see frequent visitation?…the businesses that are open on Sunday do indeed rely on their employees to find a way to work on time and to stay their whole shift?…the people employed by these kinds of businesses are the very demographic group from which much of the bus ridership comes from?…it would seem that the retail establishments, restaurants, and other businesses that open on Sunday would benefit just as much as their employees from having a Sunday bus service?…some people may even use the bus to travel to church on Sunday?…this request merits serious consideration by the City Council?

IS IT TRUE there are those who will point to the long history of financial losses by METS and scream subsidized commuting over this plea to add Sunday service?…those who commute by car are also subsidized but in a less direct way?…auto commuters drive on public streets, rely on police protection, and park in places they do not pay for to go to their jobs?…it may actually cost more to subsidize auto commuters than it does to subsidize bus commuters?… METS revenues in 2012 were $4.1 Million and costs were $7.6 Million?…projections for 2013 are $3.5 Million in revenues and $8.2 Million in costs?…if public transportation is really a vital link between worker and employer (and we believe it is) then it would be preferable if it were at least a break even proposition?…the numbers do not lie and METS is seeing historical losses of roughly 50% of revenue but is projecting lower revenues and higher costs for 2013?…in the business world this would merit immediate intervention?…the $3.5 Million in projected revenue over a 6 day week works out to $583,000 per day per year?…given the estimate to add Sunday service is only $500,000 if Sunday ridership is as much as 85% of the daily average for the other 6 days the addition of Sunday service would be a cash flow neutral proposition?…this is worth a try and if it is really cash flow neutral Sunday service should be a part of what METS provides?…the other problem is the continual losses are a drain on the city budget?…looking at these numbers to alleviate that problem the City of Evansville could consider raising the bus fare by roughly 80%?…before doing that the value that the City gets from this service in additional wages and sales tax collections needs to be figured in because as we wrote earlier, DRIVERS ARE SUBSIDIZED TOO?

IS IT TRUE that last night’s City Council meeting outside of the bus discussion was one of laughable meetings ever?…that the exchange between select City Council members, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, the City Controller, the Mayor’s attorney, and the Director of DMD was painful to watch?…that last night’s City Council meeting reminded us of the “Gong Show?”…we were stunned to hear the Mayor’s attorney to declare if he stamps the word “confidential” on any city document that the administration doesn’t have to give this information to the media or public?…the CCO hereby declares “game on” concerning Mr. Ziemer’s self appointed role of the Censorship Czar of public documents?… that public documentation belongs to the people and not to the Winnecke Administration? …we would like to remind Mr. Ziemer of the words of Thomas Jefferson that “when people fear the government we have tyranny but when government fears the people we have liberty”?…the CCO doesn’t agree with Mr. Ziemer self anointed and capricious “confidential” way of doing the people business?…we want to put the Mayor and his alleged political brain trusts on notice to get ready for a 1st amendment rights battle with the CCO?

IS IT TRUE we also want to remind the Director of DMD that he is not only an employee of the Mayor but also is an employee of City Council and the taxpayers alike?…we urge the City Council to demand that DMD Director, Mr. Hooper provide them with the requested public documents they requested from him at last night’s City Council meeting?

IS IT TRUE we are happy to hear the Evansville City Controller declared at last night city council meeting (Gong Show) that the accounting software and bookkeeping problems have been officially corrected and the city is now ready for the State Board of Accounts to come in an audit his work?