Financial New Year’s Resolutions

I’ve been a financial advisor for over 20 years now. During that time I believe I have seen almost every mistake you can possibly make with money. Take advantage of my experience and learn from other people’s mistakes. Begin the year with some Financial New Year resolutions. Many people say they procrastinate or never keep their resolutions. So in this article I’m offering up the easiest to implement and highest impact ideas I have to get your financial New Year off to a great start!

#10) Contribute to your company’s retirement plan – Many employers offer matching funds to any money you contribute to their retirement plan. Usually these matching funds are limited to the first 1-6% of your annual contributions. These matching funds can be anywhere from 25% to 100% matching contributions. If you don’t make your contribution, your employer doesn’t match your contribution and you lose out. If your company offers a 50% match on your contribution you’re earning a 50% return on your money by contributing to the company plan. Realistically there is no way any financial advisor is going to be able to equal that kind of return on your money. Example: Say your annual salary is $40,000/yr and your employer offers a 50% match on the first 6% of you contribute. An annual contribution of 6% or $2,400/yr would let you receive an additional $1,200 in matching funds from you company.

#9) Avoid debt – Much has been written and said about this over the years and millions of Americans have learned the hard way about taking on too much debt, especially credit card debt. However, it bears repeating again. As a general rule you should limit your debt to your home mortgage and a car payment. Debt repayments of any more than that and you are playing with financial fire. This doesn’t mean you have to or should tear up all you credit cards. What it does mean is that each month you should pay the full amount of any charges you have made on your card(s).

#8) Make a budget of your expenses – Review your list of resolutions. You know in your heart about the the vices or bad habits you may have. Smoking, alcoholic beverages, gambling, premium coffees, to many soft drinks, or to much fast food, excessive cell phone charges. All of these can add up to big dollars by the end of the month. Try to find one or two small things you can give up. Every little bit adds up. Saving $5/day adds up to $150/month.

#7) Invest systematically – Take any monthly savings you find and invest it systematically into a monthly savings plan. A monthly savings plan can be set up easily through your employer’s retirement plan, your local bank or credit union or your financial advisor. You’ll be pleasantly surprised about how much you can build up if you stay with it. In the above scenario the $150/month invested for 25 years at a 10% return yields about $200,000 at the end of the 25 year period.

#6) Review your cash reserves – There seems to be no middle ground for many investors on this one. Many of us have way to little in cash reserves or way to much in checking, savings, and money markets. Many financial advisors recommend that you have 6-12 months of salary set back in accounts that could quickly be converted to cash or checking deposits. This is a rule of thumb and a good starting point. However, your cash reserve balance should be based upon many factors, including whether your married or single, one income or two, whether or not you are self-employed, your job security, risk tolerance, years to retirement, the amount of equity you have in your home, how many children you have, etc. The point is to review you cash balances with your financial advisor. If you determine you’re short on cash reserves, immediately begin a monthly savings program to build them up. If your balances are too high consider investing the excess balances into a Roth IRA or other mid to long-term investment programs.

#5 Get out of the house – Ok, so what I really mean is to invest more overseas. Many investors suffer from what is called home country bias. Most Americans have a disproportionate amount of their investment portfolio right here in the USA. Investing more here in the good ‘ol USA may give you what you think is a lower risk, sleep at night factor. Counter intuitively, the opposite is true. It can be shown through the mathematics of modern portfolio theory that investing a portion of your investments overseas can reduce the overall risk of your accounts, increase your return or both.

As late as the 1970’s the US economy was more than half the total global economy. Today that has shrunk to about 20%. Because of electronic trading and globalization the diversification benefits of investing internationally have been declining over the last 10-12 years. (The subject for a future article)

Nonetheless, the diversification benefits of investing overseas are still well worth it. Some of the best companies and fastest growing economies are located overseas. The average investor here in the US has about 7% of their portfolios invested overseas. I generally recommend a range 10-30% of your long-term
portfolio be invested in international stocks and bonds, depending of course on your financial goals, age
and risk tolerance. For your reference regarding overseas investments: Global means a fund with both international and US investments. International means a fund invested strictly in developed countries
outside the US such as Canada, Japan, Australia South Korea and most of the Western European economies.

#4 Ignore the financial media – I know it’s hard to do, but its best to ignore the media projections and the pundit’s predictions. It’s fine to track your accounts and stay informed about the financial markets and recent economic data. However I would refrain from adjusting your financial plan based upon any forecast or hot stock tip. Those in the predictive business such as economists and stock analysts are bound to have some major missteps during their careers. An analyst who achieves 50-50 track record on the direction of any stock or stock market sector would be considered outstanding. A look back at the major media’s predictions from previous years about the economy, individual stocks, mutual fund, or economic sector to invest in would no doubt yield some rather dubious picks. This is not saying you should ignore major
macroeconomic trends, just don’t rely on them from month to month or even year to year. Further, if
you’re broadly diversified, as you should be, then you’re likely to have at least some of your money in what the pundits are advocating. So don’t sweat what the media is saying, their interest is in ratings, not necessarily good financial advice.

#3 Be a political skeptic – This may be a hard one for some of the reader’s of this on-line journal. Is Obama becoming more pro-business? This and other popular political questions are discussed ad infinitum, ad nauseum in the financial media. First of all, you have little to no control over this. Therefore, I recommend to focus on what you can control. The biggest determinate of every investors portfolio is the one they have the most control over, your level of diversification. Determine the level of risk/return you’re comfortable with and then with the help of a qualified financial advisor develop a well diversified portfolio that is targeted to achieve your desired rate of return.

#2 Know what you own – This can’t be repeated enough. Millions of Americans own financial assets or investments that they have been disappointed in or worse; products that are either way too expensive for
what the owners receive in return, or are unsuitable for their age, risk tolerance, or financial goals. This
doesn’t mean you need to run to the filing cabinet and dig out that prospectus or annual report and read it cover to cover. What it does mean is that if you have a stock, bond, mutual fund, annuity or insurance
product that you’re not sure what its purpose is, then you need to have your financial advisor sit down with you and explain to you in plain English just exactly what you have and why you have it.

#1 Get a financial plan – Did you expect anything less from a financial advisor? Seriously though, one of your best investments could be to pay your financial advisor to make a comprehensive review of all your finances. A comprehensive review should include: a review of your cash reserves, cash flow, life, disablility, and long-term care insurance including your group plans, investments, debts, federal and state taxes, projected retirement plans and estate plans, including beneficiaries, wills and trusts. Make sure that your investment and retirement plans fit hand in glove. For instance, if your projected retirement plans says that in order to reach your retirement goal at the desired age and standard of living your investments need to make 7.5% then your investment portfolio should have a mix of cash, stocks, bonds, real estate and commodities that is targeted to earning 7.5%.

So, now you have a checklist of things to get accomplished in 2011. Next week marks the beginning of the
busy part of tax season. I encourage you to make a pledge to gather all your financial information and get
with your tax preparer, financial advisor or both and begin reaching your financial goals today!

The information in this article is not intended to be tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the
purpose of avoiding any federal or state tax penalties.

Steven Smith Financial
5908 Berry Lane • Evansville, IN • 47710
Phone: 812-484-9338 • Fax: 812-402-5024
www.stevensmithfinancial.com

Securities are offered through Financial West Group (FWG), Member FINRA, SIPC
2226 S. Airport Road W. #C, Traverse City, MI 49684

Steven Smith Financial and Financial West Group are unaffiliated entities.

By: Brent D. Jackson

Brent Jackson is a Certified Microsoft IT Consultant with Innovative Data Technologies. I have actively been pursuing changes to the EVSC netbook program, but my requests have fallen on deaf ears. I have spoken with Vince Bertram, the School Board, Bosse High School, and the Courier & Press. There are some serious problems with the netbook program and the devices themselves. Below is a letter that I sent to the school board members and the Courier. To date there has been no reply. I believe that my concerns are valid and newsworthy.

Dear Editor,

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation curriculum now requires netbook usage in the classroom environment. The EVSC has rolled out some 7800 little laptops (netbooks) for some grade & all high school students. The netbooks are rented at $35/semester ($70/yr) and are checked out concurrently with their books. Insurance can be purchased from a third party provider at $52/yr with a $25 deductible (first time claim). A Netbook User Agreement is sent home with the student that in so many words, says the usage of this netbook constitutes agreement to the rules found within. It is a statement of protection on behalf of the EVSC with no rights or privileges granted in consideration or favor of the end users.

Last years netbooks were found to be weak and arguably contained a common workmanship defect. The root of the problem in the netbooks was that a latch that is meant to hold on to the removable battery was easily broken on one side of the netbook. This problem, (if not fixed) then cascaded into the LCD screen being cracked in the right hand corner of the screen when a student opened the lid. The EVSC chose to keep these defective laptops in the field of service which in turn caused the $15 latch part replacement to a $200 LCD screen replacement. This would go against any return or replacement policy that HP has. The EVSC lawsuit against HP should be dismissed because of this principle alone.

This year, the EVSC has purchased 7800 Dell Latitude 2110’s. Even though this is a different species of a netbook, this does not alleviate many of the other problems with the EVSC netbook program that has gone unanswered. Vincent Bertram, the EVSC Superintendant believes that this program will close the gap on the”digital divide” between classes of people. This is an over presumptuous statement that mistakenly implies that sending a netbook home with the misfortunate students of Evansville who don’t already have a computer at home would for some reason or another have internet capabilities and make full use of the netbooks surfing/researching abilities. A student could very well find a Wifi Hot Spot somewhere in town, but it is unlikely and difficult for a student to find a hot spot which provides them a suitable study environment. Not to mention that many students are not allowed to stay out after dark. In reality, the EVSC has sent home a very expensive and fragile word processor for our students to use.

The EVSC also hopes to eliminate the textbook expenses someday. The perception that we will be phasing out textbooks in their entirety is a delusion. At no point in time will we cease to have a textbook or a publishing house vendor that sells media to the EVSC. Whether it is a paper or paperless textbook solution, there will still be cost involved for the copyrights or licensing of any certifiable scholastic reading materials for the students to use on their netbooks. The costs of paperback textbooks will never compare to the cost of the netbooks. Not to mention the additional power usage, technical and administrative support that is needed to keep these laptops in tip top shape. The EVSC signed a 3 million dollar contract last year with HP; and again signed another $3 million dollar contract with Dell this year. This has got to be the most expensive netbook program in the State, if not the country.

With that said, all of the Dell netbooks that were purchased this year have integrated cameras in them. I would agree that on the surface level this is an attractive feature; but this opens a lot of other doors for those who may prey on the students. A person who is familiar with a programming language (like Visual Basic or C++) could in fact write a program that could infect the other netbook computers at the EVSC that would then allow them to remotely activate and stream the captured camera video images to their computer at home. The current EVSC Computer Administrators could disable all network cameras by Group Policy at the server level, but if the Administrator password has been hacked, it may make no difference anyhow. The EVSC System Administrator password was hacked 12 times by students last year. If the administrator password is hacked, it renders the computers and the computer network the official playground of any savvy user. A person could wreak havoc on the systems at large. Including, but not limited to, the access of every computer or device that is joined to their Windows domain. With the security measures defeated, the servers, the netbooks and their vulnerabilities can be shared with other students for further multiplied manipulation. Parents should further consult with their child about the additional considerations and responsibilities when you have an integrated camera.

The EVSC always encourage parental involvement with the school system, but seemingly there are limitations to this relationship especially in retrospect. There has been no public discussion or open forum on the financial, physical, or most importantly the moral considerations of the netbook program. The EVSC Board Meeting minutes on the EVSC website have no mention of any netbook program prior to June 8th of 2009. No other notice was given prior to the netbook implementation 3 months later. It is inconsiderate and disrespectful to not only the parents, but the teachers too; slipping this netbook program in under the radar without any long term planning, discussion or respectable teacher/student/parent readiness considerations. It is interesting to note that it has been the EVSC’s policy to confiscate and reprimand student’s for cell phones, iPods, or other electronics including privately owned laptops (5136 – CELLULAR TELEPHONES AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION DEVICES). However the school issued netbooks seem to escape violations of this written and unchanged policy even though the netbook fits the criteria of this policy on their website.

In conclusion, the EVSC has indirectly told me and 15,000 EVSC parents (in so many words) that we are responsible for a fragile computer that will be given to our teenager; with a built in video camera; and we have no say or insight into the level of security, service or expectations in the netbook program whatsoever. We are further expected to pay for it through taxes and nearly doubled book rental fees. Any outcome, for better or worse, is going to be acceptable. And if the program is a failure, the EVSC will have no desire or ambition to share any contributing report as to why the previous netbook program has failed in its entirety and what changes have been made this year to assure us that this will not happen again. For all of the reasons stated formerly in this letter; it is in my opinion that the netbook program in its current state that the proper due diligence was ever performed to reveal all of the weaknesses in the netbook program. It does not meet the expectations of the EVSC nor the parents and it is definitely not in the best interest of educating our students or straddling the “digital divide” as we have been told. It is an inefficient program that not only cost money, but learning time as well. This has a direct and immediate effect on our student’s grade earning abilities and the program should be killed!

IS IT TRUE? January 28, 2011

IS IT TRUE that Pigeon Township Trustee Mary Hart after being reminded by the City County Observer has now filed her disclosure of campaign finance documents?…that Mary was on vacation enjoying herself on the due date?…that she ran unopposed?…that she is now back in her office making decisions on how to spend the Pigeon Township money wisely to help the poor and those who get unwanted surprises in life?…that if all 1,008 of the Township Trustees in Indiana managed their offices the way Mary Hart manages hers that the opponents of Township government would not have irresponsibility on their list of reasons to consider getting rid of Townships?

IS IT TRUE that Democratic candidate for Vanderburgh County Council Hayden Barth after having it pointed out by the City County Observer that his campaign finance disclosure did not give credit to the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee made a $100 contribution to his campaign contacted the CCO directly to acknowledge that the Mayor’s committee did indeed make that $100 contribution to him?…that Mr. Barth’s reason for not reporting the contribution was his belief that a $100 contribution is below the reporting threshold for political contributions?…that federal rules are clear that $200 is the disclosure threshold but Indiana law differs and treats contributions differently when they are in the “$100 – $200” range?…that the CCO believes that Mr. Barth had the right spirit of disclosure in his filing and that this did not change the outcome of any election?….that the link to review the Indiana state laws on campaign finance disclosure is on the following link? http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/2011_Campaign_Finance_Manual.pdf

IS IT TRUE that the CCO has not heard a peep from Maura Robinson the Democratic candidate for Vanderburgh County Auditor with respect to the $250 donation that the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee reported that it had given to her campaign?…that $250 is clearly above the disclosure threshold in both state and federal elections?…that we hope to be reporting soon that Ms. Robinson squares that one up as all of the others have so that all of our local candidates with questions will have answered them?

IS IT TRUE that some public officials are really making a grab for money in these increasingly desperate times?…that Mayor Al Baldwin (not to be confused with Alec Baldwin) of Vincennes, Indiana is calling upon non-profit organizations to donate a portion of their proceeds to the City of Vincennes to pay for the city services that they use?…that Mayor Baldwin is calling upon churches, hospitals, schools, universities, and other non-profits to “make up for” the property taxes that they are exempted from by “contributing” to the City of Vincennes?…that there is a reason that non-profits are granted non-profit status by the federal government?…that a big part of that reason is so that local governments can’t get their hands on contributions to these non profits to pay for general services?….that this is one Mayor who needs to find some way other than shaking down non-profits for donations to keep the lights on and the police cruisers full of gasoline to keep Vincennes functioning?…that separation of church and state should never be violated and that any Mayor who publically asks for some rake from non-profits is in effect doing exactly that?…that the Mayor of Vincennes needs to drop this idea and to the job of managing that he was elected to do?

IS IT TRUE that this was on the Associated Press newswire and is now available for all the world to see?…that all of us in SW Indiana and the entire State of Indiana look a little bit silly today in the eyes of the rest of the country?…we hope this is retracted and forgotten in the very near future?…that the City County Observer does not believe that anything like this could ever bubble up from the powers that be in Evansville?…that Dr. H. Dan Adams bright light of hope to brighten up the darkness of politics needs to clone itself in Vincennes?

Take That: January 28, 2011
The Most Poignant Readers Comments of the Week

In Response to IS IT TRUE

“We are tired of excuses, it is going on 4 YEARS of nothing,– it’s high time to ask for the Community’s Money to be returned! That last line should read,–It’s high time to ask for the Community’s $800,000 Dollars to be returned.” Crash Larue writing about the McCurdy

“Still waiting for the Team Weinzapfel Demo. candidate to announce against Mr. Davis.” Joe Biden

“Is it true that Charles Manson has better name recognition than Troy, Rick and Lloyd combined?
Is it true that it is not the fact that people recognize your name that makes you a leader? It is what deeds got you the name recognition in the first place that should determine votes?” The Architect

“Somebody really needs to get in to the County Clerk’s office before Mark Owen sends one of his goons over there to alter the local candidate reports. The security and chain of possession controls on documents in that office is…lacking.” Outside_Observer

“Winnecke now has a major conflict of interest since formally announcing his candidacy for mayor. Will he vote as a county commissioner or as a future mayor?” Magic Man

In Response to Cell Phone Service at the Evansville Arena

“As far as our cell reception. After this big water main break that flooded the Civic Center reported, ancient, lines. Well, I’m going to be more concerned that the toilets work, when they are at capacity! (Especially during a firm, flash rain.)” Eville Taxpayer

“DONT ASK THEM THAT QUESTION! It will cost them >2mil to do the study to even determine if it will be a problem or not. Close your eyes and full steam ahead!” Analytic

“I have a cell phone and our one year old arena (in Wichita) is cell phone/texting friendly and continually updated as needed. My issue is with the “need” to use cell phones at events “or else” we won’t spend good money on events. I say this tongue-in-cheek. I sincerely hope your arena is designed with up-to-date-technology. BTW, I discovered your website while following the CVB scandal. Too bad we didn’t have PC’s in the 70′s. We definitely needed CCO back then! E’ville is my hometown.” SABBY 21

Is HB 1423 Putting the Foxes and Hawks in Charge of the Chicken house?

The City County Observer has published several articles in the past of an informative nature that have factually pointed out that here on the north side of the money saving bridge the basic charge for electricity for the average user is 188% higher than it is in Henderson and 133% higher than it is in Princeton.

Today the Indiana House of Representatives released a bill that was designed to allow utilities in Indiana including electrical, gas, water, and wastewater providers to choose between adjusting rates annually according to a “formula” or applying for rate increases the old fashioned way by applying to the respective regulatory board.

A majority of consumer groups oppose the bill on the grounds that consumers are better served by regulation of legislated monopolies than they are by subjecting themselves to complicated formulas that will have substantial input from the utilities. Consumers are also concerned with granting the utilities the privilege to choose which way to apply for increases. Intuitively speaking each utility would choose whichever method maximized their own revenue which would not benefit consumers.

Stan Pinegar the President of the Indiana Energy Association supports the bill on the grounds that customers will have more stable rate increases rather than be subject to rate spikes associated with regulation. Consumers presently have the option of budget plans with most utilities to desensitize their bills to extreme weather.

The sponsor of the bill is Republican State Representative L. Jack Lutz of the 35th House District that is northeast Indianapolis in the area between and around Anderson and Muncie.

The full text of the bill is at the following link:
http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2011/IN/IN1423.1.html

The most recent impact report is on the following link:
http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2011/PDF/FISCAL/HB1423.002.pdf

IS IT TRUE? January 27, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the Indiana House of Representatives smokefree workplace bill is getting so full of loopholes and exception that it in no way resembles a bill that will actually change anything in a substantial way?…that our state legislature is once again proving first that rural areas and urban areas have dramatically differing mindsets and second that the state legislature just does not seem to have the courage to push this forward in a meaningful way?…that worker’s rights, if they are indeed rights should not be subject to the whims of a cash hungry political body?…that smokefree work place laws should apply to all workers and not just to the ones whose employers are essentially paying the state or certain cities off with “special” taxes from “special” relationships?

IS IT TRUE that Indiana’s urban areas such as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, and South Bend compete with other urban areas in the country for economic opportunities?…that economic opportunities translates into JOBS in political terminology?…that by consciously letting the fear of losing the sale of a hamburger to a small village that the City Council of Evansville sends the message of insignificance and irrelevance to the outside world?…that urban areas like Evansville need to focus on being competitive with the places that we actually should be competing with and stop worrying about losing business to the “Greasy Spoon Diner” in Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky?…that abdicating the responsibility to set good public policy that protects public health, makes this a more attractive place to young professionals, and elevates Evansville’s ability to compete with peer cities is no longer acceptable?…that this year is the time for the Evansville City Council to follow the lead of the Vanderburgh County Commissioners and pass a comprehensive smokefree workplace ordinance?…that the old saying “lead, follow, or get out of the way” will ring loud and clear in the City of Evansville elections of 2011?

IS IT TRUE that the University of Evansville Purple Aces delivered another unexpected win last night against the rival Indiana State University Sycamores?…that Coach Marty is finally finding his groove and is on a realistic path to a winning season?…that it would make an interesting challenge to see which venue draws the most spectators?…that the last Aces game in Roberts Stadium may just draw more people than the first Aces game in the new Evansville Arena?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau has finally seated a new board of directors?…that the choices are young, energetic, and to a very large extent homegrown?…that this young, energetic, and homegrown is the right combination of talents to run the ECVB?…that they need to convene very quickly to get on about the business of hiring an Executive Director to replace Marilee Fowler?…that these folks better stay away from the Opus One?…that we would suggest Opus Two for next years party?…that Opus Two is a local term for the Two Buck Chuck sold at Trader Joe’s?

IS IT TRUE that there is another group in town called the Evansville Sports Corporation that is out shopping the town as a place to hold competitions?…that the Evansville Sports Corporation was recently featured in an article posted on the NCAA website as trying to attract a Division 2 Sports Festival that would have a need for 800 hotel rooms?…that the ECVB and the Evansville Sports Corporation need to start coordinating efforts on projects like this?…that the City County Observer is very curious about a supposedly independent group that is promoting Evansville as a sports destination and would welcome the opportunity to publish and entity profile?…that the official address on the State of Indiana website for the Evansville Sports Corporation is ONE VECTREN SQUARE, Evansville, IN?

IS IT TRUE that it has now been 1,357 days since the announcement was made on May 14, 2007 that the McCurdy Hotel was to be refurbished into luxury apartments?…that it has now been 1,211 days since the Evansville Redevelopment Commission at the request of Mayor Weinzapfel approved the spending of $603,000 to purchase the parking lot?

IS IT TRUE that there are now 653 days remaining in the two years that the EPA had given the City of Evansville to present an acceptable solution to the Combined Sewer Overflow problem?…..that this plan is an expensive and complex endeavor that needs immediate attention to avoid the embarrassment and expense of another round of fines?

February 1st at Rounders II

It’s that time again! Come join us next Tuesday, February 1st 6:30PM at Rounders II on outer Green River Road for our monthy discussion group. We have a couple things we would like to cover, but other than that would like to hear any current issues that you would like to bring up as well. Hope to see you there!

PS – We would also like to encourage you to bring any friends or family members that you think might benefit our group. We have a small core group of people who come to meetings and correspond regularly through email, but in order to start seriously having our voice heard in our community, we need to continue building our membership.

Best Regards,
Bart Gadau
(812 305-0842
i_luv_itzi@yahoo.com

Author Suggests Getting at Least Three Quotes

By: Lincoln Stevens

When evaluating home insurance companies, there are three extremely important criteria you need to consider: price, coverage, and service. These three criteria can be referred to as the “three-legged insurance stool,” because the stool (or your insurance policy) can’t stand unless all three elements are present in your policy. A complete home insurance policy is one that has a great price, excellent coverage, and fantastic service.

Price. Price is extremely important when evaluating your home insurance. In today’s economic climate, everyone is looking to save a buck or two. Many companies will use their reputable name and catchy slogans to make people feel like they have the best prices. The best way to know for certain you are getting a reasonable price is to shop your insurance coverage around. Get quotes from at least three different companies to ensure that the prices you are getting quoted are reasonable and comparable to other insurance companies in the area.

Coverage. Home insurance coverage comes in many shapes and sizes. From extremely poor coverage (an HO1 policy) to excellent, near bullet-proof coverage (an HO5 policy), you have many options. One mistake you need to make sure not to make is to assume that all home insurance policies are one and the same. If you don’t know the different policy types available, you might end up with a policy that doesn’t cover important perils like water damage or falling objects. This could ultimately end up costing you hundreds to thousands of dollars! In this case, knowledge truly is power. If you don’t know too much about the different home insurance policy types, at the very least ask your agent what is and isn’t covered with the policy he’s giving you.

Service. The final leg of the “three-legged insurance stool” is service. You can have the best price and excellent coverage, but if you don’t have quality service to go along with it, you will probably end up disappointed with your insurance provider. If you need to file a claim, how important is it to have your claim taken care of quickly and efficiently? If you answered “very important,” then service should be an important element that you evaluate before you switch insurance companies. The best way to evaluate service quality is to talk to family and friends (who have preferably filed a claim) that have the same insurance carrier and love it. If you don’t know anyone who has your potential insurance provider, checking the AM Best rating, the Better Business Bureau, JD Power ratings, and your state’s insurance site are great ways to do your due diligence.

Good luck!

Lincoln Stevens is Director of Marketing for Insurance Education Group, a web-based company aimed at helping people obtain the best house insurance they possibly can. Are you looking for a better rate on your home insurance? We can help! In five minutes or less you can fill out our online quote form and receive multiple quotes from multiple companies. Insurance Education Group not only has the best and quickest online quote forms on the web, but also a library of insurance information free to all those who visit the site! Become a well-informed consumer and field multiple free insurance quotes all at Insurance Education Group!

Unedited Questionnaire Sent to Subscribers to Pops Series

Dear Pops Subscriber,

Since we didn’t have a patron name, we have just sent you a survey with the heading 10-11 Pops Subscriber. If you are not a Pops subscriber, please disregard this heading. Rest assured, the survey is the same except one question. The mailed survey included the following question, which the email survey does not:

Which is more important to you:

___ Avoiding traffic/parking problems even if it means a concert start time as early as 5:30 p.m.

___ A later concert start time, even if it may mean some traffic/parking problems.

If you’d like, you can leave this answer in one of your comment windows at the end of the survey.

Thank you for your continued interest in your Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra!

Take the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PKFF8N6

EVANSVILLE, INDIANA: A WONDERFUL PLACE TO LIVE

Evansville is a unique place on the Ohio River, here for more than two hundred years. Its intimacy with the river has sustained it over all that time, bringing it food, settlers, and business. During World War II, Evansville stepped up as a formidable provider of the tools for victory.

The Evansville Golden Crescent is made up of roughly four parts:
Upstream has concentrated the expression of our history with the LST 325, the Evansville Museum, and the delightful historic home section.

The Golden Crescent

Next is the business engine of banks, larger corporations, courts, new Arena and government. Below that area is the Entertainment District containing Aztar, its bars and gambling. Finally, in the Evansville’s last, downstream section resides it heavy industry with its promise of rejuvenation of a slack water port in the decade to come. Here lies our city !

Surrounded by four major midwestern cities, Evansville has the major advantage of being able to easily get to those urban centers, if desired. Yet our city does retain the marvelous features of quiet sustaining neighborhoods, personal kindness, safe streets and relatively low taxes.

City of Evansville Population
(2009) – 116,584
(2010) – 116,500 with annexation areas included
Vanderburgh County Population (2009) – 175,434

GPS Location – 37.966865 -87.566724

Evansville Regional Airport, IN
Elevation 417 ft Latitude: 38.04306; Longitude –87.52028

Estimated Median Household Income: Evansville – $33,600 Indiana – $47,966
CITY OF EVANSVILLE PROJECTED REVENUES

Miscellaneous $ 88,192,216
General Fund Property Tax 56,605,735
Sewer Fund Fees 36,244,000
Water Fund Fees 23,237,700
Local County Income Tax 11,367,609
River Boat Fund 10,641,310
Park Fund Property Tax 6,247,500
Fire Pension Property Tax 105,000
Police Pension Property Tax 105,000

Grand Total Revenue Projected $232,782,070

Miscellaneous Revenues: (in Million $)
General Misc 26.4, Fire Pension 5.7, Police Pension 7.0, Parks Misc 3.9, Park Refunding 0.4, Redevelopment Bond 2011 1.3, Redevlmt Bond ret. 0.2, Print & Supply 0.5, Law Enforcement Ed 0.1, COIT Misc1.8, Cumultv Capital Improvemt 0.3, Rvboat Misc 0.03, Highwy 4.5, Rny Day 0.03, Golf 1.5, Redevlmt TIF Ret Bond 0.4, Sports 0.4, Greenway 0.3, Local Rds & Strts 1.8, Cert Tech Pk, 0.001, Pking Gargs 0.5, HUD Fair Hsing 0.03, EEOC 0.05, TIF Projects Acct 6.9, Hospitalization 19.5, Unemplmt Fd 0.1, Wrkers Comp 1.0, Liabty Ins Fd2.4, Waste Watr 0.7 = $88,192,216

CITY OF EVANSVILLE 2011 PROJECTED EXPENSES

Total Utility – Water, Sewer & Wastewater $60,133,316
Police 29,420,344
Fire 23,690,223
Total Insurance Fund 22,885,311
Local Income Tax Use Fund 15,318,892
Riverboat Fund 11,168,030
Miscellaneous 10,535,608
Parks and Recreation 10,311,606
Remainder of General Fund 9,053,661
METS 7,159,122
Master TIF Projects 6,917,997
Fire Pension 5,635,137
Highway Fund 5,498,396
Central Dispatch 3,192,956
Local Roads & Streets 2,131,186
Golf Course Non-Reverting 1,511,728
Redevelopment Bond Fund 1,375,519
Dept of Metro City 1,238,655
Code Enforcement 1,185,720

Grand Total City Projected 2011 Expenses $228,363,407

CITY OF EVANSVILLE – CHALLENGES

BACK to BASICS:

Recession – Slow recovery or double dip.? As the stimulus money’s effect has blunted the potentially catastrophic deep slope of a depression, it is now time to slow BIG government spending, until the exact length and depth of the downturn can be accurately determined. The independent variables of increased revenue from phased-in, newly annexed city areas and a hopeful increase of sales tax income may counter balance the dip caused by the constitutionally demanded property tax ceilings and the EPA sewerage judgment. New hiring for jobs is most needed and should come in one to two years. It is time to be cautious to commit money to projects other than those of the most basic nature. A full-scale attack on new business creation with continued intense encouragement of existing businesses is primary.

Basic Services – As police and fire create public safety and trash collection protects us from epidemics, these needs are paramount. The Firefighter contract must be promptly settled. In the future, arbitration legislation may be needed to push the process along. If the possible revenue crunch does become prohibitive, these primary obligations will take precedent for all other city funding, which could include administrative pay cuts. In light of these basic needs, other much less demanding, frivolous spending should be sharply curtailed.

Sewer Correction – Although an admirable start to correct a huge long-standing problem has been done, much is needed yet. The sewer/water rates have been increased regularly over recent years with each sewer project. Because of the uncertain nature of our economy, no new sewer rate increases should be entertained for at least two years. The Public’s squeal factor is beginning to be heard. The slope of sewer rate increases should be flattened, until the final bill to be paid from the EPA case is known. Ultimately soon, the decades present, eye-and-nose sore of Bee Slough should made into a cleansing fen.

New Arena – About three quarters of the way through its creation, the new Arena’s building goes apace. It IS a beautiful edifice. Hopefully, it will finish early and under budget, as it has so far. When done, it should draw crowds of people to the Downtown on more than 130+ occasions per year. Roberts Stadium costs $15,000 per month to maintain empty, which will not occur for some months. Would it not be worthwhile to retain the iconic building and create another interior use for it? Any solution should wait for at least a year, until it so apparent that the worse of the recession’s damage has passed. All other solutions should be fleshed out during this waiting period to deliver value to ALL of our citizens…not just a handful.

City-County Merger – Although many good ideas have come forth in this most recent effort, the decision not to have the referendum be on this fall’s ballot has effective paralyzed its forward progress. Now that the study has been turned in on January 11st, it may sit gathering dust for almost two years before an appropriate election cycle occurs. The public’s present apathy may well be in concrete by then. The study’s cost of $108,000 for legal and secretarial uses needs to be documented in detail. The question of whether the study was worth the money has yet to be answered.

Summary – The search for city/public consensus management is desperately needed. A kinder, gentler, less “my way or the highway” approach should be sought.