One of lightning rod issues this year in Evansville politics came when it was revealed that Tom Barnett, the Director of Metropolitan Development for the City of Evansville was drawing two paychecks. One of those paychecks was paid to Mr. Barnett from the City of Evansville the old fashioned way in the amount of $71,178 per year, the maximum allowable under the City of Evansville’s salary schedules. The other paycheck came from GAGE in the amount of $42.643 per year giving Barnett an annual compensation package of $113,821.

The deal for Barnett to get the supplemental paycheck from GAGE was negotiated, written, and signed by Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel on behalf of GAGE as its Chairman of the Board of Directors. No other GAGE board members or officers signatures were on the contract. The Mayor and Barnett have been open with the fact that Barnett’s salary in Paducah, KY a town of 25,720 was already higher than Evansville’s maximum allowable, and that he had an offer in hand for $107,000 from the City of Eustis, FL that has a population of 19,129. Evansville is over 4 times larger than either of these cities.

As the CCO is all about advocating for good public policy, we must point out that this two paycheck arrangement was a prime example of bad public policy. It is bad public policy to have salary schedules that are not competitive with comparable cities. Evansville’s salary schedules in Barnett’s case were not even up to par with much smaller cities with lower costs of living. One bad policy in this case led to another. The two paycheck scheme hatched and implemented by Mayor Weinzapfel spared him the scrutiny of the Evansville City Council in the hiring process. When it all became public, it backfired and Barnett was caught in the crossfire.

Councilman Dan McGinn has told us that he supports the City Council approving Mr. Barnett’s pay for 2011, which was tabled due to confusion, at the level that is the equivalent to the two paycheck scheme and that he should be paid the old fashioned way by one paycheck from the City of Evansville. The City County Observer agrees wholeheartedly with Councilman McGinn.

We also would like to encourage the City of Evansville to go one step further and do whatever study needs to be done to establish and approve salary schedules for all City of Evansville jobs that are competitive with peer cities across the country. Having salary schedules that are not competitive stunts our ability to retain or attract talent to these important positions. Perhaps both talented and willing people already live here to fill these positions if they were seen and compensated in a competitive manner. Taking this step is one necessary step to counter one of the reasons that we continue to have this problem often referred to as “brain drain” where our best and brightest leave the area.

Modernizing the salary schedules for both the City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County employees is good public policy and we encourage the governing entities to get busy and make this happen

2011 is an election year. We need exemplary candidates to come forward for all of the offices that are on the ballot. If the elected offices are not competitive with peer cities then something needs to be done about that too.

The Director of DMD reports to the Mayor of Evansville. The current Director of DMD is paid more than the Mayor. It is also time to raise the salary of the Mayor of Evansville to a level that substantially exceeds the salaries of the people who directly report into that office. Our future as a community depends on attracting qualified candidates who recognize and practice good public policy. Modernizing the salary for the Office of the Mayor of Evansville will make holding that office more attractive to people with knowledge, drive, talent, and experience.

Evansville, IN (December 17, 2010) – The Vanderburgh County Auditor would like to remind residents that the deadline to file property tax deductions is January 5, 2011.

Deduction applications must be filed with the County Auditor’s Office on or before January 5, 2011 for the taxpayer to receive the eligible deductions on their 2011 property tax bills. To ensure that you are not paying higher taxes than you should for next year, be sure to file for any deductions that you are entitled.

If you have previously filed a mortgage deduction, you would only need to re-file if you have refinanced. If you have filed a homestead deduction, you would only need to re-file if you have moved. If you recently purchased a home and filed for your homestead on the sales disclosure form, you would not need to re-file.

For more information, or to review the eligibility requirements for the deductions, go to the Auditor’s website at www.vanderburgh.org/auditor . Deductions can be filed in the Auditor’s Office which is located in Room 208 of the Civic Center Complex. Office hours are from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. The phone number is 435-5293.

IS IT TRUE that Spencer County, Indiana got great news from an economic development perspective yesterday?…that after years of negotiating it has finally been approved to proceed with the coal to pipeline quality gas production plant?….that this project will create roughly 1,000 construction jobs for three years, 200 permanent jobs, and 300 mining jobs?….that plants like this are green and will preserve the long term value of the coal under the ground in greater Evansville?….that this source of pipeline quality gas at the projected prices will save this region money on gas and provide jobs and wealth for the next 30 years?….that there has been some legal maneuvering done to try to blunt the efforts to get this project started?….that each and every one of us would recognize the name of one of the companies that has spent much time and money opposing this worthy project?

IS IT TRUE that an Indiana based start-up company in the green energy business recently signed its first contract to deliver its transformational energy technology?…that this company has some deep ties to Evansville?….that this company could have been based in Evansville if adequate venture capital had been available during its development phase?…..that it still could if there were sufficient investment funds made available in Evansville for emerging and proven businesses?…..that we happen to know about this fish that got away?….that for every fish that gets away, there are hundreds that never even sniff at an empty hook?…that a fisherman that does not bait his hook will starve to death?

IS IT TRUE that it has now been 1,315 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 1,170 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 695 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?

IS IT TRUE that exactly 15 days from now Marsha Abell will assume her newly elected role as a Vanderburgh County Commissioner?….that both Commissioners Abell and Winnecke have said that early in their term they will introduce and support a comprehensive smoking ban in Vanderburgh County?… that this move would not even be necessary except for the fact that 2 years ago a resolution to do the same thing was reversed marking one of the only such reversals by a county with over 100,000 residents in the history of the United States?….that going back to the future of 2009 is a positive mood for public health, quality of life, and economic development for Vanderburgh County?…..that the City of Evansville will have yet another opportunity to do the same?

INDIANAPOLIS – Today a federal court in Florida heard the arguments of a group of 20 states – including Indiana – in their legal challenge to the new federal health care law. Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who joined the lawsuit on behalf of Indiana in May, issued this statement:

“Indiana and 19 other states who brought this legal challenge ask the court to decide a fundamental question: Can the federal government require individuals to purchase a private health insurance policy or face a penalty? This individual mandate is unprecedented, and raises the specter of what other financial products the federal government might seek to compel individuals to buy regardless of whether they want to or can afford to. Our bringing a respectful legal challenge is the means by which this question about the proper role of federal government eventually can be asked of and answered by the United States Supreme Court,” Zoeller said.

“We also are heartened by the fact that Virginia was successful this week in its separate legal challenge to the federal health care law. Virginia’s challenge had raised legal arguments similar to those in our case in Florida: that the individual mandate to purchase insurance is unconstitutional. The federal court that heard Virginia’s case agreed, and struck down the individual mandate. Although our case is heard in a different court and raises other issues, the same line of legal reasoning has withstood a crucial test,” Zoeller said.

In today’s case in federal court in the Northern District of Florida, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson heard arguments on the merits of the case. The plaintiffs include Indiana, Florida and 18 other states as well as two private individuals and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The U.S. Department of Justice represents the federal government defendants. The court is expected to rule sometime early in 2011. From there, the case is likely to be appealed to a federal circuit court of appeals, and from there potentially to the United States Supreme Court.

From the start of the litigation, Zoeller has spent no additional tax dollars on the legal challenge beyond his office’s regular budget that the Legislature previously approved in 2009. Indiana did not pay a legal fee to join the lawsuit. No outside legal counsel was used; Indiana’s legal work has been performed by a salaried employee of the Attorney General’s office who would have been paid the same regardless of whether Indiana participated. No one from the Attorney General’s Office traveled to Florida today for the courtroom arguments; instead, Solicitor General Thomas M. Fisher monitored the court proceedings by phone from Indianapolis through a court teleconference.

Before announcing in March that he would join the multistate legal challenge to the new federal law, Zoeller in February prepared a 55-page report on and analysis of the federal healthcare legislation at the request of U.S. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana. The Attorney General’s report to Lugar is found here:

http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/files/IN_Atty_Gen_Impact_Analysis_of_the_Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act.pdf

\Tickets On-Sale Monday, December 13th at 10:00AM
Prices: Adult $20.00 & Children $5.00 + Additional Fees

Tickets available at the Roberts Stadium Box Office, All Ticketmaster Outlets,
www.ticketmaster.com, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000

Evansville, IN- Feld Motor Sports℠ announced today that tickets are now on sale for Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam® Thunder Nationals®, coming to Roberts Stadium Friday and Saturday, Jan. 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. both nights. The event will feature Monster Jam monster trucks Maximum Destruction® and BatmanTM, who are making their debut appearance in Evansville this year. Also featured will be Raminator, Rammunition, Quadzilla and Stomper.

On Saturday, Jan, 8, from 4:30 – 6 p.m. join us for the Party in the Pits. Fans with a Saturday night ticket will have the opportunity to get a view of the trucks up close and meet the drivers of the massive monster trucks. Pit Passes are available at select Dairy Queen locations.

Follow us on . Also, sign up on our web page www.smgevansville.com to receive our E-blasts containing concert announcements, discounts and group sales offers!

Spencer County and Southwest Indiana to Benefit from Jobs Created from Investment

ROCKPORT, Indiana – After four years of planning and negotiation, Indiana’s program to become a national leader in homegrown clean energy production took a big step forward today.

Governor Mitch Daniels made the announcement after the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) Board voted unanimously to approve a $2.65 billion project to build a new generation substitute natural gas plant in Spencer County, bringing hundreds of permanent and 1,000 construction jobs to southern Indiana and providing savings to energy customers.

“We’re out to pay Hoosiers instead of people elsewhere for the energy we need. We’re out to protect ratepayers against the likelihood of higher long-term gas prices. We’re out to put people to work in rural Indiana. And we’re out to become a leader in the high-tech field of cleaner energy. This project does all that, and it was worth all the work of the four years it took to get here,” said the governor.

The proposed substitute natural gas (SNG) plant would:

Bring $2.65 billion in private investment to southern Indiana for the plant.

Guarantee at least $100 million of savings in today’s dollars but likely be substantially more based on existing public forecasts.

Produce 1,000 construction jobs, 200 full-time jobs at the plant, and 300 mining jobs.

Operate with 99 percent fewer pollutants than a traditional coal plant.

Be designed to capture 90 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions.

According to the agreement, IFA will enter into a 30-year contract with Indiana Gasification, LLC, a subsidiary of Leucadia National Corporation, to purchase 38 million MMBtus of substitute natural gas – approximately 17 percent of the total used by non-industrial customers in the state—when SNG production begins in late 2015.

Among the benefits of the plant:

IFA will purchase gas at a formulaic price for 30 years, providing Hoosier energy customers an insurance policy against jumps in the price of natural gas. The plant will be built and operated by Indiana Gasification, which will assume the entire risk for construction and operation.

Indiana Gasification is required to provide a $150 million reserve to protect Indiana ratepayers during times when the price of SNG goes above the market price for natural gas. Indiana’s coal resources will be used to produce SNG, essentially the same as the natural gas which is currently used to heat many Hoosier homes.

In addition to SNG sold under contract to the IFA, the plant will produce additional SNG and other byproducts (sulfuric acid, argon, and other rare gases) that will be sold to generate incremental revenues, half of which will be passed on to benefit the ratepayer. Vitreous slag, which is one of the byproducts of the facility, will be given to the state for free and used for other processes such as building roads.

In a state emergency, the IFA has the right to direct the physical gas for use anywhere it deems necessary in the state.

The plant is designed to capture 90 percent of the carbon dioxide it produces as a co-product with the SNG. Indiana Gasification intends to sell compressed carbon dioxide as a liquid and transport it to the Gulf Coast to be used in enhanced oil recovery.

In 2006, Daniels began discussions with a group about constructing a SNG facility in Indiana. Subsequently, legislative sessions of the general assembly enabled the contract, which was announced today. The enacted legislation authorizes the IFA, on behalf of the state, to enter into negotiations for 30-year contracts for the purchase and sale of SNG for the benefit of Indiana customers.

The IFA has now completed its negotiations and will file a petition to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) for approval of the agreements related to this project. Indiana Gasification is in the final stages of negotiating its loan guarantee with the U.S. Department of Energy, which is critical to meet the terms established in the agreement. Depending on the completion of the IURC process and the federally mandated environmental impact study, construction is set to commence in early 2012.

An executive summary along with the forms of agreements may be found on the IFA’s website at: http://www.in.gov/ifa

Audio from today’s announcement, which the governor participated in live via Skype, can be found at the following link: http://www.in.gov/gov/files/Audio/121610.mp3

Included is a question and answer session with Governor Daniels and Indiana Public Finance Director Jennifer Alvey.

Source: Office of the Governor

Breaking the Poverty Habit with Disruptive Innovation

Al Doerksen, CEO
International Development Enterprises

The thing about poverty is that people get trapped for generation after generation by expectations of same old same old. “We are poor, we have always been poor and it is our destiny to be poor. It is our caste. It is our class. It is our future.”

John Kenneth Galbraith wrote about this in The Nature of Mass Poverty, first published in 1979. He wondered why some groups had stayed poor for centuries. He found that many poor societies simply accommodate their poverty. He found that many of the poor found it easier to accept the status quo than to contemplate an alternate better future.

He used these observations of expectations also to explain why post World War II injections of Marshall Plan cash were so successful but why subsequent injections of foreign aid cash in developing countries have not always been successful.

In Galbraith’s experience, only a minority of the poor were able to imagine a better future and make the positive moves to get there.

Times have changed, to a degree, since the 1970’s. More of the poor have received an education. More than that, the widespread availability of television, cell phones and the internet have allowed millions of poor people develop new expectations, new visions and new hopes.

Innovation, at least the right kind of innovation, can propel these hopes to reality. We are speaking, in fact, of disrupting generations of hopelessness and misery, and creating the opportunities for changing the rules, changing the expectations, changing the measures, changing the outcomes, changing the future. These technologies are rightfully named “disruptive technologies”. They properly disrupt the expectation traps of the past and replace them with well-founded expectations of improved incomes and livelihoods along with accelerated hope and visions for the future.

Creating such “disruptive innovations” is both a privilege and our duty, especially if we believe that the poverty traps faced by too many millions is both reprehensible and unnecessary. In some contexts, “revolution” is a negative experience. At other times, it is entirely positive. (It might depend on how many people get hurt!) Likewise, some disruptions are also negative, but at other times, many disruptive innovations are nothing but positive, and we should embrace them.

I’m thinking of a small scale farmer we just visited in Ziway. His family had been poor for a long time. Along came a disruptive innovation, a rope pump. Not exactly intended for irrigation, it worked just fine anyway. What came out of the pump wasn’t just water, however. New hopes came pouring out. Within months this farmer had increased his land under production/irrigation, and had acquired a diesel pump. The rope pump had disrupted generations of despair, and had rewritten the future. It made me proud to be with IDE. It made me believe in the power of disruptive innovation. Without apology.

YWCA Seeking Nominations for its “100 Years, 100 Women” Honors

(Evansville, IN) The YWCA of Evansville today announced that it is seeking nominations from the
community for its 100 Years, 100 Women honors.

The YWCA of Evansville was founded on March 3, 1911. Next spring the YWCA will celebrate 100 years
of service to women and children in the Evansville community. To commemorate this historic
milestone, the YWCA will honor 100 women who, over the past 100 years, have made significant
contributions to the community in the areas of Women’s Empowerment, Social/Racial Justice, Arts,
Education, Business/Professions, Philanthropy/Volunteerism, Education, and Government/Public Service.
This special recognition will be the cornerstone of the YWCA’s annual Tribute to Achievement dinner in
2011. The YWCA invites the community to nominate a woman whose contributions to the community
have made a lasting impact in her field.

“There are so many incredible women whose hard work, passion, and generosity have created and
supported institutions, reforms and social services that have molded Evansville into the great city that it
is today,” says Erika Taylor, CEO of the YWCA.

Forms are available at www.ywcaevansville.org and at the YWCA. The deadline for submitting nominations for the 100 Years, 100 Women honors is February 1, 2011. Posthumous nominations are welcomed.

To inaugurate its centennial celebration, the YWCA is also inviting 100 women to join the Women
Empowering Women giving level by contributing $100 towards the YWCA’s mission of eliminating
racism and empowering women.

Attorney Gayle Gerling Pettinga was so inspired by Women Empowering Women that she offered to
match the first 100 women who donate $100 by January 31, 2011. These gifts combined with Gayle
Gerling Pettinga’s match will help the YWCA continue to empower women for another 100 years.
“When I heard about the YWCA’s novel fundraising challenge to celebrate its 100 year anniversary, I
knew immediately that I wanted to be part of it. 100 women each giving $100 to celebrate 100 years of
women empowering women is more than fundraising, it is symbolic of what the YWCA stands for – a
solid block of women giving the gift of opportunity to other women, ” says Gayle Gerling Pettinga.
Donations may be sent payable to the YWCA at 118 Vine St., Evansville, IN 47708.

The YWCA is also looking for YWCA photos, memorabilia and stories from the past 100 years. Those
who wish to share a special story about the impact the YWCA has made in their lives or the lives of
others may send their stories to 118 Vine St., Evansville, IN 47708 or via email to
etaylor@ywcaevansville.org.

The YWCA is planning several events to celebrate its 100th Birthday and is proud to announce that Old
National Bank will be its lead centennial sponsor.

The YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice,
freedom and dignity for all. The YWCA has been serving the Evansville area since 1911 and from its
inception has provided housing and services for women and girls. The Evansville YWCA is a member of
the YWCA of the U.S.A., the oldest and largest women’s membership movement in the country.
Over the years, YWCA programs have changed to meet the evolving needs of women and girls. In
1979, the YWCA opened the first domestic violence shelter in Evansville. Other current programs
include a Transition Housing Program for women in recovery, Emergency Shelter for homeless women
and children, an after‐school and mentoring program, called Live Y’ers, for at‐risk girls in grades three
through 12, Summer Fun day camp for school‐aged children, a Food Pantry station, and a warm water
swim program for those coping with arthritis and other physical difficulties. Special programs and
events for the general public are also offered. Visit www.ywcaevansville.org for more information