Would any of the taxpayers in New Albany like to see the City Council enact an "ethic" ordinance?
Do any taxpayers feel it is "dual" office holding (as described by the Indiana Attorney General) for a City employee to hold an elected office? Isn't there a tendency, seeing they vote on their own salaries and department issues?
Do any taxpayers feel an "elected" official or an "appointed" official should have to be property owners (the ones that pay the bills that kill) in order to serve constituents by being a friend to the taxpayer?
Mayor Garner's home is not in his name; nor Tim Dietrich; nor John Alton, who wants to run for office (btw, never met him -- may be a perfect gentleman). BUT, New Albany needs QUALIFIED, PAID THEIR DUES, KNOW WHAT TAXES AND MONTHLY VARIANCE REPORTS ARE, ETC. Don't you think?
These are issues we would like to see addressed; along side refunding the dilapidated building fund. A fund is NEVER ALLOWED to be in the RED, and we can find that ordinance where Council ordered each year it to be funded. Where is it?
As the late great Gerald R. Ford said -- "we can disagree, but don't have to be disagreeable". Thanks for your ideas.
Here's a joke for you...the very first time I ran for Mayor, voters told me I MUST WEAR A RED IU shirt, because they know I am a Kentucky fan (GO CATS). You have to have a sense of humor to recognize the very first thing the prospective voter asked of me was to LIE about my sports allegiance. Too funny.
34 comments:
But isn't it the case that property tax is being paid on each of these homes? As long as tax is being paid, exactly how does it matter who pays it?
By your politically inspired "logic," a married woman living in a home "owned" by her husband (could be the case for a variety of reasons) would be ineligible for office.
Placing such requirements on holding office seems strange coming from a self=proclaimed moderate on social matters. Woman once were banned from voting, as were blacks, for no reason other than gender and race.
Now a policeman or fireman living in a home that pays property tax, albeit perhaps in the name of his wife for tax reasons, shouldn't be in office. Couldn't he abstain from votes on issues pertaining to his salary? That strikes me as sensible.
Strange logic, indeed, but you're the better versed in clan politics than I, and in the end, that's what postings like this are all about, right?
Shall I file my particulars with you now so you'll have them, just in case some day I decide to run for something? No sense in you spending all that time combing through public records (some of your brethren prefer picking through garbage ... but leave Mr. Coffey out of it, okay?)
BTW, the Machiavellian in me vastly admires the savaging of the mayor and the storm water chairman, and the purely pre-emptive "outing" of John Alton (did Slippery Larry commission that one?), and the subsequent sing-song, 100% disingenuous "he's might be a really nice guy," and "let's not be disagreeable."
No, nothing disagreeable about insinuations like yours. Nothing at all. Just another walk in the partisan political park; as such, please remember to curb your Price.
Just remembered another thing. Can someone who rents from landlords like CM Price run for office? After all, they'd not be paying property taxes. Are they eligible ... or do we need to reinstitute multiple classes of citizenship to appease certain political imperatives?
As a woman who has ran for office, and my name not being on the deed -- only my husband's, please allow me to reassure you I own 1/2 of my home (has something to do with the law in Indiana).
Slander...clan politics...multiple classes of citizenship to appease "whatever"...I will disagree with you.
The Mayor and I have a "talking" relationship. We do not agree on all things, which may be obvious. We do not approve of the hiring of unqualified people to be your department heads.
We can't make your meet-n-greet tonight, but I'll try and get my brother-in-law there as he is a fan of yours; though he has a hard time with the way you approach me and mine...as the icicles get more brittle.
I do not apologize you find me to be "disingenous"; legitimate questions raised because of rulings from the State of Indiana's Attorney General.
No, I do not do the bidding of Mr. Kochert, Mr. Coffey, or Mr. Price. We'll just have to disagree, civilly of course; but hopefully without slandering anyone else's name. I truly do not know if Mr. Price owns "slum" houses as you claim or if you are in such contempt, it simply sounds good; or perhaps the houses don't cost as much as they should...who knows? Not I. Have a good 'un.
Hey, I deleted the preceding. Couldn't get the wording right, anyway. Sorry you guys can't make it; hopefully, there'll be other times.
Well. Apparently Roger just can't come up with a good response for that array of info from Ms. Kersey.
Personally, I find that to be quite the victory in and of itself.
As for the Politics in this town, there's a whole lotta stuff been going on for far too long in the "shouldn't" category (if you know what I mean).
All we need is some good old fashioned HONESTY, some willingness to play by the rules (there ARE rules you know), and a whole lot less of the "good 'ol boy" system.
Too many things I've been hearing lately lead me to believe we are about to see some real changes in the way things are done around here.
For my liking, it can't come soon enough.
Keep on Rockin' 'em Yvonne!
Property ownership as a qualification is flat out nuts. Renters pay property taxes monthly. It is a part of their rent. You think the landlord does not figure that into the equation?
Exactly where did Roger claim that Mr. Price owns "slum" houses? It is not written above and while I could be wrong, I don't remember him EVER writing that. Why, with all that he has written about Mr. Price, do you have to make something up? Kinda like wearing an IU shirt, isn't it?
Man, this is really disheartening. I too was considering a run for 4th district council in the up coming elections. But I guess I will not be able to do so, since the house I reside in with my wife was purchased by my wife before we married, so other than contracual interest in the property, my name is no where on the deed or the tax bills.
I can say honestly that I have been less than thrilled with the job that Mr. Kochert has been doing in te 4th. His constituency was left fighting for themselves when the solid waste district wanted to put in a toxic waste collection facility, we were left fending for ourselves when CCE, inc. wanted to put a junkyard in the middle of a residential area. We have been left fending for ourselves when we needed action to have not only a slum property, but dangerous properties needed to be attended to.
Who else is more qualified to serve this community than ANY SINGLE CITIZEN who lives here. Being a citizen of this community QUALIFIES a person, Any person who has taken the initiative to try and better their community has paid their dues.
But just for the record let me state that I was a strong supporter of Mr. kochert in the polls, and in our neighborhood association for years, until I became active in the happenings of this city, and found that anytime we needed support from our elected official the response we got was *insert sound of chirping crickets here*.
This Cities government needs new blood, we are stagnated, we are not progressing as the communities surrounding us are experiencing unprecedented growth that is nearly uncontrollable. But back here in good ol' New Albany, Businesses are shutting down, developements are having the financial rug yanked from under them by the banks due to lack of interest.
We can keep going on this track and see the further ruination of this city, the political he said she said, but just dont take any action stance, or we can step up to the electorial plate and say enough is enough, you guys had your chance, some for decades, and look where it has led.
roll another number Yvonne, this buds on you
Try Corona, with lime.
“Yes, compared to all other communities they are. The union contracts negotiated under former and maybe current administrations have to bear those responsibilities; and it is mainly political pressure. We do feel the police and fire would go a long way in doing good by this community by not allowing patrol cars outside this city, except for top brass.”
— Yvonne Kersey, New Albany, posted on the Tribune
the question do you think police and fire salaries are too low from the Tribune, 4/24/06
so tell us how are you a fiscally conservative democrat?
Easy to see why you ran for office. You don't answer questions either. You would have fit right in.
Easy to understand why you are so opiniated about things and how and why they happened, and what I ran for and on, without knowing or being there. Were you at the IUS debate between England, Overton and myself? Hmmmmmmmm.
The fire and police unions were under seige by Overton. CITIZENS uncovered two sets of books and the unions were able to clearly show the administration was not operating in good faith with their respective unions. We also marched for the police and fire unions. Were you there fighting for the right thing to be done at that time? Hmmmmmmm.
The police and fire unions both knew what I wanted to do if I made office, though a lot of them knew I really had no interest. My flag was in better shape and on the books -- over qualified. Never once thought I would ever do anything like that, but SOMEONE had to force the issues. My choice. Anyone who heard me speak, know, if they were present in the room, that my goal was to shut down all departments temporarily except for emergency and trash services; clear their books and reopen each department with someone who is qualified.
If what I said in the Tribune does not qualify me as saying the take-home cars policy has to change, let me make it clear it is the absolute truth for any administration. If New Albany is so great, then the officers should live in New Albany. If the take-home cars were simply in New Albany, logs were kept on personal use of mileage, etc., I feel that is a good crime deterrent. Other than that, I am simply helping to curb crime outside this City, and WE don't have the money.
Maybe I read you wrong, perceive you wrong, and/or interpret you wrong; but I don't think so.
Council always blame former Mayor England for giving the City away to the police and fire. As I wasn't privvy to that situation, I can't make a judgement.
I do feel as if the police and fire would negotiate with the proper administration to lower their costs if the books were open to them, in order to help all taxpayers (as they are taxpayers, also).
Don't worry, though. There is plenty more of questions that need answering and I know I don't have all the answers, but election time is coming and the history and/or knowledge about what happened under who and why and when will all come out.
No, I wouldn't fit right in. I don't take money under the table and don't make the deals that get made for certain individuals.
When someone offers to take a cut in salary, have no take home cars for their staff, have no "assistant Mayor", require all department heads to stay within their budget each month -- yeah, you're right -- tooooo rad.
Then there is this little problem about my experience in government financing, which really irks the people in power downtown.
This is proving to be an interesting paradox, though. Gotta admit that one! It seems to me the same mentality of why we can't change anything is becoming more and more obvious. But, hey, I don't trust any of them either, so who am I to talk? Every once in a while, though, something strange will happen, i.e., an ex-Mayor apologizing to you in the past couple of months for lieing to the only two people who made sewer board meetings for ten years. Actually admitted they "lied" to us because the "fix" was in. This was said in November and the lie was told approximately, let's see, 6 to 8 years ago? Daggone. Shocked me.
Thanks for your opinions.
"Easy to understand why you are so opiniated about things and how and why they happened, and what I ran for and on, without knowing or being there. Were you at the IUS debate between England, Overton and myself? Hmmmmmmmm."
Just out of curiosity, who is so opinionated? Anon 9:45 really did not offer opinions.
I would like to make a comment breifly regarding the hub bub about " take home" patrol cars with the NAPD, since this always seems to be a hot bed. In the Early 1980's when the program first started there were like 4 officers who received a used dodge aspen 6 cyclinder patrol car as an experiment. outside of thiat officers had to go to the station, get a line car, make sure it was full of fuel and actually ran, then off to roll call, as the next shift came on it was the same thing, with the exception of sometimes officers did not have an available patrol car until the previous shifts officers finished business at hand and returned to station.
I big change happened one night when two officers, both unfortunately passed on, Sgt. Drake, and Cpl. Helms were on the way home after their tour of duty, stopped at what was then the state street stop (a hole in the wall store) for a simple cup of joe. They walked into the middle of an armed robbery with multiple suspects, a this quickly escalated to a gun fight, fortunately neither officer was injured. BUT they did not have two way radios, they did not have a marked patrol car, in fact it was a 1978 Jeep CJ-5 manual transmission. They could NOT give chase when one suspect wounded in the leg drove off, and they had to communicate by telephone AFTER THE FACT.
So we got "24 hour Patrol" cars not to long after that.
It is not just a matter of money, it is not just a matter of police "owning" this town. This is a matter that it is standard proceedures in all most all mid sized cities with a relatively small police force, which we have. I am also quite sure that 24 hour patrol cars helped to facilitate the manhunt for the suspect that murdered a woman at tommmy's and then shot officer Witt several times and basically left him for dead. Unless I am really mistaken Patrolman M. Watson was the officer that located the suspect, and he respnded from his home in a take home car.
Should there be a critical incident in this city,regardless if that incident is weather, hazmat, standoffs, or God forbid something like terrorism, every patrolman will be able to responde from his home in a proper fashion, in addition to this officers on their way home say to Georgetown, are capable of safely stopping at an accident on I-64 in the cut, and havet the ability to be a little more safe on the side of the road, becuase I dont think we want ot pay a widows pension to an officer who was splattered all over the highway when he stopped in his personal vehicle at an accident on the highway, when he has a moral and ethical obligation to do so, if not legal obligations.
In short, take home cars are more than political token, they are more than a "job perk" for officers. they are a crucial element in maintaining a efficient, responsive service to the citizens of this city, and they are also a valuable tool in curbing crime by creating the appearance of more police on the streets.
A person can argue about that last point until they are blue in the face, but can you honestly say for sure whether or not that officer driving by in a take home car did not disuade a would be criminal from a car jacking, a rape, a buglary, or worse?
Gee...bring up Officer Witt and that horrible day at Tommy Lancaster's? I was a witness to that one buddy and was driving home down Main Street when I passed where the old "ambulance" place use to be (now Tumblebus) and all employees were standing out looking back behind me. As we pulled over at our house, at least 10 or more police cars screamed past us responding to that call. I really don't think they were out of town. What a horrible tragedy that day was...
That happened within the City...and your point is? We have people that live OUT OF THE COUNTY, and...
This is an issue, you are correct on that one. My sources tell me Mr. Messer may be agreeing to the idea though. Might want to talk with him seeing he is one of your Council members at large.
This City is not big enough, especially with all of the TIF areas, to support take home cars out of this City. If the TIFS take millions out of the General Fund, it makes sense Police and Fire use 80% of our budget out of the General Fund. We can't have our cake and eat it, too, unfortunately.
The other issue going to be on the table is the two-tiered hiring issue for police and fire. How do you feel about that one? I haven't done my homework, nor talked with the people involved what they think -- have you? It's probably going to be on the next Council agenda. It has something to do with being "vested" after two years, but not receiving the full rate of pay like others until 5 years. I dunno.
Re: take home cars
There's also the simple argument advanced by many police departments across the country that, because a larger fleet lasts longer and requires less maintenance than a smaller fleet constantly in service, a take home fleet is actually cheaper in the long run, even though the initial investment is greater.
Thus far, I've not read or heard an argument from opponents of take home cars that would refute such a claim by disproving it with real numbers. I may have missed it, but I've also not seen or heard a public official ask for real numbers to objectively evaluate those claims. Wouldn't that be the logical place to start? If the take home cars are actually cheaper as many claim, then it's a no-brainer. If not, we could compare the extra cost to the extra value and try to determine whether or not it seems worth it.
Yvonne, as a proponent of eliminating take home cars, what budgetary information serves as the basis for your stance? Have you compared the costs of take home cars versus smaller, constant service fleets? If so, can you provide us with those numbers?
They had a "committee" set up on that, and I hear they've worked out a plan, but based on what you would have to ask them. I feel almost certain Councilman Messer would have sat on same and you may be able to speak with him.
To me there really wouldn't be an argument about any of this if the General Fund wasn't suffering from the 80% used to support those departments. Thus my argument against any more TIFs and to see if the millions sitting in some of them can't be used for sewers, road repaving, demolishment, etc. The $$$$ can only be used in those areas for infrastructural purposes. We are not in a TIF at this end of my street, but the Parking Garage was the first and we didn't collect enough "monies" from any new development to even pay for the parking garage. Truly is complicated, this creative financing "thang".
I didn't ask about a committee. I asked about the basis for your opinion as expressed here. Since you've taken a position in support of eliminating the take home cars, I assumed you must've reached that conclusion based on solid financial information that shows the program is more expensive than a small fleet in constant service. Am I wrong?
At the time of the Tommys incident I too was a "witness", as a reserve officer, I was out there volunteering to protect you for as much as 30 hours a week on top of my regular job for 8 years. but I will not argue with you whether or not anyone responded from outside the city limits.
Yes we have some officers that live out of the county, such as sellersburg, clarksville, and such. Big Deal, am I not mistaken where Cheif Harl issued a mandate where those officers have been providing fuel for those cars from their own money?
Pardon my unruley stance on this one, but TIF's be damned. This is a needed service, one that should not be messed with.
Were you a withness to me, as a reserve officer being a back up in a pursuit to have the "line car" start having mechanical troubles?
Were you a witness to the fear felt by Sgt. Drake (PS my deceased father) and Cpl. Helms not being able to communicate with dispatch during the shooting I mentioned?
If we were to return to a line car system for all regular patrolmen, those cars would basically run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and when one breaks down, or when we have to pull a car off of the street for maintainence, or a new engine or tranmission on nearly a bi-annual basis at a cost of probably $5k or more for the heavy duty police interceptor engine and tranny package, when there is a dely due to that to "save money", and that savings of perhaps $50k in fuel results in a multi million dollar lawsuit against the city, or worse yet the injury or death of a civilian or police officer, what price can you put on that and be able to chalk it up as acceptable due to fiscal conservatism?
We can be safe, our officers can be safe and have a car they know how it handles and reacts, or we can save money, the bottom line comes to this, which is more valuable the protection of life, well being, safety and security for all of the citizens of the city, or the ability to say I cut X dollars from the city budget by cutting the efficiency of emergency services?
Also one last note, please do not think I am attacking you personally, I respect your opinion, but I also respect our men and women who serve this community, putting their lives on the line for you and I everyday.
No problem. I respect your opinions, and definitely respect all police and fire personnel who put their lives on the lines for me, mine and yours every day, 24-7. My family involves a long line of Sheriffs and City police and I'm proud of it.
I wish my comments wouldn't be construed as anti anything except to get more monies into the General Fund so we can take care of our neighborhoods, streets, etc. It's truly nothing personal, just business. Though, again, I have to reiterate if those millions were in the General Fund from ALL THOSE TIFS, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
Guess that's where we'll have to beg to disagree, cos I respect your opinions also. Thanks.
you speak out of both sides of the mouth Yvonne.
so what do you base your opinions on?
where are your facts, figures etc. Sure hope Doug England isnt counting on you for advice he has enough problems as it is
You are entitled to your opinion.
I am entitled to mine, that's what this great country is all about.
My opinions would be based upon my dealings with the union officers when the two sets of books were uncovered and their hire dates got all screwed up and reset to the same date; with some getting paid more, some none, some not at all. Do you remember that?
My opinions are based upon the knowledge of the City's finances and the understanding of same. Really seems to irk some people -- can't quite figure that one out.
My opinions come from marching with so-called other "concerned" citizens around the blocks, time after time -- helping force the unions into mediation, which they won (if I'm not mistaken).
My opinions come from having an Uncle being a Sheriff of a County and an Uncle being a City police officer.
And, the last time I checked, I am entitled to my opinions, the same way you are. Thanks for asking.
Ms. Kersey,
I feel honored to be noticed, however, I have not filed for the 4th District seat. But your comments are rapidly making my decision for me, so don't count me out yet. I am a native of New Albany. I worked for 23 years with AT&T, and I am a former homeowner here. At AT&T, I was an Operator, Supervisor for Call Centers in Dallas, TX, which had 119 Operators on duty during the day, West Palm Beach, FL, and in Louisville, as well as being a Training Instructor in Louisville. I was transferred to West Palm Beach, FL from the Louisville AT&T office in 1993 and had to sell the house. In '94, the WPB offce closed and I was transferred to Bloomington. In '97, that office closed, I retired from AT&T after being transferred 6 times my last 10 years with them, and it was back home to New Albany again. I am pro union, and walked on numerous AT&T contract strikes (30 days straight in '85 in Dallas in 110 degree weather) My Sister found the house on Silver Street that I rent. The house is owned by The First Church Of God, it is a house in excellent condition and has the space I need. The taxes are paid and they are part of my rent. I pay the utilities too, if that's any of your concern. "Refunding the dilapidated building fund. A fund is NEVER ALLOWED to be in the RED, and we can find that ordinance where Council ordered each year it to be funded. Where is it?" #1. Don't dump all available money into the sewers. #2. Add more officers to Code Enforcement, and expand the city legal team to make enforcement more than just a word. Raise the fines, and start collecting them. #3. The next window of opportunity...set up a City Court. I don't think that just because someone has run for an office in the past, or has held an office for years necessarily means they're still qualified for the office. I think a MAIN qualification in this election is for someone to be willing to think outside the box, who will be willing to seek examples from other cities who have made successful comebacks and try to use some of the examples here. We're a city in limbo. We have a Democrat majority on a city council, with a Democrat Mayor. You would think there would be some degree of cooperation between them. Instead, We have a council that has stonewalled, argued, bickered with each other, and has voted against just about everything the Mayor wanted to do, and now for We're caught in a paradox of no forward thinking, being stuck with ideas that are re-hashed that maybe 30, 40, or 50 years ago might have worked. Now, in order to keep up with other cities and towns we need to have people who will come in with new ideas, willing to find alternative funding for new projects, with their only agenda being to clean up New Albany in EVERY aspect of the term. I support the idea of having an arts district downtown along Market Street. Such a project has proven to be a success in Paducah, KY, and making the historic district entertainment oriented by having small stores and shops, more restaurants like Federal Hill and The Bistro, maybe an arcade for kids, and giving potential business owners more incentive to come downtown such as waving local fees for 2 years, in addition to the incentives already in place. We need to have people who are willing to communicate with constituents regularly and be accessable in order to properly represent their needs. If I would run, and by chance get elected, I want to have a District Town Hall meeting once a month between city council meetings where I can keep the people of my district updated, and they can give me their views on major issues. The way that I would vote would be by the majority opinions/views of the people themselves...in other words, actually listening to and being the representative for them instead of voting my conscience all of the time . The Hoosier Panel area that was being considered for a Toxic Waste Plant, and not even addressed by the current 4th District Councilman, could be remodeled into either an industrial park area like Park East that could potentially create jobs for people living within the neighborhood close to the area. There could also be a Police Sub-Station, and room for the city garage on the huge lot. Knock out the concrete that is part of the old Hoosier Panel lot and make it a green place with trees, playground areas, tennis courts, basketball courts and picnic tables, and maybe even a skateboard track. The added green space area would also aide in stormwater drainage for that area. I always hear about the huge potential for New Albany but nobody ever steps up even with suggestions or new ideas...that's my main qualification.
Regarding the Tommy Lancaster's incident, the lady that was killed was Debbie Ingle. My Mother and I were in Tommy's that day for my Mother's Birthday, and I was actually the last person she waited on. She had just brought our lunches, mine was their turkey & dressing w/mashed potatoes and gravy. She set the plate down, said if there's anything else you need just let me know. She picked up the tray, turned and walked over to the bar area. Mr. Ingle walked in, Debbie held the tray up to her chest and tried to duck behind the bar, and he shot her numerous times. We were sitting in a booth just across from the bar area where this happened, and after the shooting, Mr. Ingle, in a dark top coat and a disguise, headed for the Market St. door waving the gun in front of him. We both ducked down in the seat at the booth. I told my Mom, don't move...don't make a sound, and, for once, she did what I asked. The late Officer Mike Helm was the first officer on the scene, and he tried to help Ms. Ingle before EMS got there but he couldn't.
Appreciate your comments, John, all of them. The late Mike Helm was a good friend of mine, also. I miss him. He may have been the 3rd precicint committeeperson for the Republicans and I for the Democrats, but the only thing we always cared about was the integrity of the voting. I miss him.
Thanks for your comments. Glad you educated me on some issues.
P.S. I'm sorry John, but I thought you had created a web sight saying you were running. My mistake. Sorry.
Mike was a great guy. He was an old friend from back in High School days.
No problem Yvonne, I am still leaning towards filing for the office, and I do have a blog that I set up that says this , I am having to deal with a medical situation with my 84 year old Mother. I was going to file for the office either yesterday or today but the hospital decided to transfer my Mom to Lincoln Hills for rehab/physical therapy, and I had to get everything together to get her in there, and I'm not done yet...more paperwork...lol.
You haven't answered Bluegill's question. Just curious.
I can attest to what line cars are like when you have to patrol in them. they are unreliable, unclean, and down, it seemed at the time (5 years ago), as much as they were running.
I can not see any monetary justification that is beneficial enough that out weighs the risks posed to the officers and the public which they serve
To Mr. Alton, I think you can't file until January 20th and have until sometime in February when the cutoff date is. Hope your mother does better.
To BLUEGILL & NEWALBANIAN, the basis for my opinion is based upon talking with various Council members (do I have to name them) and from the numbers provided to me by Council. I truly feel we have to cut back somehow, someway, to free up some of the 80% of the General Fund so we can hire a qualified Building Inspector, a qualified City Attorney (full-time), get our streets paved, etc.
I did further research and found Mr. Messer is sitting on the committee and even he is leaning towards not letting our police cars go out of the County. There was a reason they set that committee up with the sole purpose of studying this issue because of the monies that are being expended. Maybe it would be cheaper to lease a fleet and maintain same... I am always up for an education and maybe someone else has other numbers or other ways of cutting back on expenses for those departments.
To CSD619, I appreciate your comments about Mike Helm. He was a true friend to me, alongwith being the Republican Precinct Committeeperson and I being the Democrat Precinct Committeeperson. We both took our poll work seriously and never had a problem with the 3rd Precinct. He was also a big part of the New Albany Block Watch, along with Ted Heavrin and Randy Hubbard and the DARE officer, John Hall. All of them helped Mrs. Mauch and the rest of the blockwatch board out as much as they possibly could and some still do. I was out of town when Mr. Helm passed away and didn't get to pay my respect, and I miss him. Thanks for reminding all of us of some great deeds the New Albany Police have performed for its' citizens. Nothing but respect here.
The Council president has informed me as of today the car issue is getting ready to come out of committee...so, I don't think we can accomplish anymore by voicing our opinions here. I certainly don't claim to have all the answers, I simply know something has to be done to reel in the expenses.
If I'm not mistaken, the Mayor and Mr. Toran's vehicles came out of the Fire Department's budget (the first ones came out of the sewers, but the sewer board stopped the second purchase or lease). Could this issue be contributing to the Fire Department's budget woes?
But, I have to keep harping on one thing and that is the TIF areas. All of us should be contributing towards fire and police and I still say we wouldn't even be having this conversation if those MILLIONS were in the General Fund, with everyone paying their share for protection by our police and firefighters.
That information you can retrieve from the Controller -- just how much money is NOT going into the General Fund where it is so desperately needed to provide us with BASIC SERVICES for all of our health, safety and welfare.
But, I've been gnawing on that bone for more than a few years and I now believe Council understands and there will not be any more TIF areas created, even though there is one on their agenda now. At least, that is what four Council members have told me personally.
This must be where I still must beg to disagree until someone can show me differently. The Council will have to fight it out, and I don't think they are going to listen too much to me! (To say the least.)
The smoking issue looks like it's going to be a barn "burner", too. Mr. Kochert has promised me he plans to exempt the private clubs (VFW's, American Legions, etc...) and bars, but there is great pressure on him and others to not exempt same. I am rambling onto other subjects now.
I hope I answered everyone the best I could and if it's not good enough (the answers), I apologize up front. Being told by some people they don't "care" about the numbers (financially), I can't make you care. Being versed in government finances though, if they plan to get a fleet of cars let's hope they can get it into next year's budget.
Just a quick take on the "smoking ban", and I've said it before...just take the vote on the fool thing either up or down and move on, it shouldn't be such a drama. It's more like a they've got one...and..uh, so do they...I want one too type routine! If everything is exempt anyway, why bother? What's left? Who's banned? Why not just leave it up to the business owners, but make it a requirement that "if" an establishment, of any kind wants "No Smoking" in their place of business, they must post it on the front door that it is smoke free and if someone is caught smoking inside...kick their "butts" out (so to speak). In turn, if an establishment wants to allow smoking, that too would need to be posted that smokers are welcome, so get your "butts" in here (so to speak). I don't mean to make light of this...lol...yes I do, because I think too much is being made out of this ban. With all of the proposed exemptions, just leave it up to the owners what they want to do at their establishment, but once made, their decision could not change for at least a year. A bar owner wouldn't be able to switch from non-smoking one month, to smoking the next, to adjust for loss of patrons or revenue.
P.S. Ms. Kersey, Thank you for the kind words concerning my Mother it is very much appreciated, and also thank you for mentioning the 1/20 date, I wasn't sure about that.
Thank you, Mr. Alton. I couldn't agree with you more about the smoking ban -- I say it's up to the individual businesses. Government buildings -- no problem.
As a smoker, I was willing to go along with the ban until the pressure has started on exempting NO ONE.
If the Federal government would outlaw it, maybe I could handle it better about where I smoke. If a restaurant has a smoking section, albeit.
BTW, I think I made a mistake on the filing date. It may be January 23rd. I have a link I'll post at a later date that provides all requirements and the hoops you have to jump through in order to register (most of it about finances).
Someone tell me this, though. If you are able to not "name" (you still have to list the amount) any contributor that gives you under $100.00 -- what is to keep a person from making out an unknown number of receipts for $99.99 from ? raising ungodly amounts of monies, but not saying where it came from? The logic of that rule never sat well with me. Guess that falls under the heading of "campaign reform", huh?
Thanks again about the date, and I guess what you said about the contributions could happen. Campaign reform...yeah..lol.
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