COUNCIL MEETING 10/3/10 YES, IT WAS A LONG ONE

We had another marathon city council meeting again tonight.

The first topic of discussion was the newly released audit from the State. Since some of the members had only received their copy today, Mr. Coffey asked for a meeting on a Saturday to go over the budget. The date and time decided on were 10/16/10 at 10:00AM. I do not know if this will be a closed meeting or if we the public are allowed to attend.

Mr. Zurschmeide asked Mrs. Garry when the decrease would take effect on the sewer bills. She said it will be on the November statements since sewer bills run a month behind water bills.

Mrs. Benedetti asked why there has been no paving since the council appropriated the 1 million. Mr. Rosenbarger said the milling person is working on a large project in Louisville but will get to us next week.

Next were the comments from the public. Several business owners spoke about how 1SI had helped them get started. Most prominently was John Van Cleave from T G Missouri. They plan a large expansion costing 3 million dollars, they will also hire 30 more employees. More on that later.

Agenda items:

A-10-10 Ordinance for Appropriation and Tax Rates (this is the budget)

Mr. Caesar thinks the next year will be better for the budget since the only wage increase is the 1% longevity for the police and fire depts. The budget is based on the current insurance plan, if the employees accept the new plan there will be more savings. He also cannot understand why the city and the county each have a 911 system.


The vote was 3 yays Ceasar, Messer, Gonder, and 6 nays.


The second reading was the same.

A-10-11 An Ordinance to Fix the Non-Reverting Budgets for the Year 2011

The first and second votes were 1 yay Gonder, and 8 nays.

The council will have their meeting before voting on the third reading.

Then the real fun started:

A-10-08 Ordinance For The Appropriation of EDIT Funds

This was 1SI's request for $70,000. Mrs. Benedetti asked for an amendment which would reduce the amount to $30,000. The amendment passed.

Mr. Gahan brought up the recent political endorsements made by 1SI. He asked how endorsements made our city more attractive to new businesses, which is what he thought was the job of 1SI.

Mr. Dalby went to the podium to answer questions. He said the endorsements were made by a separate committee. He said the businesses wanted a voice and this is how it is expressed. Mr. Price questioned Mr. Dalby and 1SI's position on bridge tolls. Mr. Dalby said he did not want tolls either, he just wants the bridges built ASAP however that can be accomplished. Mr. Dalby went on to say that 1SI helped create 1,600 jobs and expanded the tax base by 80 million. He added that 90% of their funding is from private donors and the public funding can only be used for economic development.

The Ordinance passed 5 yays Coffey, Caesar, Benedetti, Messer, Zurschmeide and 4 nays.

Mrs. Benedetti tabled the next resolutions. Regarding the reserved parking places for residents, she wants to change from street signs to stickers for the cars.

Regarding T G Missouri, she tabled the tax abatement and the request for $150,000 matching funds for a new HVAC system until they can be amended. The council wants to put a time limit on the non-reverting fund for businesses to purchase equipment, make sure they purchase energy efficient equipment and use only local contractors.


When I left Chief Juliot was at the podium explaining to the council the request for matching funds to purchase radios, software, etc. Guess you'll have to read Daniel's report in the "Tribune" for that one.

NO ANNEXATION, BLANK AGENDA

Tonight the City Council had scheduled a special meeting regarding the annexation of the Charlestown Rd. area. As the "Tribune" stated, the Mayor asked for the ordinance to be tabled for an indefinite period of time. The paper said he wanted to postpone the ordinance until an effective date of 2013, but Mr. England said he wanted a postponement until 2014. I don't know which date he actually meant. I guess we'll just have to go with what the "Tribune" said.

The Council did table the ordinance after a lengthy discussion. Mr. Price was concerned about the budget for the police department. After the annexation, there will be a need for additional officers. This will play havoc with our budget. He is also concerned about the number of people losing their homes due to the economy. He said New Albany may eventually be a city of tents. He also took exception to the Mayor's comment about how the Council "trashes" the police department and accuses them of overspending. Mr. England and Officer Haub, President of the FOP, agreed that the police are not given the budgeted amount needed. Things got a little heated after the meeting.

The other item on the agenda concerned the salaries for the non-bargaining employees. The ordinance was amended to state that no promotions or salary increases were allowed and no new hires. This passed 6-1, Mr. Price voted no, and Mr. Caesar and Mr. Messer were absent.

PIES AND POLITICS

I just came from a get together with some of the Democrat candidates, both local and statewide.

It was a fun time for everyone, good fellowship and great desserts.

Several of the candidates were there and gave a short talk, and talked with each of us individually.

• Sam Locke, a very busy man, is having a bowling fundraiser next Wednesday 9/29 at Hoosier Lanes, 7:00.
• Shane Gibson has been going door to door and has a couple of commercials showing on local TV stations.
• Jim Frieberger and Dan Voyles have been campaigning in their districts for the County Council.
• Patty Walker is having a hat show/fundraiser at the Division St. School, this Saturday 9/25.
• Chuck Frieberger was not present but his campaign manager was. I asked where Chuck stood on the tolls for the bridges and his answer was a resounding NO TOLLS. Chuck sensibly believes that it is unfair to ask Kentuckiana residents to pay for bridges when the funds are already in place, besides who can afford to pay $6.00 a day just to go to work?
• Vop Osili, candidate for Secretary of State will be at Schad & Schad Law Firm offices tomorrow 5:30 to 7:30 for a meet and greet.

Stacy Deck, VP of the Floyd County Central Committee, believes that we have a great slate of candidates and I agree.

We need to support these people with our votes and donations &/or volunteering if possible. But most importantly our votes.

COUNCIL MEETING 9/16/10

I was a surprisingly short City Council meeting tonight. There was a news crew from Fox 41 News but they had nothing to report, so they packed up early.

The big news, of course, was G-10-18: The Ordinance setting salaries for the year 2011 for the Police and Fire Depts. The Council let the Administration know where they stood on this on. They noted NO. Mr. Zurschmeide was absent but the rest were all on the same page.

Up next was G-10-19 (non bargaining unit employees), this one was tabled.

Then we had the resident only parking areas ordinance G-10-01. Surprisingly, there was a lot of discussion on this one. It was finally tabled until the council can agree on the initial fee, fines for non-compliance, and other issues.

After that CM Messer motioned for adjournment, I don't know who seconded because everyone was making a bee line for the door, me included. The time was 8:29.

"FAIR TAX"???

There was a letter in Sunday's Tribune from David B. Patterson, IN-9 Director for Fair Tax, New Albany. The letter interested me because I was unsure of what the term fair tax actually meant.

Mr. Patterson questioned why Baron Hill would not admit that this tax would help save our Social Security system and reduce our debt. On the surface this proposal sounded intriguing. He went on to urge everyone to read the 133 pages of HR25.

However, Mr. Patterson left out an important part of this resolution. Since there would no longer be an income tax, the replacement would be a 23% sales tax. This tax would be levied on every purchase, even food. So a $1.00 loaf of bread would cost $1.23 and a $2.29 gallon of milk would cost $2.77. Now who do you think would be most hurt by this tax? A person making over $500,000 a year or a person making under $30,000 a year? Maybe the person with the higher salary would purchase more big ticket items (or maybe not) but the person on the lower end of the scale must purchase food, gasoline, cleaning products, etc.

If Baron Hill is hesitant to support this tax I don't blame him. And I am glad that he is not in support of such a rip off on the middle class and working class people.

Personally, to be fair, I think that no one making under $30,000 a year should have to pay any income tax. And the people making more would only pay tax on the amount over $30,000. That is what I call a fair tax.

THIS 'N THAT

Well, I have a new computer and am back on line. In trying to write my first article in several weeks I could not decide on a subject so I will discuss several different ones.



The Tolls: Maybe you are tired of reading all of the newspapers and blogs about this subject but it is important and we need to keep letting the Bridges Coalition or whoever know we mean business and will not allow these tolls to be shoved down our throats. If anyone wants to organize a protest please let me know and I'll be there.



Sewer Bills: Today's Tribune had an article about liens being placed on properties where the sewer bill is over 90 days past due and foreclosures are forthcoming. Although I agree in the idea, I think each case should be judged individually. If a homeowner is actually trying to keep up with their obligations and cannot help from being past due, maybe we should not rush to foreclose if they have a good reason, loss of job for instance. But the homeowner should take the initiative and contact the Sewer Dept. and explain their circumstances, not just sit back and do nothing.



The Home Tour: I had purchased a ticket but unable to make it. But the weather seemed to have cooperated and the Farmers Market looked pretty crowded this afternoon so it looked like it was a success. Thanks to all of the homeowners who allowed strangers to come in an tour your lovely homes, see you next year.



Men of Distinction: This was the reason I was not able to participate in the Home Tour. I had purchased tickets for both events without realizing they were taking place at the same time. A couple of friends told me that they would disown me if I did not attend so the choice was made for me. But it was a wonderful event with Dawne Gee as the emcee and the men who certainly deserved the honor.



The Democrat Picnic: The annual Floyd County Democrat picnic takes place tomorrow at Garry E. Cavan Park aka Edwardsville Park in Georgetown tomorrow. Please come if you can. It will be a great time with good food and good fellowshop. And a big thank you to our hosts, Sheriff Darrell Mills and Linda Moeller.
Please tell them how much you appreciate their hard work when you see them tomorrow.

ANNEXATION MEETING 6/29/10

The council approved the Resolution to proceed with the process of annexation.

There were several issues but the summary is this:

• The 219 acres contain mainly commercial property and very few residents. This makes it easier to annex since there is no need for an annexation committee to oversee the funds received.
• CM Messer said the police will not be overburdened since the "crime" will mainly consist of parking violations and speeders, and a few shoplifters.
• The Grantline Rd. firestation will be the main source of fire protection with the Twin Oaks station being the backup.
• Northside Christian Church was not annexed because churches are tax exempt and will generate limited revenue plus there was concern about the number of people who would be included in the annexation.
• The $700,000 gained by the city will not be a loss to the county because the property taxes are based on value. The taxes are layered in such a way that the county will still receive it's share and the city will receive the rest.