The Suburban Counties Better Wake Up Soon

One of the most outrageous assertions I've heard coming from Indianapolis officials on a task force looking at the Capital Improvement Board's financial woes is that the problem lies in the suburban counties surrounding Marion County not paying their fair share for the sports stadiums and convention center. What are these people smoking? State and regional taxpayers have poured tens of millions of dollars annually into this county to support these facilities. The state created a special taxing district several years ago that diverts general revenue funds into a fund to pay off the bonds on Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center expansion, which it expanded in size just this year. Residents of Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks and Shelby Counties are paying a food and beverage tax to pay for Lucas Oil Stadium and the convention center expansion. Following these self-interested Indianapolis officials' assertion through to its logical conclusion, I guess the rest of the state's residents should be demanding a share of the revenues generated to Indianapolis' economy because the center of state government is based here with all of those jobs and spending related thereto.

The notion that suburban taxpayers aren't paying their fair share is absurd. If you want to feed the corrupt inner city monster, then move to Chicago. Suburban taxpayers in Illinois have fed the Chicago and Cook County government monsters billions over the years and the demand for even more never ceases. Wake up, suburban counties, unless you want to be tapped even more to feed this monster called the Capital Improvement Board. And if you think it will stop there, think again. They've got more plans in the works to tax you for the benefit of crossing the county line into Marion County. The CIB is not your problem. Don't let them convince you that it is. "Regionalism" is just a euphemism for getting other people to pay for our out-of-control spending in Marion County.

Yes, City Should Blow Up Veolia's Sweetheart Deal

"Why shouldn't (the council) just blow this whole thing up?" the Star quotes City-County Councilor Ben Hunter, chairman of the Public Works Committee as saying during yesterday's meeting on the subject of the water company's 35% rate increase request. "You keep coming back and asking for more rate increases. Come back to me and tell me the efficiencies." The answer to Hunter's question is "yes." You should blow this whole deal up and stop the payoffs to the political cronies who cooked it up in the first place.

Candidate Greg Ballard promised to get to the bottom of the one-sided privatization agreement that allows Veolia to pocket about $50 million annually for operating the water company. That deal was brokered by the administration of Bart Peterson. City residents were told the water company purchase was necessary to prevent the company from falling into the hands of a foreign owner and to protect the pay and benefits of the utility's employees. After paying more than double what the company was actually worth, Peterson handed over control of the utility to the French company, which then cut benefits to the long-time employees of the utility. The one-sided deal has proven very costly to ratepayers, but it has financially rewarded lobbyists and cronies of Mayor Peterson who cooked up the deal. In another scheme, Mayor Peterson put more money in his cronies' pockets by exchanging the utility's fixed rate bonds with risky variable rate bonds from which it cost about $50 million in penalties to extricate itself.

Instead of renegotiating the one-sided deal after taking office and calling for a top-to-bottom investigation of what transpired under Peterson, Mayor Ballard took up where Peterson left off and hopped in bed with the contractors and lobbyists, even enhancing payments to Veolia at the same time we've seen water rates nearly double. Ballard is now looking for a way to sell the utility to a public benefit corporation like Citizens Gas & Coke. His plan, however, calls for jacking rates even higher to ensure higher profits to the potential buyer. Ballard then wants to use the proceeds from the sale to finance a bunch of capital projects being pushed by city contractors who have put close to $2 million in his campaign war chest. It would be nice if there was at least one actor in this process who acted in the interests of the City's residents and not themselves and their political cronies. This is Indianapolis though. What else should be expect, right?

Marla Stevens Indicted

 
A federal grand jury in Des Moines, Iowa has returned a four-count indictment against Marla Stevens in connection with the embezzlement of nearly $6 million from Aviva by her spouse, Phyllis Stevens, a long-time employee of the company. The Des Moines Register reports that Marla has been charged with conspiracy to commit one count of money laundering and three counts of participating in financial transactions with money derived from a criminal transaction. The couple has been active in GLBT politics in Iowa and in Indiana where they lived until five years ago and have contributed more than $175,000 to political candidates, including at least $25,000 to U.S. Rep. Andre Carson (D) and another $8,000 to his grandmother, the late U.S. Rep. Julia Carson.

Phyllis Stevens has been jailed since she was picked up by FBI agents last month in Las Vegas. A federal judge has approved her release pending trial, but she has not yet filed the $75,000 cash bond required by the court. Phyllis fled to Las Vegas after her employer confronted her with the allegations and after she attempted unsuccessfully to withdraw $175,000 cash from the couple's joint account at National City Bank branches in Indianapolis. Marla Stevens had been living at the Bellagio Hotel for months where she reportedly ran up $2 million in charges.

UPDATE: Phyllis Stevens has been released from jail after posting a $75,000 cash bond. Marla Stevens was released without bail after entering a not guilty plea with a federal magistrate.

Judge David Hamilton Confirmed To Seventh Circuit

U.S. District Court Judge David Hamilton has just been confirmed for a seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals by the U.S. Senate on a vote of 59-39 vote per the Indiana Law Blog. Here's the roll call vote. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) was the only Republican who voted in favor of Hamilton's confirmation. Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Robert Byrd (D-WV) did not vote.

Public Safety Director Candidate Resigns Job In White Plains New York

One of the four candidates rumored to be under consideration for Public Safety Director in Indianapolis, White Plains New York Public Safety Commissioner Frank Straub, resigned his job there late last week. The White Plains city council had planned to fire him at a special meeting scheduled for Monday according to The Journal News. Straub had been feuding with the council over work schedules for police and firefighters that the city negotiated with the unions, and that Straub claimed had saved the city over $400,000 in overtime pay and 2,600 hours of sick time. Other candidates for the vacant Indianapolis Public Safety position include interim Public Safety Director Mark Renner, IMPD Chief Michael Spears and Darryl Pierce.

Lugar's Wife Busted For DUI

Charlene "Char" Lugar, wife of Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar (R), has been charged with driving under the influence following an automobile collision in which she struck a parked car in McLean, Virginia last night near the couple's suburban D.C. home. Nobody was injured in the accident. Initial reports didn't suggest a hit and run, but that's now what Fox59 News is reporting. She's been charged with that as well. A police officer stopped her after noticing extensive front-end damage to her car. Lugar's office released this statement to Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, which makes no mention of the specifics of the charges against her:

"At about 6:30 p.m. last evening, November 18, Mrs. Lugar had a traffic accident in our McLean, Virginia neighborhood. A charge has been filed and a court appearance is scheduled for January. No other persons were in her car or the unattended car she hit. Thankfully, no one was injured. We are deeply sorry and embarrassed that this accident has occurred.”

Charlene Lugar has been released from the county’s detention facility, according to his office.

The Star has a brief story online here. While we're on the subject of DUIs, Sen. John Kerry's daughter, Alexandra, was busted on a DUI charge in Hollywood early this morning.

Cultural Trail $13 Million Short

The costs of Indianapolis' downtown cultural trail have skyrocketed, now approaching $55 million. Over $28 million of the costs have been absorbed by private donations, including a $15 million donation from Gene and Marilyn Glick. A federal transportation grant has provided another $14.4 million of the funding to date. Another $13 million, however, is needed to complete the project as envisioned in time for the Super Bowl in 2012 according to a WRTV report. As a downtown resident, I enjoy the benefits that the cultural trail brings to my neighborhood, but it does seem a bit extravagant. I know some businesses along Mass Avenue are extremely upset at the disruption of traffic the drawn-out project has caused and the resulting loss of business. It will be a great boon to them when it's completed, if they can survive that long. The amenities it offers are very nice, but the cost of maintaining it once it is completed could prove problematic in future years.