Fort Wayne Council Sees Corrosive Impact Of TIFs On Revenues

The Fort Wayne City Council is facing a choice between higher property taxes or deep spending cuts. Yet a TIF fund is sitting out there with a $20 million balance that council members would like to tap. The city's redevelopment director is telling the council members that the law won't allow them to touch the fund's balance to make up the budget shortfall. From the Journal-Gazette:

Thursday’s City Council budget hearing ostensibly was to examine the proposed 2013 budgets for the city’s Community Development and Redevelopment departments.

But it was quickly apparent their $4.3 million and $597,000 budgets, respectively, were not what interested council members.

No, what council members wanted to hear about, in extraordinary detail, was the estimated $20 million in cash balances overseen by Redevelopment, a nest egg that would not only allow the council to eliminate property tax hikes this year without cutting spending but also patch a gaping hole in funding for streets and roads . . .

On the property tax side of the budget, the mayor wants to raise taxes $4.8 million to avoid cutting essential services like police and fire, a move council members are loath to support.

So hearing that there was $20 million generated by Tax Increment Financing districts that hasn’t been used had members salivating at the possibilities.

But what Redevelopment Executive Director Greg Leatherman had to tell them was not what they wanted

But that money, Leatherman said, is restricted. It cannot be used outside that district.

Even within that district, it can only be used for capital expenses.

And that $20 million in cash balances for 14 TIF districts? Almost all already spoken for, Leatherman said.

“What about the interest? How much interest is generated in a year, and can that be used for anything else?” asked Council President Tom Smith, R-1st.

Nope. The interest, by law, stays in the district.

What if a district were disbanded that had a cash balance, say $1 million? Could that go to the city’s General Fund, Smith asked.

Sorry  to hear.

What about ash trees? asked Geoff Paddock, D-4th.

Yes, Leatherman said, TIF money can be used to remove and replace dead and dying ash trees, but only within the TIF district, and most ash trees are in residential areas, not in TIF districts.

He assured council members that whenever possible, TIF money is used for roads or other projects that would otherwise come from funds they oversee, but members who had been hoping to feast went away hungry.

“Well, if you do have anything uncommitted, let us know,” Crawford said.
 

The Fort Wayne Council should do with these TIF funds what it damn well pleases if it is facing a choice between budget cuts and property tax increases. These funds are nothing but slush funds that allow the mayor to arbitrarily pick winners and losers. Mayors simply make up the rules as they go along as to what they can spend the money on as we've seen time and time again down here in Indianapolis. What really needs to happen though is for the Indiana General Assembly to step in and disband TIFs. Municipal officials cannot be trusted to use this economic development tool. They are decimating the property tax base to the point where there simply are not sufficient funds available to fund basic services. Those officials will always blame declining revenues or property tax caps for their budget woes when their problem is in reality that they've wiped out their tax base with TIF areas. Indianapolis has more than 40 TIF districts that consume over 11% of the tax base. Fort Wayne has 14 TIF districts. California, the birthplace of TIFs, finally had to abolish them because the state could not find enough money to make up for the property tax revenues school districts lost because TIF districts consumed so much of the tax base. Indiana should follow California's lead.

Feds Indict Multiple Northwest Indiana Officials

The U.S. Attorney's office for the northern district of Indiana has consistently been more aggressive at prosecuting public corruption cases than its counterpart in the southern district. The announcement of multiple indictments today by U.S. Attorney David Capp underscores that point. From the Northwest Indiana Times:

U.S. Attorney David Capp on Thursday announced a series of indictments of Northwest Indiana officials stemming from tax fraud investigations.

The indictments include public officials from East Chicago, Hammond, Gary and Merrillville, along with a business owner receiving city contracts. The charges include a kickback scheme and a city official that failed to file a tax return for the past two decades . . .

Capp said the overarching tie between all the cases was the involvement of the Internal Revenue Service in the investigations.

Rich Weber, chief of IRS criminal investigations had a warning for anyone considering a violation of the public trust: "Our agents will find the untaxed funds. ... Enrich your pockets at your own peril."
 

Among those indicted included the following: Alfonso Salinas, 52, a 2nd District councilman in Hammond; Juda Parks, 40, of East Chicago, a city council member and police officer; Manuel Montalvo, 38, of East Chicago, former executive director of East Chicago public library; Marilyn Krusas, 69, a Gary City Councilwoman; and Virlissa Crenshaw, 42, of East Chicago, clerk of the Merrillville town court.

The U.S. Attorney's office for the southern district of Indiana is preoccupied with child pornagraphy and drug cases. Today's announcement from that office was no exception. From WRTV:

Three men face child sex-related charges in separate cases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday . . .

The arrests were part of the ongoing Project Safe Childhood initiative, which began six years ago to address crimes against children that are aided by technology.

“Over the last year as part of our Project Safe Childhood initiative, we’ve announced charges against dozens of individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett.
 

In Dick Cady's book, "Deadline: Indianapolis," the author writes about the problems within the local FBI office in Indianapolis during the 1970s. It seemed a number of agents were either living with drug dealers or sleeping with prostitutes. Not surprisingly, the office was never very effective at prosecuting public corruption cases. It hasn't changed much in the ensuing years by all appearances.

A Rather Ho-Hum Debate For Me

I was somewhat disappointed by tonight's first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney simply because there were no real memorable moments in the debate, and it's frighteningly clear that neither candidate is willing to offer straight talk to the American people about the fiscal cliff we are facing as a country and what few choices we have to avoid a complete financial meltdown--even worse than we've already witnessed the past four years. The debate, moderated by PBS' Jim Lehrer, who looks like he needs to retire, focused entirely on the economy and domestic issues. Both candidates were obviously well-rehearsed with their scripted answers. Romney seemed much more excited about participating in the debate than Obama, who looked like he would have rather been almost anywhere else than where he was. The only people who seem more disappointed in the candidates' performance tonight than me was the liberal talking heads, who were practically foaming at the mouth at how disappointed they were in Obama's performance, convinced that Romney had out slicked The One. I thought MSNBC's Ed Schultz's head was going to explode with anger as he essentially accused Obama of deliberately throwing the debate. Obama had no good lines. Romney had a couple when he did a bit of word play with Obama's trickle down economics with a new, derisive term for Obama's big government solutions-- trickle down government. Romney's retort to Obama's claim that Romney would cut education was pretty good: "Mr. President, you're entitled to your own airplane, your own house, but not your own facts." As someone who believes education is the responsibility of the state and local governments, however, it's not reassuring to hear Romney say he won't cut federal education spending. Romney also had a great line about Obama's disastrous crony capitalism loans totalling nearly $100 billion to failed green industries like Solyndra--"You don't just pick winners and losers, you pick losers."

I thought Romney missed a big opportunity to hit Obama when Obama defended Dodd-Frank financial regulations as necessary because banks had gotten careless about making loans to people who probably weren't credit worthy. Astonishingly, Romney failed to remind people that it was Obama who played a key role in creating the breach in the financial flood wall back in the 1990s with his landmark lawsuit against Citibank to force banks to provide mortgage loans to people who lacked credit and who pushed Congress to enact the Community Reinvestment Act, which is what actually resulted in so many bad loans being made by banks to people without any credit. The Bush administration tried desperately to force Democrats in Congress to tighten restrictions but got nowhere, facing opposition particularly from Sen. Chris Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank. I couldn't believe that Romney missed the opportunity to zing Obama on that one, particularly since he likes laying the blame for the financial meltdown brought on by the mortgage meltdown largely at President Bush's doorstep. Nonetheless, Romney's strong grasp of the issues tonight compared to the tired and worn look of Obama probably creates a net plus for him as the non-incumbent in the race, which is quite a contrast from what we saw in the debates four years ago between Sen. John McCain and Obama, when Obama easily outshined McCain.

UPDATE: A CNN snap poll after tonight's debate found that 67% thought Romney won compared to 25% who thought Obama won, which is quite remarkable. David Axelrod tells CNN that this was entirely expected. Yeah, right.

Bow Tie Attorney Denies Frat Bro Client Was Butt Chugging

This press conference by Tennessee attorney Daniel McGehee tops all of Gloria Alred's publicity-seeking press conferences for her clients. McGehee is representing a 20-year old University of Tennessee student who was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago in critical condition after over-consuming alcohol at a fraternity campus party. Initial police reports claimed Alexander Broughton, a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, registered a blood alcohol level of more than 5 times the legal limit. A police report claimed Broughton became so intoxicated as a result of a butt enema, commonly known as butt chugging, that he passed out. The bow tie clad attorney told reporters at a press conference with Broughton and his fellow fraternity brothers looking on that the butt chugging claim in the police report is patently false, and he vowed to sue those who have made the false claims against his client for defamation. He also vowed to take legal action for the divulging of confidential health information about the blood-stained condition of Broughton's anus while he was being treated at the university hospital. Initial police reports indicated that he appeared to be the victim of a sexual assault.  “Upon extensive questioning it is believed that members of the fraternity were using rubber tubing inserted into their rectums as a conduit for alcohol as the abundance of capillaries and blood vessels present greatly heightens the level and speed of the alcohol entering the blood stream as it bypasses the filtering by the liver,” Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk stated in a news release Monday. McGehee wanted to make it clear that Broughton is not gay. “Mr. Broughton denies each and every allegation whatsoever that has been infered that he may have been a gay man. He is a straight man,” McGehee says. “And he thinks the idea and concept of butt chugging is repulsive.” McGehee acknowledged that his client and fellow frat brothers were engaged in a drinking game known as Tour de Franzia in reference to the box of cheap red wine they were consuming. When his client was asked by reporters what actually happened, Broughton responded, "It's a long story." In a written statement, Brougthon claimed that his fraternity brothers at first tried to put him in the shower, and that he defecated himself when his shorts became lodged in his crotch. Yikes. He admitted that a rape crisis kit was requested to perform further examination of him, and that a doctor who treated him was concerned enough to conduct a rectal examination of him. He claimed the doctor didn't tell him what he found, but noted that he appeared concerned. Photos taken of the fraternity house following the incident show quite a bloody and messy scene. The fraternity claims the blood was caused by a fight that occurred during the party and was not Broughton's. I don't know. I wonder whether the attorney did more harm than good for his client by conducting this public spectacle.

Ballard Worries About Homeless Blight On Downtown But Not Growing Crime Problem

Here's another example of why public safety is not job one for Mayor Greg Ballard. There have been no words of concern expressed by the mayor and his staff about the fact that exploding crime in Indianapolis is now making our supposed "world class city" look more and more like Detroit. Instead, he is worried that the plague of homeless people wandering the streets of downtown are turning off visitors to the city:

There are new concerns that the city's homeless could be costing Indianapolis big money and business.

On Georgia Street near the Convention Center, Indianapolis Downtown Inc. recently removed the chairs and tables in the area, because it turned into camping grounds for the homeless.

Now, the mayor's office and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are reacting to an e-mail sent by convention planners, indicating the homeless could be bad for business . . .

Like the woman who came to town last week to consider bringing a 6,000-member convention to Indianapolis in 2015.

“She walked around the streets and saw a lot of positive things,” said Chris Gahl, Visit Indy. “One thing she saw and pointed out was a lot of panhandling and that surprised her.”

It surprised the mayor's office too, which received an e-mail from Visit Indy's senior vice president of sales Michelle Travis who wrote in part, “This is getting hotter and hotter...it seems like everywhere you walk someone is curled up and sleeping or harassing passersby or shaking cups.

“It is truly becoming an unsafe environment with muggings on the canal and shootings downtown.”

Oh really? Yeah, the mayor could care less that city residents are having to hire their own private police forces to protect their neighborhoods. Yet he is really concerned that an out-of-town visitor is offended to see a homeless person panhandling downtown, which might harm the city's convention business? Clearly, promoting the city's convention business ranks above public safety as a priority in the eyes of the mayor.

Surveillance Cameras Along Monon Trail Out Of Order

Monon Trail crime victim Jim Knapp

This will come as no surprise. The surveillance cameras placed on the Monon Trail, including the site where a 64-year old man was brutally attacked by teen-aged hooligans Sunday afternoon while bicycling, are out of order. That's because public safety is not job one for Mayor Greg Ballard. He's only interested in handing your tax dollars to the pay-to-play contractors and developers who bankroll his campaign and lavish him and his wife with gifts and free trips. From WRTV's Jack Rinehart:

Surveillance cameras along the Monon Trail, including one at the spot where 64-year-old man was attacked over the weekend, are out of order, police said.

Two of the four cameras along the Indianapolis stretch of the trail are currently not working, Indiana Homeland Security officials confirmed to RTV6.

Officials did not say how long the cameras had been out of order.

The revelation comes days after Jim Knapp was riding his bike Sunday and was attacked in the 2100 block of the trail, suffering broken ribs and several cuts.
 

Fox 59 News has more on the empty excuses offered by the Ballard administration for the latest public safety failure:

It was a brutal beating that was not caught on camera even though a camera was close by.

"They'll turn black, or they won't move the way we want them to, or focus in," said Gary Coons, City of Indianapolis Chief of Homeland Security.

Coons said the surveillance cameras that were installed along the trail a few years back are not always operational. In fact, he said two of the four cameras are currently down.

"If we see it go down. we're in the process of approving a contract so we can go out and fix them immediately," said Coons.

Federal grants gave the city the opportunity to have extra eyes on the trail, but Coons said that money does not usually cover long term maintenance in every situation. Also, the current process takes time, meaning the cameras may be down for a few days at a time.

"If we have three or four that go down, it could take a little bit. We have a 100 or so cameras out there that we maintain," said Coons.

Democratic Club Used As Polling Site In South Bend

Put this in the "believe it or not" category. St. Joseph County has been dominated by the Democrats for many years. One-party rule has brought plenty of corruption. Next month, voters in one precinct will cast their votes at the West Side Democratic and Civic Club. GOP Chairman Deb Fleming laid out the case to the St. Joseph Co. Election Board as to why the site, which includes a mural of President Obama, was inappropriate for a polling site:

"First, is (the club) easily found or on a main thoroughfare?" Fleming asked. "No," she responded. "It is tucked back on the corner of Ford and Warren streets."

"Is it ADA compliant?" she continued. "Not according to these photos," she responded, "with a broken wooden (handicap) ramp and gravel parking lot located diagonally across the street from the building."

Fleming presented as evidence a number of photos showing the handicap ramp outside the club and a portion of the sidewalk surrounding the parking lot in disrepair. The photos also showed a sewer drain in front of the only curb cut leading to the building.

On the subject of eletioneering, "The name on the building automatically implies support for the Democratic Party," Fleming said. "Its name can intimidate and confuse voters who may be considering voting Republican. These people may wonder if they can even enter, or if they have to vote Democrat if they do.

"Also, the mural image on the side of the building of President Obama definitely expresses support for a specific candidate," she continued. The image, which, until Monday, had been been on the building for some time, included the message, "Vote Hope."

Fleming suggested the board consider St. Adalbert Parish, about five blocks west on Olive Street, as a more appropriate polling location for voters in the 617th Precinct, noting that it "meets most, if not all, of the requirements the Election Board would prefer for polling locations."  

Responding preemptively to the claim that moving the polls to that location now, mid-election year, would confuse confuse voters, Fleming noted that the Election Board made multiple polling place changes at its last meeting, affecting thousands of potential voters, and "yet there was no concern about these people having issues finding their new polling place." 

Not surprisingly, the board's president, who is also the St. Joseph Co. Democratic Chairman, defended the location and claimed it would lead to voter confusion to change the location at this late date.  

People develop routines when it comes to voting," State Sen. John Broden said, "and the West Side Democratic Club has been a polling place since Harry Truman was running for election."

He said that, in his opinion, "before we move a polling place, there has to be some reason aside from the title on the building, because I think it insults the intelligence of the voter ... to think that somehow, just because the title of the polling place happens to contain 'Democratic,' you can't go in there and vote for who you want to vote for."
 

In other words, we've been breaking the law for years so why should we change now. The tin ear Democrats have to corruption on the conduct of our election knows no bounds. They will jump up and down screaming that voters are disenfranchised because you ask them to present a photo ID in order to cast a vote. Yet they see nothing wrong with forcing voters to cast their votes at a Democratic headquarters with the party's name and candidate emblazoned on it that's off the beaten path and not accessible to the handicap. The Democratic-controlled election board voted 2-1 to keep the illegal polling site.

Citizens Must Demand U.S. Attorney's Office Launch Criminal Investigation Into The Passage Of Proposal 15

Councilor Vop Osili (D)

What we witnessed at tonight's City-County Council meeting was one of the most blatant criminal acts in the history of Indianapolis municipal government to ramrod into law a proposal that is so clearly designed to steal public funds from much-needed governmental uses and divert them directly into the pockets of pay-to-play contractors and developers who appear to have purchased votes from City-County Councilors to ensure the measure's passage. Councilor Vop Osili (D), the sponsor of the Proposal 15, which expands the downtown TIF district to include some of the most valuable parcels of property in the City to the TIF area, had a direct conflict of interest in the legislation he sponsored because the architectural firm he co-founded, co-owned and in which he owned an interest up to and including this past year, has been compensated to perform work on at least three of the projects contained within the TIF expansion area that will benefit from the passage of Proposal 15.

The debate over the passage of Proposal 15 took a very curious turn when Councilor Vernon Brown, a battalion chief for the Indianapolis Fire Department, announced that he was abstaining from voting on the proposal because he had received a campaign contribution from a developer whose project stood to benefit from the TIF expansion proposal. Brown also stated that his campaign manager was lobbying for the proposal's passage. Oddly, Brown's campaign disclosure statements from last year's municipal election reveal no contributors with a direct interest in the affected projects. This begs the question whether Brown received campaign contribution only recently from the developer in question to influence his vote. No sooner had Brown announced his abstention than came a request by Councilor Bill Oliver to abstain from voting because he claimed to have received campaign contributions from a developer that would benefit from the proposal's passage. Like Brown, Oliver did not disclose the source of that contribution or when the contribution was received. A quick glance of his campaign disclosure statements from last year's municipal campaign, however, reveals two possible contributions he was referencing, including contributions from the law firm of Ice Miller and from Bud Myers, the executive director of the Indianapolis Housing Authority.

Council President Maggie Lewis obviously became concerned after Oliver requested to abstain, suggesting that campaign contributions alone should not prevent a councilor from participating in a vote. Lewis' independence as council president has been questioned since she negotiated and obtained a large grant from the City for her employer, the Dove Center. Lewis also pressured Marion County Assessor Joseph O'Connor to rehire her husband after he was fired by his predecessor, Greg Bowes, for sexually harassing female co-workers in the office and using his office computer for inappropriate purposes. Some critics of Lewis believe she negotiated a quid pro quo whereby she would secure support from her Democratic caucus members on key measures sought by the Ballard administration in exchange for funding for the nonprofit organization that employs her as an executive director. Senior members of Ballard's staff have admonished Lewis not to allow Councilor Brian Mahern, the council vice-president, to accompany her to meetings with the mayor and his senior staff members. Mahern has been a vocal critic of the misuse of TIFs due to the massive loss of property tax revenues for basic governmental services and school districts. Ballard's staff believes it cannot engage in candid discussions with Lewis if Mahern is present at the meetings because of his watchdog approach.

The council's attorney, Fred Biesecker, read to members the text of the city's conflict of interest ordinance, which clearly implicated Councilor Osili but not Councilor's Brown or Oliver. Biesecker added, however, that Councilor Brown was at liberty to request to abstain from casting a vote on a measure if he believed that by participating in the vote that it would create an appearance of a conflict of interest. Councilor Osili, on the other hand, has refused to publicly address his blatant conflict of interest. He even voted against an amendment offered by Councilor Mahern that would have excluded from the expanded TIF area one of the projects on which his architectural firm, A2SO4, had been compensated to perform work, including the  Millikan project being built adjacent to Barton Towers by Flaherty Collins in conjunction with the Indianapolis Housing Authority. According to Deputy Mayor Deron Kintner, Flaherty Collins is also a finalist for the firehouse project across the street and its reviously approved Millikan project is tied to the firehouse project.

Shockingly, despite the disastrous implications Proposal 15 poses to future funding of basic city services and other local units of government, in particular, IPS, not to mention the fact that the proposal was deemed dead under a city ordinance because it remained tabled for more than 6 months, there was absolutely no debate or discussion on passage of Proposal 15 other than brief comments made in opposition to it by Councilor Mahern. Councilor Osili, who has displayed a total lack of knowledge of the content of his proposal throughout this entire train wreck, other than to ensure that projects that directly benefited his architectural firm, benefited from the expansion of the downtown TIF district. The proposal passed on a 25-2 vote, with Councilors Mahern and Zach Adamson casting the only two no votes. Councilor Brown abstained. [Note: An earlier post mistakenly indicated that Councilor Oliver abstained. He voted yes after asking to abstain.] Councilor Angela Mansfield was the only councilor not present for tonight's vote. Mayor Ballard's office e-mailed a press statement lauding passage of the measure that will directly benefit some of his largest campaign contributors. "I thank the City-County Council for its bipartisan vote, which allows us to move forward with catalytic new projects such as the redevelopment of the Mass Ave Fire Station and the 16 Tech corridor that will revitalize our neighborhoods and create and support thousands of jobs," Ballard stated.

The claim that thousands of jobs will be created is a patent lie. Ballard's office rejected a proposal from at least one developer to pay the city $2.5 million for the firehouse parcel and redevelop the property without a dime of money from the city. Ballard rejected that and other more palatable proposals because he insisted that your tax dollars be given directly to contractors and developers who have bankrolled his campaign, lavished gifts on him and his wife and have provided high-paying jobs to his cronies. As we've hammered home many times, these affected parcels have developers ready and willing to develop them without creating a TIF and diverting precious property tax revenues away from funding basic governmental services.

A lawsuit filed by citizen activist Clark Kahlo will proceed in an effort to declare Proposal 15 dead under the revised city code. If U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett is as serious about combating public corruption as he claims, he will immediately convene a grand jury and begin investigating all of the criminal activity that has occurred over the past several months to ensure passage of Proposal 15. And if the City-County Councilors who voted for Proposal 15 tonight are honest to their constituents, when they have to adopt deep cuts in public safety spending in the coming weeks, they will apologize to them for choosing the interests of the fat cat contributors who bankroll their campaigns over the public safety concerns of their constituents. When they tell you they opposed reducing the number of police officers protecting your neighborhoods, cuts in funding for libraries, IndyGo and city parks, call them a liar because that's what they are. Their vote tonight was to cut funding for all of those services.
This video shows Councilor Mahern's unsuccessful attempt to offer an amendment that would have exempted two projects on which Councilor Osili's architectural firm performed work and which had already been announced prior the introduction of Proposal 15 by Councilor Osili earlier this year.


This video shows the peculiar requests by Councilors Brown and Oliver to abstain from voting on Proposal 15 because of campaign contributions they received and the explanation of the council's conflict of interest ordinance by the council's attorney, Fred Biesecker.

Teen-Aged Hooligans Attack 64-Year Old Bicyclist In Broad Daylight On Monon Trail During Weekend Of Violence

Mayor Greg Ballard arrived back in town from his 10-day junket to Australia to learn that senseless crime in Indianapolis is getting worse. A 64-year old man was attacked while bicycling on the Monon Trail yesterday afternoon. Police are also investigating two separate shootings that left one man dead and another in critical condition and another possible homicide victim at the scene of a house fire. In another instance, a liquor store clerk shot and killed a would-be robber. The Star has more on the Monon Trail attack:

A 64-year-old man was sent to the hospital with multiple injuries after he was attacked Sunday while riding his bike on the Monon Trail on the Near Northside.

Police received a report of a person assaulted shortly before 12:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of the Monon Trail. Officers found James Knapp, Indianapolis, bleeding from his head, left arm and left leg. He told police he wasn't sure what happened and only remembered riding south on the trail, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report.

A security guard at a nearby church told police he heard a loud noise and saw three male teenagers on bicycles hurrying away from the trail. The three bicycles were red and black, red and silver, and black and yellow, the report said.

Two of the suspects were wearing white T-shirts and black shorts, and the last one's wearing a purple T-shirt and black shorts, the report said.
 

As I reported last Friday, the Ballard administration has warned some councilors to expect layoffs of police unless the City-County Council goes along with his plan to eliminate the homestead property tax credit as a way of finding an additional $8 million to close a $50 to $60 million budget deficit the city is facing next year. Police numbers are already down three hundred despite a 65% increase in the county option income tax approved five years ago to provide more funding for public safety, including the hiring of 100 additional police officers.