Ballard's Township Fire Department Grab Bill Fails

The Senate Local Government Committee today voted down on a 4-6 vote Mayor Greg Ballard's legislative plan to seize three township fire departments in Marion County without the consent of the respective township governments. HB 1229 would have forced township fire departments in Decatur, Pike and Wayne townships to merge with the Indianapolis Fire Department at the behest of Mayor Ballard. The city of Indianapolis has gutted its property tax base with expanded TIF areas used to enhance the slush funds controlled by Mayor Ballard and used to pass out to large campaign contributors to fund their private real estate developments. Unable to fund basic city services with the balance of city revenues, Ballard saw the forced consolidation of the township fire departments as a way of expanding IFD's property tax base to short up its funding. Upon the consolidation, Ballard would immediately slash fire services to the affected townships as has occurred elsewhere in the county and divert those new-found revenues to other areas. Ballard's TIF-supported plan to relocate IFD's headquarters and Fire Station 7 from its current location on Mass Ave will cost taxpayers well north of $40 million, all so he could give a prime block of real estate to large campaign contributors to redevelop for their own selfish use.

Lee Hamilton Feigns Surprise That FBI Knew Bin Laden Was Planning Terrorist Attacks In US More Than 8 Years Before 9/11

Osama bin Laden (a.k.a. Tim Osman) with Carter's National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezniski

The Washington Times reports that the FBI had a source working directly in contact with Osama bin Laden as early as 1993 and learned of his plan to fund terrorist attacks in the United States. Supposedly, the FBI source helped thwart a planned terrorist attack on a Los Angeles masonic lodge at the time. The information came to light in 2010 during courtroom testimony in a former FBI agent's discrimination suit against the department.

“It was the only source I know in the bureau where we had a source right in al Qaeda, directly involved,” Edward J. Curran, a former top official in the FBI’s Los Angeles office, told the court in support of a discrimination lawsuit filed against the bureau by his former agent Bassem Youssef.

Mr. Curran gave the testimony in 2010 to an essentially empty courtroom, and thus it escaped notice from the media or terrorism specialists. The Times was recently alerted to the existence of the testimony while working on a broader report about al Qaeda's origins.

Upon learning of the revelation, former 911 commissioners, including Indiana's former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, who were charged with investigating the cause of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, put on their best Captain Renault impersonation:

Members of the Sept. 11 commission, congressional intelligence committees and terrorism analysts told The Times they are floored that the information is just now emerging publicly and that it raises questions about what else Americans might not have been told about the origins of al Qaeda and its early interest in attacking the United States . . .

Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, an Indiana Democrat who co-chaired the 9/11 Commission with former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, said that as far as he can remember, the FBI never told the commission that it had been working a source so close to bin Laden that many years before 9/11.

“I do not recall the FBI advising us of a direct contact with Osama bin Laden,” Mr. Hamilton told The Times in a recent interview.

Exactly how the information was omitted from the various congressional reviews and the 9/11 Commission report is a mystery. FBI officials and staff involved in the review said they couldn’t determine definitely so many years later whether the information was kept from the various investigations or whether it was simply overlooked by staff in the thousands of pages of documents and electronic records made available during the exhaustive reviews of al Qaeda's history. . .

Of course Hamilton and the other 911 commission members knew much more than what bin Laden supposedly had planned back in the early 1990s. After all, bin Laden traveled in and out of the U.S. frequently under the alias, Tim Osman, given to him by the CIA when he first started working for the intelligence agency back in the late 1970s as part of the United States' covert effort to train, arm and fund the rebels seeking to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan. The CIA paid hundreds of millions of dollars to bin Laden's family to build the terrorist training camps he ran in Afghanistan before he supposedly turned on the U.S. and began plotting terrorist attacks inside our country. Our government worked hand-in-hand with bin Laden and his Saudi family right up to the day of the 9/11 attacks.

Hamilton, who now works as an external adviser to the CIA, along with other 911 commission members, knew their job was to whitewash the CIA's role in funding, plotting and executing the September 11, 2001 attacks with the assistance of the CIA puppet regime in Saudi Arabia as part of a larger goal of establishing a Nazi-styled government in the U.S. 911 was their Reichstag moment to enact the Patriot Act, our own version of the German Enabling Act, which would allow for a full-blown police state with limitless spying and endless wars around the world to perpetually feed the military-industrial complex former President Dwight Eisenhower tried in vain to warn us about in 1960. For the moment, former President George W. Bush's infamous declaration of "Mission Accomplished" remains operative. We can only hope that more Americans learn the real truth and take appropriate action to bring those responsible for these hideous crimes against humanity to justice. So Mr. Hamilton, we're not fooled by your "shocked, shocked" claims on this day, even if your lapdogs in the mainstream media are buying it.

Legislature Eyes Super Tax Abatements For Businesses As A Way Of Shifting More Of The Tax Burden To Individuals

It's Indiana so the goal is to fund as much of the state and local tax burden on the backs of working Hoosiers in order to levy as little taxes on businesses as possible. House and Senate leaders appear to be reaching consensus on a variety of plans that have been floated for cutting taxes on businesses this year, including Gov. Mike Pence's ambitious plan to eliminate the business personal property tax entirely. The AP reports on the latest plan to cut corporate income taxes and offer new super abatements for some businesses from the business personal property tax, presumably those businesses who are stuffing the most money in the politicians' pockets. Because neither the House or Senate plan calls for any replacement tax revenue,  that means that local governments will find other ways of raising taxes on individuals to make up for the loss of revenue.

The House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy advanced two separate measures Tuesday that would cut the state's corporate income tax and the state's business equipment tax in certain cases. But a few key differences remain that will keep lawmakers negotiating to reach a compromise before their 2014 session ends next month.

Neither plan will come close to the complete elimination of Indiana's business personal property tax that Republican Gov. Mike Pence originally sought at the beginning of the 2014 session. But House and Senate lawmakers were able to agree on an alternative measure that could save Indiana's heavy manufacturers millions of dollars.

Both proposals include a so-called super abatement, which would allow county leaders to exempt companies from the tax for up to 20 years. Counties can currently exempt businesses from the tax for up to 10 years, and often do so as a means to lure development.

"I think this alternative is not only fiscally responsible but reflects the ability of local government to affect local control," said Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Chairman Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek.

The Senate panel voted 8-4 Tuesday to approve a plan that would cut the corporate income tax from 6.5 percent to 4.9 percent by 2022. It would also allow counties to set "super abatements" and eliminate the equipment tax for small businesses with less than $20,000 worth of equipment.

The House panel approved a similar measure, 11-5, but kept in the so-called local option, which would allow counties to decide whether to eliminate the tax for new businesses and new equipment purchases.

Neither plan includes the "replacement revenue" local leaders have sought as a backfill from the state to cover losses they would take as a result . . .

D.C. Stephenson was right. The Indiana General Assembly is the best legislature money can buy.

Fishers' Taxpayers Contributing $9.5 Million For Private Development

I don't know what it's going to take before the people of this state finally wake up and figure out the large theft of public funds that is taking place up and down this state with the assistance of bond lawyers and financial consultants at big Indianapolis firms who pretty much pull the strings of all of these local officials like puppets. WRTV's Kara Kenney has a story on a new TIF project for Fishers where taxpayers are being required to pony up $9.5 million for a private developer's $28 million plan to demolish the town's 18-year old train station to make way for a mixed used development that will feature apartments, retail space and a parking garage. The $9.5 million is to be used for construction of a parking garage.

The Town of Fishers has awarded the project to Loftus Robinson, a three-year old Indianapolis development firm whose principals are Drew Loftus, Kyle Robinson and Terry Myers. The town's tax increment finance (TIF) allocation area will be tapped to fund the $9.5 million parking garage. Presumably, bonds will be floated by the redevelopment area, which means the actual cost to taxpayers will be considerably more when you add in the interest charges on the long-term debt. The $9.5 million also doesn't include the three acres of prime land the town is donating to the developer's project. There's no indication on the appraised value of the land.

What has irked several candidate for election at Fisher's municipal election this year, its first as a city, is the fact that this project was awarded to Loftus Robinson as a no-bid contract. While the town council put out for bid a project across the street from the train station through a request for proposal process, no RFP process was utilized for the train station project, although it was subject to council approval.

Kenney took her questions to town council vice president Pete Peterson who explained the train station project is part of the town’s master plan.

“I think if you look at the original RFP we talk about a vision for the downtown area,” said Peterson.

“There were six original bidders which absolutely knew there was a phase 2 and what we were going to be looking for there.”

Peterson said the town contemplated putting the phase 2 portion, also known as the train station development, out to bid.

“The town looked at that, that was a possibility,” said Peterson. “There was a group that approached us where we were able to negotiate the best deal for the citizens.  Many times you can put out an RFP and it kind of locks your hands up.”

Peterson points out the mix of apartments, retail and parking will bring in approximately $300,000 in property tax revenue to Fishers’ coffers.

“The negotiated deal was a super deal for the residents,” said Peterson. “It’s going to be a terrific development when it’s done.  They’re going to see a much improved train station.”

Peterson said some of the criticism is suspect.

“Absolutely, it’s politically motivated,” said Peterson. “We’re getting ready to head into the first city election.”

Peterson disputes claims the project was not transparent.

“We’ve had over 20 public meetings on the downtown project, from phase 1 to phase 2, to the amphitheater, there’s been 20 public meetings on the project,” said Peterson.

Kenney questioned town manager Scott Fadness, a candidate for mayor, about a $250 campaign contribution he received from Loftus Robinson and whether that influenced the decision. "With regard to your question about campaign contributions for the mayoral race, my campaign has raised nearly $150,000 and the Loftus Robinson company contributed $250," said Fadness in an email to RTV6. "Any large policy decision and any expenditure over $50,000 must be approved by the Town Council." More telling were the large contributions Fadness reported receiving from various law firms that do business with Fishers, along with a host of civil engineering firms, construction firms and other development interests who've benefitted directly from past decisions made by the Town of Fishers.

On a disappointing note, the Senate Tax and Fiscal Committee gutted a bill that set out to reform Indiana's TIF law. The committee removed a cap HB 1266 would have imposed on the percentage of assessed valuation in a county that could be placed within a TIF district. The cap would have been set at 12% of AV in a county, except for Marion County, where it would have imposed a cap of 10%. There were at least five counties in the state where TIF districts consume more than 12% of the AV. Marion County also easily exceeded the cap HB 1266 would have imposed on it. So when the politicians tell you that there isn't enough money to fund basic government services because of property tax caps, tell them they're full of it. There's not enough money to fund government because the politicians choose to hand out property tax abatements like candy and divert a substantial percentage of property tax revenues into the TIF slush funds so they have plenty of public dollars to hand out to their big campaign contributors.

UPDATE: There' more TIF madness in Indianapolis.  Mayor Greg Ballard is holding hostage a plan to fix up Tarkington Park until he gets approval of a $5.7 million payoff to the politically-connected Browning Investments, whose owner contributes shit loads of money to the politicians, to fund his Whole Foods development project in the booming Broad Ripple Village. The Tarkington Park project would get just $1 million in TIF funds from the same TIF district that extends over a good portion of the city's central north side, in exchange for the deal. The park project would get an additional $3 million in ReBuild Indy funds, the slush fund generated by the extremely corrupt sale of the city's water and sewer utilities, and another $1 million from the Indy Parks foundation. It's a damn auction down here in Indiana. Get the hell out of Chicago and get to Indy right now where our public officials have billions of dollars to hand out as long as you grease the right palms. The best part of it is that you don't have any pesky prosecutors down here to look over your shoulders; they're all in bed with the criminal rackets that control our government here. Even better, the media down here, particularly the Indianapolis Star, will portray you as a great civic leader while you're doling out bribes to everyone instead of conducting the investigative journalism people of their profession are supposed to do.

Tully Backs Public-Financing Of Turkish Businessman's Soccer Stadium: No Big Surprise

Who would have guessed? The worst excuse for a political columnist in all of America comes out in support of an $87 million publicly-funded soccer stadium for a Turkish businessman about whom little is known other than he's shoveled large piles of campaign dough into the pockets of our state and local politicians. Of course, the taxpayers are not only footing the bill to construct the new stadium, the Capital Improvement Board will be stuck owning the stadium and paying for its upkeep even though not one dime will be paid in property taxes on it. Nonetheless, we're assured that it's a totally swell idea according to Matt Tully:

Not all corporate tax breaks are created equal, and it is important to note that the one being proposed to help finance a stadium for the city’s new professional soccer team, Indy Eleven, is not some sort of wild boondoggle. In fact, it’s a sensible, fair proposal that would greatly help the city while not in any way stealing money from schools, roads or other essential city services.

I make that last point because I’ve heard charges of the opposite from some readers and social media critics who are portraying the stadium as another example of misplaced priorities, or a corporate giveaway that could hurt other city services. That’s simply not the case.

This proposal is significantly different in spirit than, say, slapping a tax on restaurant bills to fund a stadium, or shifting tax burdens from businesses to homeowners so that corporations can get a break. We’ve seen those things happen. And whether or not those initiatives were reasonable ideas, they were without question different than what is being considered for Indy Eleven . . .

“This is a win-win for the state,” said Paul Okeson, a former deputy mayor and now a top aide to Indy Eleven founder Ersal Ozdemir, CEO of Keystone Group construction.

And he is right.

You only have to look at the demand for season tickets to see that this region has suffered from an unmet demand for professional soccer. And you only have to drive around the city or the suburbs on any weekend day to see how soccer has come to dominate the youth recreation sports world. It’s become a great cross-cultural magnet and it is almost guaranteed that the Indy Eleven crowds will be as wonderfully diverse, and young, as anything we’ve seen in Central Indiana. . .

Of course, it’s fair to ask whether the team is prematurely seeking a stadium. Some have suggested it wait until it has played a season or two on IUPUI’s soccer field, just to be safe. But remember, under that cautious thinking Indianapolis never would have built the RCA Dome and lured the Colts to town. The time to act is now.

“We have sold more tickets than any North American Soccer League team,” Okeson said. “We want to capture that momentum.”

The Indy Eleven organization in a short period has shown itself to be a savvy, community friendly operation. The team has been a constant presence at community events and won widespread praise for honoring the Civil War-era 11th Indiana Regiment with its team name.

Its marketing has been top-notch, and it worked hard to sell thousands of season tickets, knowing that would not only build buzz but also help make the case for a stadium. Then it went out and hired Murray Clark, the head of the 60,000-member Indiana Soccer Association and a former Republican state party chairman, to sell the stadium to skeptical Republicans who control the Statehouse.

Will the team get its stadium this year? It’s too early in the match to say yes or no. But it received a boost last week when the House Ways and Means Committee added language to another bill that would help the stadium effort. The most important thing the committee did was keep the issue alive as the legislative session approaches its conclusion.

The stadium may or may not be authorized this year. But even before it has played its first match -- that comes on April 12 -- Indy Eleven has emerged as an important part of the sports landscape. Let’s hope it ultimately gets a stadium that matches its potential.

It is beyond belief how misguided and hostile the news media is in this town to the average man and woman on the street. Whenever someone complains about how bad our city streets and sidewalks are, the run-down condition of city parks, rampant crime in war-torn neighborhoods and inept snow removal efforts by the city, the public is told it's their fault because they're paying too little in taxes. Whenever a big campaign contributor comes up with an idea for spending money on a new sports venue or his private development project, our city leaders open up the public coffers with the full blessing of their shills in the media and shower them with as much money as their heart's desire and tell us such things as it's coming from a different pot, or it's not really being paid for by the taxpayers even when it's a publicly-owned entity paying the mortgage and the bills. This column is nothing but a press release for Indy Eleven and is so filled with misinformation it's not worthy of a response. If Tully isn't on Ersal Ozdemir's gravy train with all of the rest of the politicians performing gymnastic moves for him, he should be. Just remember Tony Rezko. The day of reckoning for some in this corrupt town is coming.

Indianapolis City-County Council Approves Ban The Box

To no surprise, the Indianapolis City-County Council approved a proposal last night that will bar city-county agencies and any vendor who conducts business with those governmental agencies from including a box on job application forms that asks prospective employees whether they have any prior criminal convictions. There were just two no votes, including Councilors Aaron Freeman (R) and Jason Holliday (R). It's a panacea that makes politicians who support it feel good about themselves, but it has absolutely no impact on the employability of a worker. Passing this same proposal worked wonders for Detroit. You can take it to the bank that the same politicians who expressed gushing support for this proposal will be the first to ask how it could have happened when a city parks worker molests your 7-year old child in a bathroom at a public park, but politicians will be politicians.

What I found totally reprehensible about the discussion on the passage of this proposal was the complete lack of decorum during council proceedings. Proponents of this measure were allowed to stand, wave signs, clap and vocalize their approval or disapproval of a council member's views. We aren't governed by mob rule. There's a reason public demonstrations aren't permitted during these discussions. It seems to me that whenever the chair approves of the actions of public demonstrators, they are allowed to do whatever they want. Let one member of the public stand up and express a view of which the chair disapproves and a police officer is asked to escort the person from the council chambers and threaten them with arrest. Not a single member of the council asked the council president to enforce the rules last night; instead, council members appeared to encourage the breach of protocol to feed their own self-aggrandizement. It's a bit ironic that the council began last night's meeting honoring the late Beurt SerVaas, who would have never permitted such actions to occur during a council meeting while he presided.

Council Makes ROC Investigating Committee Indy Eleven

No, I'm not talking about that Indy Eleven, whose Turkish owner graced the Indianapolis City-County Council tonight with his presence to receive accolades from adoring council members over his efforts to pick taxpayers' wallets for a new $87 million soccer stadium for his professional soccer team, while we can't get adequate funding from this city government to fund basic city services, once again proving that our politicians only care about who's stuffing the most money in their pockets. I'm talking about the Regional Operations Center Investigating Committee where the five Republican members appointed to the 10-member committee have been spending all their time the past few months obstructing the investigation of the awarding of a 25-year, $20 million one-sided lease to a big campaign contributor.

Tonight, the council voted 15-13 to add an eleventh member to the committee, which will give the Democrats a 6-5 majority. Republicans initially feigned an interest in conducting a bipartisan investigation before doing all within their power to ensure that the committee never obtained access to public documents relevant to the ROC lease by blocking efforts to issue subpoenas to city legal and Alex Carroll, the ROC's landlord. What little has been learned to date suggests that criminal laws were broken in order to award this one-sided lease to the politically-connected landlord, which appears to be the impetus behind Republican efforts to obstruct the investigation. Councilor Christine Scales (R) voted with Democrats to add the eleventh committee member, while Councilor Brian Mahern (D) voted with Republicans to oppose the proposal out of spite because he was stripped of his committee appointments after he unsuccessfully attempted to team up with the Republicans on the council to oust Maggie Lewis as the council's president.

State Rep. Eric Turner Thinks Some State Contractors Should Be Allowed To Discriminate Against Employees Based On Religion

State Rep. Eric Turner (R-Cicero) believes that some state contractors should be permitted to discriminate in their hiring decisions and other conditions of employment under an amendment he successfully offered in the House Ways & Means Committee to SB 367, a bill pertaining to property taxation. The Star's Tony Cook provides the following information on today's action:

Some state contractors would be allowed to discriminate against employees based on religion under a provision state lawmakers slipped into an unrelated bill during a House committee meeting today.

The change to Senate Bill 367, a property tax bill, would allow any school, college, or religious institution affiliated with a church to hire employees based on religion, even if they have a contract with the state.

House Ways and Means Committee barely approved the change on a 9-8 vote. The amended version of the bill was then forwarded to the full House on a 12-7 vote.

The contractors exempted from the non-discrimination requirement includes any school, educational or charitable religious institution owned or conducted by or affiliated with a church or religious institution. This goes back to the fundamental question of the constitutionality of public funding of churches and religious institutions. Both the Establishment Clause contained within the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Indiana Constitution's Bill of Rights impose restrictions on the use of public funds for religious purposes. The only way around the prohibition is if the funds being provided to churches and religious-affiliated organizations are being used in a manner that does not promote any religious or sectarian purposes. Turner wants to let churches and religious organizations have their cake and eat it too. That's got legal challenge written all over it. If you don't want any strings attached, then don't take the money. That's the price you pay for accepting public funding.

UPDATE: That didn't take long. House Speaker Brian Bosma is sending SB 367 back to committee to remove Turner's amendment.

“There was a lot of confusion about the purpose and intent of the amendment, so I thought it best for it to come out so it wasn’t a distraction,” he said.

Bosma said the measure was intended to address a state contracting issue with Indiana Wesleyan University, but that some people felt it went beyond that purpose.

Councilor Pfisterer's Text Gave Kudos To Colleagues For Blocking ROC Subpoenas

A text message Councilor Marilyn Pfisterer mistakenly sent to another council member and then forwarded to Democratic blogger Jon Easter following last Thursday's meeting of the ROC Investigating Committee showed her exuberance over Republican members' success in blocking for the second consecutive committee meeting the issuance of subpoenas to city legal and the Regional Operations Center's landlord, Alex Carroll, to gain access to public records regarding the ill-fated lease.

For months now, city legal and Carroll's attorney have refused to turn over key documents concerning the 25-year, $20 million one-sided lease that the city entered into with Carroll's business entity. Public Safety Director Troy Riggs ordered city employees to evacuate the building last year after it was deemed unsafe to occupy despite the fact that the city continues to make lease payments of $57,000 a month. Here's what Pfisterer said in her text message:

 "Subpoena motion died in committee.  Will and Jack were 'on it'!  Next meeting on 3/10."  

According to Easter, Pfisterer had intended to send the text message to Councilor Aaron Freeman, who was absent from the meeting, but instead sent it to another councilor mistakenly. "Will and Jack" refers to Councilors Will Gooden and Jack Sandlin, who both spoke out in opposition to the issuance of the subpoenas. They both seemed more interested in launching an investigation of the council's counsel, Fred Biesecker, whose professional integrity Republican members of the committee have shamelessly smeared for partisan advantage.

After you watch Republican council members continue to stonewall the ROC investigation, you quickly discern why it was necessary that they kick Councilor Christine Scales, one of the most thoughtful and hard-working members of the council, out of the caucus. They knew she wouldn't go along with a cover up of criminal activity taking place within the Ballard administration. In fact, members of the Ballard administration unsuccessfully attempted to bribe Scales to go along with an effort to oust City-County Council President Maggie Lewis by offering to return a ladder company to a fire station in her district that was removed originally as a form of retaliation against her. Scales was appalled when Public Safety Director Troy Riggs became a part of the partisan debate by offering to return the ladder company to her district if she would go along with Republican council members in an effort to conspire with at least one disgruntled member of the Democratic caucus to oust Lewis. Scales turned down Riggs' offer, which infuriated Republican council members and Mayor Ballard.