mayor veto letter to city council

• Date: Wednesday December 16th, 2009
• Time: 5:30 PM
• Place: City Hall

A hearing with a special meeting to follow.

No LOIT-ering,  please.

Another round of great decisions made by our elected officials of good old Delaware County.  Let’s recap, shall we?

First on the agenda is Muncie City Council and their absolutely enlightening idea on cutting street lights to save money.

• How much will it cost to shut off the lights? 
• What street lights will be shut off?  Have they done a study using GIS, police reports, traffic flow?  Do they have a plan?
• Do they know well lighted streets have been proven to deter crime?  Is City Council concerned with our safety?  Which leads me to the next budget cut.

We don’t need no stinkin’ fuel.   Chief Davis has found a workable solution for the return of our desperately needed laid off police officers.

• City Council in their infinite wisdom, feels the MPD needs less fuel in the budget now that we have more available police officers.
• Do they really need to patrol the darkened streets?
• Did the City Council do any research on the increase of crime?
• Interestingly enough, this was the only department to see their fuel cut.  Things that make you go hmm.

How Much Is That Doggie In the Window?  Another biting zing to the budget, the cutting of an animal control officer.  From a department which is already on a tight staffing leash.

• Cutting the animal control officer position is in direct violation of the union contract. 
• You can not cut a union protected job before you cut non-union or part-time jobs.  Seems City Council stepped in some poo poo on this one.
• Now we have no animal control officer, no part-time workers and two full-time staff to run a shelter seven days a week.  City Council whats your plan?

Who needs any pencil pushers, anyway?  Let’s cut the controller’s office, just for fun.  This department is already understaffed.    So what if the controller’s office has a 35 million dollar budget?  Why not have Mary Jo Barton volunteer her time and calculator?  She once worked for the auditor, and she believes spending $30,000 to make $2,000 is good math. So,  what’s your plan?

Do we really need a purchasing agent for 30 departments?  Do we really need someone to search for the best prices?  Monitor the departmental spending?  City Council, what’s your plan?

Whoosh!  The sound of a flushing hydrant.  Let’s take maintenance out of the budget and have no revenue replacement available.  We’ll show that water company who is boss. 

There you have it, folks.  Just a sampling of the foolish cuts made with no thought to the consequences or costs to the citizens of Muncie, Indiana.  Here is the way I look at it.  Not one of the of the City Council members could give any reasoning for these cuts.  In fact, two of the members didn’t even know about the cuts. 

Think on it for just a minute:

• The President of City Council had no answers, nobody knew how they arrived at these cuts.  What data was used?  Who was privy to meetings where these cuts were made?  Certainly not all of the FINANCE committee.
• And if none of the City Council members knew how these cuts came about, why would they vote YES on something they know nothing about?  Kind of like the Abbott and Costello skit…”Who’s On First”.  YIKES!

Let’s recap what the Delaware County Commissioners have done.

Do we need to even speak of the 911 Communications Center?  How the commissioners disbanded a board so that all decisions are now made by three men?  Nobody else, just these three.  Yet, these men who are still unable to locate the interlocal agreement which binds the city to a user fee of over $800,000.00 a year, wants our money, but not our input?  I got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you.  Good price, too.

Now, just yesterday we find that the same county commissioners have decided that a long-standing agreement with the city is no longer viable.  They forgot to tell the city.  You can read the full article: Muncie, Delaware County Split Lobbying Ways.

If you get the Sunday print edition (11-22-09), take a gander over to Larry Riley’s column.  It is well worth your time to read.  Some solid information by one of my favorite journalists.

It makes no matter to these folks how much bad press they get, how many citizens address them with these concerns, they still do as they please when they please.  I beg all of you to please stay informed and keep a scorecard. 

Vote informed.  We have to stop governing like this.

Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . . [I]f the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.

[James A. Garfield, The Works of James Abram Garfield, Burke Hinsdale, editor (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1883), Vol. II, pp. 486, 489, "A Century of Congress," July, 1877.]

Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the character of public men.

[Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907), Vol. III, p. 236-237, to James Warren on November 4, 1775.]

Michael King performing at a folk and blues jam session in Swindon.

More MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY can be seen on my main website.

5 reasons to have a Carribbean Party
1. You can breakout he Limbo stick and steelband music
2. You can play Hot, Hot, Hot & The Banana Boat song all nite
3. Bikini's,  briefs, & coconut bras
4. You can take a trip to Margaritaville
5. Bob Marley, irie

When i’m not counseling kids at work, you can find Mike King relaxing at the house or practicing the Steeldrums and chilling with the family. I’m a music lover and my passion for music spreads across many genres. Currently I’m getting into Brazilian Jazz artists such as Paula Lima and Tania Maria. My Ipod is loaded with diverse music. Right now you can hear everything from Marley to NAS to Fela Kuti to Sly and the Family Stones and Andy Narrell. I also vibe with the the Commodores and contemporary Gospel. I try to stay on the cutting edge and discover new music artists such as Esperanza Spalding (check her out on my space). I really appreciate live music and the complexity of arrangements with vibrant harmonies and a catchy melody. Checkout my band’s C.A.I.S.O. website at http://www.steelpanband.net
You can hear our sounds and view pictures from recent performances.

The video of the Friday the 13th City Council Meeting which vetoed the Mayor of Muncie is now on video.  Don’t worry, it is not very long.  Afterall, it is only the city budget.

View the video at CDCPTR.

It might be important to note that inspite of the Administration’s and City Council’s ability to resolve an Annual Budget to the satisfaction of the Taxpayers (remember the taxpayers?), there is an alternative to consider….IC 6-1.1-17-13 provides for the Taxpayers to force a hearing in front of the DLGF (the FINAL authority on the City Budget) to address their concerns and objections.

If there are those interested in signing on to such an effort, please communicate that interest with the CDCPTR at: webmaster@propertytaxrepeal.com

If you have problems emailing, please copy and paste the address into your email program.

www.propertytaxrepeal.com
Budget Veto Meeting Friday November 13, 2009 @ 5:30 PM City Hall

Good Government Begins With You!

Michael King performing at a folk and blues jam session in Swindon.

More MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHS FROM SWINDON can be seen on my main website.

Mike King performing during a folk and blues jam session in Swindon.

More MUSIC IMAGES can be seen on my main website.

Michael King performing at a jam session in Swindon.

More MUSIC IMAGES can be seen on my main website.

Michael Cleaver, Mike King and Tim Sawyer singing at a jam session in Swindon.

Other MUSIC IMAGES can be seen on my main website.

Finance Meeting 10/14/09

Last Things First. Two upcoming meetings were tentatively scheduled.

Monday Oct 26th at 5:00: Another Finance Committee meeting was scheduled to allow the Finance Committee to make a formal recommendation to the Full City Council for ther Special meeting on the budget.

Tuesday Oct 27th at 5:30: Special Budget meeting with full Council.

I arrived a little late so I missed the first part of the meeting, The first discussions I heard were pertaining to the issue of the salaried workers affected by the 27 pays in 2010. Alison asked for amended salaries in advance of the next City Council meeting to give them time to prepare. It was my understanding that Mary Ann agreed to redo those salaries affected by the 27 pays to state them in terms of an annual amount which could be divided by 27 in 2010 so that the annual salaries would not be increased by the extra pay period. City Council will need to adopt these new annualized salaries prior to adopting the budget to resolve the 27 pay issue. It boggles my mind that this has drug on or so long. Sam Marshall more or less suggested this two months ago at the regular City Council meeting.

There was discussion about the insurance estimates and Mary Ann said that we are waiting on the insurance company and that she hopes to have the numbers by next Monday.

Mary Ann noted that the latest Muncie revenue projection from Umbaugh was revised downward by $500,000 due to the fact that the County opted to put the excess welfare levy into the rainy Day Fund instead of using it to reduce property tax burden.

Special Note: Mary Ann reiterated on a couple of occasions that she believes that we will be able to balance the budget in spite of the recent revised projections from Umbaugh. Say NO to LOIT.

Mary Ann answered a question from Mike King and advised him that PERF for the police department is calculated by multiplying the Base salary from the PERF report by 19.5%.

Mary Jo advised Mary Ann that the reason there is an unemployment line item for MPD but not MFD is because of the crossing guards that are paid out of the MPD budget.

Mary Jo suggested that they reduce the budget for fees and dues for organizations that Mayors belong to.

Brad Polk indicated that he had gone through the budget line by line to identify some other cuts. I think these will be reviewed at the next meeting.

Alison asked for a 2008 budget statement through 12/31/08, so they would know the exact amounts spent for the entire year in order tom make better recommendations for budget cuts.

Mary Jo and Mary Ann argued about the computer forms budget for data processing. Mary Ann tried to explain that the data processing contract is for service, and does not include paper.

Jerry Friend spoke briefly and mentioned that he is on track to making his officed self supporting with an additional $157,000 fines and fees levied (but not necessarily collected) due to recent fee changes he introduced.

After that the upcoming meetings were discussed, and the meeting was adjourned.

Note: This synopsis of the Finance Committee meeting was sponsored by Taxpayers Opposed to Increasing Local Income Taxes (TOILIT) as part of our “Flush the LOIT” Campaign.

Alison Quirk

Withdraw Your LOIT Tax!

I always have some respect for people that manage to put out self filmed edit’s especially ones with good riding, it just seems like alot more work but it definitely guarantees a steady shot haha.

LOIT was tabled at city council last evening.  It appears there is a state law where the local government must provide tax creditamount. Since those figures are not available, LOIT was put on hold. The deadline is November 1st, so don’t look to be out of the woods just yet.

Another interesting ordinance 11-09 which is a non-binding resolution. This is one stupid resolution. It concerned the federal funding asking Pence to reconsider his stand. As I understood it, Muncie City Council would speak on the behalf of the residents of the city. Think on this for just a minute. Perhaps you are a citizen that supports Mr. Pence, should a body of 9 people be allowed to speak for you? This in my opinion is going a tad bit to far. As if the government doesn’t interfere enough in our lives. We are all responsible adults, quite capable of contacting our representatives. Gregory and Conatster voted no. Brad Polk “absolutely not” or that is a no. Allison Quirk, President, mentioned the county had done the same. So, big deal!  In my opinion Presidents Quirk and Donati are like two peas in a pod collaborating on God knows what.

Sam Marshall spoke in defence of Mike King, Finance Committee Chair, saying King did his utmost to work on the budget. Some of you may know, the finance committee only met once in 18 months. This is proving to be a sore spot with some of the citizens. Include me as one just slightly more than perturbed.

King has instructed the department heads to go back to their departments and find cuts. Brad Polk asked if all council members could get the figures. Polk was not invited to meet with the department heads. One Democrat and one Republican should work with the department heads. Mary Jo Barton said she was not invited. I believe Polk and King, both with financial backgrounds, should work as a team on departmental cuts.

Gee, it only took 18 months to get the lead out of their rears regarding the budget.

I hope to have some of the speeches which were read at the meeting on the blog soon.  Waiting for approval.

Check the CDCPTR website for video of the meeting.

Usually, I am in a fairly good mood when posting. Not today. This is the most fed up I have been with city council in quite some time.

By Virginia McMillan

TV3 ran what could be regarded as a “campaigning” segment on 60 Minutes this week, pointing to likely hyperactivity effects of food colourings on children.

The story called to mind the TVOne Close Up/Mike King “pig farm” piece because in both cases, the reporting team created news themselves – taking part in the “drama”.

In this case, TV3 filmed kids going ape after having fizzy drinks and coloured sweets. NZPA reports today that nutritionists have criticised TV3 as biased.

TV3 is standing by its story. The main point of the piece, by reporter Sarah Hall (who has a long history of strong journalism), was to question why NZ isn’t following the UK in seeking a voluntary ban.

See the NZPA story here

and the original piece here

Personally, although in both the pig-farm and the food-colouring reportage, one side of the argument was covered more forcefully, I think neither TVOne nor TV3 overstepped the mark in these stories.

Today, we also hear that the pig farmer targeted by TVOne has been cleared of any bad practice. The farmer may be right that Mike King and the camera crew’s intrusion upset the pigs – but the animal welfare regulations remain in doubt.

July 6th, 2009 we will more then likely see a historical moment in Muncie’s history.  Yes, kids, Muncie will enact a new tax.  To be fair, we plan on including all of Delaware County.  Certainly, it would be a travesty not to bring this shining moment to all.

The county has lovingly bestowed us with the Wheel Tax, it is only fitting we should return the favor.  We trumped them, though!  Muncie City Council will surely pass a 1.25% income tax.  One word of warning to the county, ya’ll play with the big kids, expect to get stomped.

So, what can you expect to pay each year?  I figured it out for you. 

$ 10,000.00 per year = $ 125.00 or $10.00 per month

$ 20,000.00 per year = $ 250.00 or $20.00 per month

$ 30,000.00 per year = $ 375.00 or $31.00 per month

$ 40,000.00 per year = $ 500.00 or $41.00 per month

$ 50,000.00 per year = $ 625.00 or $52.00 per month

Considering the average income of Muncie residents is around $25,000.00,  it will be an extra $26.00 more from the paycheck.  If they own just one car, $28.00. two cars it will be $30.00 per month.  All for the privilege to live in Delaware County.

Why I think it is a bad idea to raise taxes during a recession.  Believe it or not, many people are struggling to meet just the basic necessities of daily life.  Where is the compassion we hear during election time for the working poor, the lower middle class?  Believe it or not, many families do not qualify for public assistance, and asking them to yet make another sacrifice just so the local governments can maintain their spending quotas, is cruel and unreasonable.

Yes, there are those who say, it is only $20.00 a month.  Take into consideration the rise in food costs, gas, utilities, medical, sales tax and suddenly a much bigger picture appears.

Have we forgotten that over 50% of our children qualify for free or reduced lunch?  Or that the unemployment rate is at an all time high of 10%.  I have had some come back at me with the unemployment saying if unemployed, then they are exempt from this tax.  Not so.  Think about the primary wage earner who has been laid-off.  Suddenly, the income has dropped, yet I doubt if the family’s basic needs have changed all that much.

1.25% it ain’t all that much.  Think about it, Muncie City Council and do the right thing.

Well we have the guidelines for what to study for the exam – of course I look at the topics today and think “my god I don’t know anything about this!!” … but it will come together bird by bird (hopefully!!!). Apparently there is going to be a question requiring calculations. I couldn’t figure out how the answers were worked out for the example calculation in the study guide, so I hope I will get a helpful answer to that. But in the meantime the exam anxiety has descended big time. I have pretty much decided that this is it for study, for this year if not for longer, so its only about 2.5 weeks that I have to tough out …

Got our submission in last week on user charges at the local libraries. Joann Ransom has written another post on this issue. I emphasised how are region is disadvantaged economically -  the figures really are quite telling. I am not sure where the money is going to come from for the new libraries – but they are sorely needed.

I have pretty much been avoiding anything in the media about pig farming – there was a segment on Sunday the other night about it – I’m tiring of apologists for the industry. I am keeping up with Peter Sankoff’s blog postings about animal welfare issues and the law in New Zealand (Peter is a law lecturer at Auckland University). At some stage I have many many more words to write on issues of animal welfare myself …

It appears Mike King has been getting quite a lot of grief from other media commentators on his stance. They claim they wouldn’t have been a spokesperson for an industry without researching it, etc etc. What a load of sanctimonious drivel. I don’t know if any of them have actually stood up for a cause they cared about – most of them seem obsessed with their own little lives and their areas of self interest.

Meanwhile my calf muscle tear continues to improve – slowly. I can actually walk down the stairs now – still taking it very carefully. It is a bit of a pain having to get to physio, but its all in a good cause.

They are 3 of the 5 men who have been “The Voice” of the Indianapolis 500. (LtoR) Bob Jenkins, Paul Page and Mike King. The other 2 were Sid Collins and Lou Palmer. Listen for a special segment at the start of this years IMS Radio Network broadcast with all three.

Wedge turbine

Vintage

Vintage car

Vintage Car