After Monday night’s Council vote on the proposed transfer of the city’s water and waste water facilities to Citizens Gas I walked over to Nikki Blaine’s for a quick martini before calling it a day.  While I was there I met a guy named Ron.   He works as a server downtown.  I asked him what he thinks about the city.  I was interested in his opinion because he was an average person who doesn’t operate in the political fishbowl.  He told me he thoughts things in Indy were good, despite the economy, however he thought the roads could be better.  Imagine that.

I chuckled at that statement based on what had happened earlier at the City-County building.  it was part of a stream of chuckles because all I could do was laugh on the inside at the behavior of the Democratic Caucus on the Council.  The whining, the moaning and gnashing of teeth over the proposed water deal got to be a bit much.   What was more laughable though were a majority of the Democrats who voted against the deal and publicly lambasted it were on the phone earlier and sending the Mayor’s office e-mails asking to have road projects in their districts funded.  Heck, I found out even State Representative Bill Crawford secretly supports what the Mayor is doing.

The biggest joke of the night was Doris Minton-McNeil who argued incoherently against the proposal and then after it passed complained about road and infrastructure projects in her district that weren’t getting funded.  Although I am also told she needed city help in figuring out what projects were actually in her district.

The true profiles in courage Monday night were Jackie Nytes and Mary Moriarty Adams who put politics aside and did what they thought was in the best interest of the constituents.  Nytes, who I have a different philosophical approach on issues, made one of the best sound policy arguments for the water deal, saying that by using rates instead of property taxes to pay for streets, property that is not on the tax rolls will now contribute to pay for projects that are now the sole burden of property taxpayers.  It’s very simple, effective logic rate payers and tax payers are not necessarily the same.  Nytes also pointed out that tax payers have made it clear that they don’t want to use property taxes to pay for government nor is Indiana General Assembly going to be any help.

I give Nytes major props for consistency and intellectual honesty in the face of getting the threat of having Ed Treacy throw her a primary opponent.  Which I have to note by the way, if you’re going to get rid of one of your members you may not want to go after one of your smartest members.

By now you know the Hamilton and Hendricks County Prosecutors have decided not to press felony charges against four Carmel High School basketball players for attacking a fellow student on a bus and engaging in what Hamilton County Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp called “something beyond hazing.”

Instead John Lazkowski, Oscar Falodun, Brandon Hoge, and Robert Kitzinger were all charged with misdemeanor battery and criminal recklessness in hazing incident.  In her news conference, Leerkamp said the authorities interviewed nearly 60 witnesses, under oath, and that is what led her to the misdemeanor charges.

While that has caused outrage in certain sections of the community and only added to the perception of a “Carmel Cover Up” I caution people that eventually, the facts are going to come out and all the lucid details that everyone wants to know will be made public.  I say this because there are going to be two trials.  There will be a criminal trial and a civil trial.   There will be depositions, interviews, testimony, direct examinations and cross-examinations and all that other stuff you’re used to seeing on Law & Order.

Being both an attorney and a media-type, I can understand where both sides are coming from in this debate.  The media wants all the information, the prosecutor’s office wants to keep things as close to the vest as possible.  I frankly think both sides should give in a bit.  The prosecutors should have offered up more detail and the media could have cooled its jets somewhat.

At the end of the day, it is all going to come out in the wash.  It always does.

There were three big news items Monday, the indictments of four Carmel High School basketball players for their attack on a freshman player,  the City-County Council moving forward with the transfer of  the water and waste water facilities to Citizens Gas and more controversy surrounding Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.  Each of these is worth an individual post so that’s what they’ll get.  I should have them all up by the close of business today.

The nice thing about a vacation, even if it’s a staycation, it gives you a chance to get out and clear your head.  While my wife and I were out on our weekend road trip I got the chance to pontificate about a lot of things.  Here are a few of them…

Will Marion County Democrats simply be the party of no or party of no ideas?  I have yet to see them as a group offer up an alternative to the proposed transfer of the city’s water and waste water facilities to Citizens Gas.    In fact the word on the street is that a majority of them plan to vote no on the deal.  Now whether that’s out of principle or Ed Treacy’s marching orders remains to be seen.  However, I do wonder that if they vote no on the deal, and it goes through, will they refuse to accept any projects in their council districts?

Meanwhile, the grown up Democrats at state party are downplaying a rift between Stonewall Democrats and U.S. Senate nominee Brad Ellsworth.  Gay Democrats abstained from voting for Ellsworth over the weekend in what otherwise was unanimous support from the central party.  They disagreed with Ellsworth’s positions on gays in the military as well as gay marriage.   In addition, Evan Bayh reportedly told a joke regarding AIDS which did not go over well with some members of the audience.   Now while I don’t think there will be a rainbow revolt at the State Democratic Party, in what could e a close race, no one can afford to alienate any contingent of their base.

Indiana Republicans shouldn’t get too excited over Democratic internal issues.  State Senator Mike Delph says he may introduce legislation similar to Arizona’s that would allow local authorities to arrest illegal aliens simply because of their status.  Delph argues the Arizona law is constitutional.  I respectfully disagree and he will be on the morning show Wednesday at 8:10 a.m. to talk about the proposal.

Speaking of the U.S. Senate, if the election were held today and the only people who voted took the Indiana Week in Review on-line viewer feedback poll, Libertarian Rebecca Sink-Burris would be the next United States Senator from Indiana.   Sink-Burrs got 64% of the support from the poll responders, while Ellsworth and Dan Coats received 18% each.

It’s nice to be back.

That’s the million, or more appropriately, $15 million question that I’m asking regarding the City of Indianapolis and the Indiana Pacers.  I blogged last week that there was a potential short-term deal on the table.  My sources weren’t 100% on the mark, but they were pretty darn close.

Here’s what I know, the Capital Improvement Board did make an offer to the Indiana Pacers.  The CIB would take over Conseco in exchange for the Pacers giving up all non-Pacer revenue and paying rent.   The deal would have lasted for three years until both sides had a better understanding of the team’s finances once a new union contract had been worked out.   It’s at that point where no one will tell me exactly what happened.  The Pacers either got up and walked out of the negotiations or they told the CIB to get bent.  Either way,  as one source put it “the talks have gone south”.

Interestingly enough, the problem isn’t personalities being difficult,  it’s simple dollars and cents.  The Pacers, who claim they’re losing $30 million annually on the team, say they can’t survive without the non-Pacer revenue nor can they afford to pay rent.  Word also on the street is that the team has exhausted its line of credit so that well is pretty much dry.   The city’s position is it can’t give away the whole store because the Mayor wants a deal that is responsible and accountable to the taxpayers.  So right now, the two sides are at a standoff.

There are also two other factors that complicate matters for both sides, because  Conseco Fieldhouse is financed with tax-exempt bonds, there are limits on how much the city can charge.  In addition, I’m told the NBA has final say on whether a team can relocate, so even if the Pacers wanted to move, the NBA can say no.  By the way, I’m following up on rumors that Kansas City may be a possible relocation site for the team if things really really really go south.

So where do we go from here?  Neither side is quite sure.  I do know one thing, if I were the Indiana Pacers I’d be on a Marion County goodwill tour right now trying to convince the taxpayers that they are a worthwhile investment.  Because right now, most people who have to work for a living and pay taxes, could careless about the team right now.

I’ve put down my martini, Cohiba and GQ magazine for a few minutes to comment on a few issues that have popped up this week

Pacers Deal in the Works?

My reliable sources are telling me the Indiana Pacers and the Capital Improvement Board could be close to reaching a short-term deal.   The way I understand it the agreement would be for about three years, which is until the time the Pacers and NBA would renegotiate their contract with the player’s union.  The city would loan the Pacers $45 million to cover the operational costs of Conseco, however in exchange the Pacers would give up revenue from non-Pacer events to the tune of $7-9 million per year.  The point of this would be to buy some time to get a better understanding of the Pacers financial situation once the union talks are over.  I’ve got calls out all over the place.  When I get something, you will too.

Monumental Task

While spending my days on Monument Circle, I’ve gotten interesting feedback over the possibility of closing the Circle to vehicular traffic.  Opinions are mixed.  If you are a member of the Columbia Club, you’re likely to oppose it.  If you’re a little further from the Circle, you’re likely indifferent.  While I’m willing to give it a test run in August, I’m leaning against making the Circle a full-time pedestrian only plaza.  It would be one thing if Monument Circle was primarily retail and restaurants, but it’s fundamentally a church, and insurance company, radio station, utility company and a bank.  Perhaps the city should look at closing the Circle once a month for local festivals, but full-time, not so much.

Library Lament

As the city and Library Board look for ways to keep several branches from closing due to a lack of funds, here’s a thought.   Maybe the library needs to redefine its mission and we need to decide what exactly should a library do and for all the people who thought building that giant white elephant was a good idea, how’s that working out for you?

More Brizzi Stuff

My colleagues at RTV 6 are reporting the FBI wants to have a closer look at plea deal worked out between Marion County Prosecutor  Carl Brizzi’s office and Paul Page, a defense attorney and Brizzi business partner.   I’m not  convinced Brizzi has done anything illegal,  but as I’ve said before, it’s not what it is, it’s what it looks like.

Democrat Demands

Marion County Democrats are holding a news conference this afternoon at 1:30 to demand “transparency” from the Ballard administration  regarding “critical city issues.”  I’m assuming they are doing this because some of them have a hard time attending one of the bajillion budget review meetings or public hearings on the water deal or Mayor’s Night Out where these “critical city issues” are discussed regularly.  Oh well, when you have no ideas and no alternatives, the least and the most you can do, is demand for more transparency.

That will do it for now.  The wife and I are heading out of town for a couple days, so I’ll likely have something new to chat about on Monday.  However, if something breaks, I have her permission to blog about it.

I was planning to wait until tomorrow to scribble a few thoughts on some city matters, but Wednesday is all day spa day, so I figured I’d better do it now.  My two thoughts are on the proposed transfer of the water company and waste water facilities to Citizens Gas and negotiations between the Pacers and the Capitol Improvement Board.

Mayor Greg Ballard is making a big pitch tonight for the deal and a city-county Council committee may vote on it as well.  The plan does have its critics, but they are about as organized as the anti-Wishard folks and the people who fought against local school board referendums.  More significantly though for the critics, is one question they have to answer; if you don’t like the deal, fine.  What’s your alternative?    Right now rates are going up and you’re getting nothing for it.  Under this scenario your rates don’t go up as much and you get roads, streets and sidewalks fixed.  So once again, if you don’t like the proposal, what are you bringing to the table in it place?

Now on to the Indiana Pacers and the Capital Improvement Board negotiations.  As the negotiations continue, a new report is out saying that if the Pacers left Conseco area governments would lose $17 million in tax revenue and $55 million would be drained out of the local economy.   Now I’m not one to dispute the study per se,  but I also think that assumption is made on the Pacers actually having a winning record.  Since I’ve taken some time off, I’ve been chatting with a number of vendors in the downtown area near Conseco.  They’ve told me that the best thing the Pacers could do to help the economy is start winning.   Right now they see a little more activity on game night, but it is not like it used to be when the Pacers were winning.   Maybe someone should have taken that into the equation as well.

Later this week I’ll pontificate on Monument Circle and closing libraries.  Back to staycation, I’ve got a massage and wax appointment later this morning.

I’m taking a little vacation this week, actually it’s more like a staycation.  I’m staying away from work and relaxing.   I’m not sure how much relaxing I’ll get done as my lovely wife is already crafting a list of things she’d like me to hire someone to do around the house.  I’ll try to fit them in between working out, playing video games and having cigars and cocktails at the Columbia Club.

I won’t be doing a lot of blogging, but I may write a couple pieces this week on some local issues, so check back infrequently.  If you are still up for listening to the radio show my fill-in guests are as follows…

• Monday –  Dr. Matt Will, University of Indianapolis
• Tuesday – Jeff White, the GEO Foundation
• Wednesday – Jon Elrod, former State Representative
• Thursday – Pete Dunn, Financial Planner
• Friday – Brad Klopfenstein, Lobbyist, Consultant

I’ll be back on the air a week from Monday.  You guys have fun.

Critics of Governor Mitch Daniels and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett are having a field day with recent news that a number of teachers across Indiana are being laid off including one who got a teacher of the the year award.

What my friends tend to forget is that teacher layoffs are usually determined by what’s in the teacher’s contract that was negotiated by the teacher’s union and the school district. And which side do you think negotiated the clause that if layoffs are to occur, that they are done by seniority?

As much as I criticize schools, I honestly don’t think there is an administrator in his or her right mind who want to fire a good teacher who can can perform and gets good results over one who should have been sent to the teacher’s retirement home a long time ago.

If I had my way, I’d introduce legislation that would mandate any contract negotiated by any school district that receives state funding cannot include a provision that allows for layoffs by seniority alone.   Why should the worst teachers be allowed to stay, while the good ones be forced look for another job?

That may sound like heresy in education circles but if anyone wants to blame someone for teachers losing their jobs, blame the people who negotiated that provision in the teachers’ contracts.

And we wonder why Indiana schools keep falling behind.

After pontificating yesterday on Indiana’s Congressional primaries, it’s time to focus on the local races.

• I thought voter turnout was interesting, not the 15% turnout which was slightly more than 2006, but the fact more Marion County Republicans came out than Democrats, 57-40.  Obviously there more contested races and more action on the Republican side, however that does underscore the theme that Democrats will have to really motivate their base to come out in November to counteract that wave that tends to favor Republicans right now.
• Marion County Democrats made it a point to “push the slate” at a pre-election rally Monday night and they did with their slated candidates for Prosecutor and Sheriff.  What was interesting in the Sheriff’s race was the percentage of Democrats who voted for Mark Brown.   Nearly 40% of Democrats voted for Brown as opposed to slated candidate John Layton.  I can tell anecdotally that Brown enjoyed a large contingent of African-American support despite efforts by Black Democrats to convince them to back the slate.
• On the Republican side, I was surprised at the margin of victory Dennis Fishburn had over Bart McAtee; 55-45.  McAtee had a very aggressive air and Internet campaign, however Fishburn had the County organization and ground game behind him.   I also think the mailer sent out by the GOP depicting the number of McAtee family members on the Sheriff department’s payroll really did have an impact on undecided voters.
• I also do think there was a certain amount of political irony with Samantha Adair-White getting elected to the Indianapolis Public School board since there was so much bad blood between her husband Jeff White and Superintendent Eugene White.  Those should make for interesting board meetings.
• Speaking of schools, all Marion County schools that had referendum on the ballot saw them pass overwhelmingly.  That tells me two things.  First, the proponents were organized and the opposition wasn’t, see a pattern (Wishard), and the districts have a good relationship with their constituents since the measures are more of an indication of what voters think of their schools than anything else.
• I’m still trying to get a number on how many precinct committeemen brought to the table by soon to be Mayoral candidate Brian Williams actually got elected.  I know a number of them were defeated but a lot more ran uncontested.  Once I get some figures, I’ll let you know.