Indianapolis Public Safety officials are unveiling a new strategy this morning in an effort to starve off a potential record homicide year (40-42 depending on how you do the math) and the perception of rising crime.

The plan includes giving IMPD’s district commanders more authority to direct patrols and respond to challenges.  Police will also relocate district offices into more accessible locations.

The Ballard administration says it doesn’t just want to declare a “war on crime” but re-engage in community policing.  Other parts of the plan include…

• A more effective use of timely and accurate intelligence by upgrading IMPD’s technology infrastructure.  In addition IMPD plans to expand  its county-wide wireless network so that so officers may have information regarding crime stats in real time.
• Implement  best crime fighting practices used in other cities.
• Reorganize the Investigation Division to better crackdown drugs, illegal use of guns, and make sure every IMPD officer has criminal interdiction training.
• Use Neighborhood Resource Officers to crackdown on disorderly behavior such as street-level drug dealing, underage drinking and prostitution.
• Also work more closely with other city agencies such as Animal Care and Control, Public Works and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods to address environments that are condusive to crime.
• Better coordinate efforts with state and federal law enforcement partners, community faith based organizations, and prisoner reentry efforts.

The objectives are of course very broad in nature.  And the devil as always in the details.  However, as I’ve written before the city is at a crossroads when it comes to its homicide rate and the powers that be need to get things under control real quick.

Public Safety Director Frank Straub likes to say “now is our time.”  I strongly agree, and I’ll add there’s not a lot of it either.

Note:  Dr. Frank Straub will be a guest on my morning radio show tomorrow at 8:40 to go into more details on the city’s plan.

There was a lot going on politically Monday.  The candidates for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate debated at Franklin College.  If Franklin gets the debate up on its website, I’ll provide a link.  Not much changed since the first debate I moderated on April 8.  I expected more of an attack on Dan Coats, there were some minor digs, but not much.  I did speak to the candidates shortly afterward, except Coats because he had already left before I could get to him.  I asked them about the race in its final days and what makes them different.

Their replies are below.

US Senate Primary

I also did a quick interview with a local couple, the Kelvanos, to get their reaction to the debate.

Tom & Linda Kelvano

There is one more debate tonight being sponsored by the Indiana debate Commission.  Hopefully, something exciting will happen.

Race for the 5th

5th District Congressional candidate Luke Messer took a shot at incumbent Dan Burton for using out-of-state talent in his latest ad.  While not the political death blow, I think Burton’s response to the ad did more damage than Messer’s attack to paint himself as out of touch.  According to the Indy Star, Burton’s response to the actors not being Hoosiers was, in part, as follows…

“They may be. I don’t know. You ask me questions about that, I don’t know. I really don’t know. The only thing I did was say, ‘I’m Dan Burton and I approve this message.’ The message I think is probably pretty accurate, but you’d have to ask them who did the commercial.”

Yikes.

Polling For  Workers

Apparently I raised a bit of a stir Monday when I called Marion County Democrats to see how they were looking on inspectors.  According to the Clerk’s Office the County is about 100 short of the nearly 600 they need.  Party Executive Director Adam Kirsh told me they are where they expected to be and they will help the Clerk find volunteers because they abdicated that responsibility to her a few years back.  However, I think someone on East Market needs to re-read the law.  The job of getting inspectors falls on the Party that won the Secretary of State’s race and that would be the Ds, unless someone at Market Street doesn’t want polling place to open like in 2007?  Luckily Beth White is more proactive than that.

Slippery When Wet

Several City-County Councilors got feedback from the public at a hearing on the proposed transfer of the city’s water and waste water facilities to Citizen’s Gas.  You can listen to their feedback below.

Water Company Hearing

My personal assessment is that the public overall is supportive of the measure, but cautious as well.  I also haven’t seen any organized opposition, so this could be a repeat of the Wishard referendum.  The Mayor is expected to announce a plan to repair streets and infrastructure with the proceeds from the transfer in a few weeks.

Final Note

Speaking of Mayor, word is recent polls have Greg Ballard with a countywide approval rating that rivals that of what Mitch Daniels has statewide.

That’s all folks.

The Ballard administration says the city’s finances are improving, even though Indianapolis faces declining revenues due to tax caps and declining revenues to local governments.

City Controller Dave Reynolds says the Indianapolis can expect $25-30 million in less revenue for the 2011 budget.  The good news however is that the interest on the city’s debt service has dropped from $166 million annually to $147 million.

The total outstanding debt for all Marion County government is $6 billion, with $2.3 billion of that debt tied to property taxes and 80% of that debt goes directly to schools.

Reynolds says the City plans to use efficiencies  to address the revenue shortfall.  It expects and 8% loss in revenue due to tax caps and $20 million in declining income and sales tax disbursements from state.

He also says the city’s finances will impact upcoming negotiations with the city’s unions and he is asking all agencies to constrain their spending as much as possible.

The city budget hearings will begin later this summer.

Apparently a question in the comment section of my blog has raised quite a stir.    I asked Paul Ogden if he had ever been in court to defend himself against stalking allegations?  That led Ogden to go on a rant and accuse me of trying to attack him personally and said I had no facts to base my statement.

First, I never accused him of stalking anyone, I just asked a question.   Second, my question was based on a deposition he gave involving a lawsuit he filed against the state Department of  Insurance over what he claimed was wrongful termination.  The Court dismissed his lawsuit.  I’ve pasted that relevant part of the deposition below since it is public record.

4
1   P A U L  K.  O G D E N, having been first duly sworn to
2     tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
3     truth related to said matter, was examined and
4     testified as follows:
5     DIRECT EXAMINATION,
6       QUESTIONS BY ERIC J. BEAVER:
7   Q Please state your name for the record.
8   A My name is Paul K. Ogden, O-g-d-e-n.
9   Q Have you ever been deposed before?
10   A I’m not positive.  I think maybe I have.  I was
11     involved in a protective order case and a defamation
12     case in the early 90s, actually it was 1990.  There
13     might have been a deposition done then.
14   Q What was the nature of the protective order case?
15   A Protective order was like the early days of the
16     protective orders where you could just go in and get
17     an order by going into the small claims court, and
18     they would have the allegations outlined, and they
19     would just sign off on it.
20         A woman I knew from law school had filled one out
21     because I had sent her flowers for her birthday.  So
22     again, that was the early days of the protective
23     orders, and they’ve changed things since then.  And
24     the defamation case was against her, too.
25   Q Okay.  Was the protective ordered actually entered?

5
1   A It was entered then dismissed.
2   Q Okay.
3   A The whole thing was dismissed.
4   Q Okay.
5   A Went up to Marion Superior Court so —
6   Q So it was — how long do you estimate it was actually
7     in effect?
8   A Well, the temporary one would have been in effect
9     until the hearing in Superior Court.  It might have
10     been like six months.  I can’t remember how long it
11     took.
12   Q So was there a preliminary order and then a permanent
13     order?
14   A Right.  And then we took it up, and it got dismissed.
15   Q Okay.  And what was the name of the lady?
16   A Gloria K. Grinnan, G-r-i-n-n-a-n.  I think she’s
17     married now to someone named Mitchell.
18   Q Okay.
19   A And the defamation case was against her as well.
20   Q And what was the result of the defamation case?
21   A I just agreed to dismiss it in conjunction with her
22     dismissing the protective order thing.
23   Q Okay.  In what court do you recall filing the
24     defamation action?
25   A Marion Superior Court.  I don’t know which one.  I

6
1     think it was in John Price’s court back then.  He —
2     but I don’t know what number.
3   Q Okay.
4   A He’s no longer a judge.

You can draw your own conclusions about whether this matters.  Me, I thought it seemed odd that a woman you only sent flowers to would go to court ask for an order of protection that lasted for about six months, so I asked a question.  Ogden could have just given me a straight answer, but instead decided to rant.  Oh well, such is life.

The following is a list of all the little things I’ve been meaning to blog about this week, but didn’t get a chance to do so.   I’ll be doing some follow-up on these items next week. but for now they all fall into the category of good gossip, more and innuendo.

I’m looking through the city’s contract with the Pacers and it looks like my original assumption that the Indiana Pacers would have to pay a penalty if they left may not be totally accurate.  It appears there a couple instances that the city could be on the hook if the Pacers leave.  I want to make sure I have all the details straight so stay tuned.  I’ve also got some ideas I’m drafting on how the city and the Pacers can reach a deal without reaching into the taxpayers’ pockets.  Stay tuned for that too.

Several candidates for federal office are disclosing what they’ve got in the bank, and what some of their opponents have as well.  U.S. Senate candidate Brad Ellsworth says he’s raised more than $600,000 in his first 38 days as a candidate and will have more than $1 million in cash on hand.  4th District Congressional Candidate Brandt Hershman says he’s got $174,000 in cash on hand while opponent Todd Rokita has only $157,000.  Rokita however has been on the air longer than Hershman.  John McGoff’s 5th District Congressional campaign tells me they’ve raised more than $50,000 in the last period and plan to hit the airwaves soon.

Speaking of 5th District, I’m also getting some questions about whether the individuals who appear in Dan Burton’s latest ad are real Hoosiers or paid actors?  Once I find the ad on the Internet I’ll link it here and you can make up your own mind.

Marion County Assessor and Democratic candidate for Prosecutor Greg Bowes had a mixed week.  He got the public endorsement of the Concerned Clergy, a local group of African-American pastors.  At the same time members of his own party are attacking for taking a $2,000 political contribution from Eckart & Martin Enterprises.  Eckart lists its address at 3535 W. 16th Street, which is also the address of Club Venus, a strip club.   I figure the D’s are kicking themselves for letting Mark Massa beat them to the punch over calling on embattled incumbent Carl Brizzi’s resignation so they had to start eating their own as opposed to not eat at all.

The Indianapolis Board of Public Works unanimously approved moving forward with the transfer of the city’s water and waste water operations to Citizen’s Gas for about $2 billion.  The Indianapolis Board of  Waterworks has hired an attorney to review the deal.  And it still must have Council approval and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission must also sign off on the plan as well.

There’s nothing like a little recognition from your peers.  I received word this afternoon that Indiana Barrister has won the best Journalism Web Site award in Indiana from the Society of Professional Journalists.    I’m not all sure who entered but last year the award went to the Indianapolis Star and WTHR-TV came in second.

The award ceremony is next Friday in downtown Indianapolis.  Looks like I’ll have to clear my calender.    Special thanks goes to Kevin Hood who keeps this thing up and running.  And thanks to all of you for reading.

You will note how I did not take this opportunity to take a cheap shot at my critics.  I figured this news alone should be more than enough to do the job.

Who’s up for martinis and cigars?

We all know today is April 15, which means it’s tax day.  Of course this is also the day we gripe, moan and complain about how much the government spends and takes from us.  And while I give people a few minutes to complain, I ask them to think for a second and ask themselves that if they don’t like the taxes and spending then name something you’re willing to give up.

What we consider the “federal budget” is really only a small portion.  Eliminating the Departments of Housing, Education, Agriculture are really only a fraction of what Washington spends.   The real money is spent on defense, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Homeland Security and interest on the debt.  So I ask again, what are you willing to give up and go without?

Are you willing to pay more out of pocket for your kid’s education because financial aid is gone?  Are you willing to have your older parent move back in with you because Medicare is gone and they can’t afford to live in a nursing home?  Are you willing to have American troops go without because of cuts to defense?  I ask these questions because we as a nation are going to have to make some tough choices about how much we spend and what we spend it on.

I also think we need to have a long discussion on how we collect money.  The current system is a disaster.  My personal preference would be a consumption tax on all goods and services and eliminate the income tax.  That way the tax is paid when you make the purchase and we don’t have to worry about witholdings, deductions and loopholes.   And by taxing all transactions, you have a lower tax rate than if you just do certain goods or services.

Nobody likes taxes, but stuff needs to be paid for.  How much we pay and what we pay for are the grown up questions that need to be addressed.  As my lovely mother would say, “everyone wants to go heaven, but nobody wants to die.”

The Indiana Pacers are sending their strongest signal yet that if the city of Indianapolis doesn’t come up with $15 million a year to take over the operational costs of Conseco Fieldhouse, they’ll leave and go to another city.

In an interview with the Indianapolis Star, Pacers President Jim Morris said the team would look at “all of its options” if it can’t reach a  deal with the city within the next 30-40 days.

No offense to Pacers and their fans, but I don’t think you’re living in the same world as the rest of us.   The City of Indianapolis is dealing with economic challenges that are the result of a slow economy and property tax caps.  Throw in some infrastructure needs, public safety, parks and libraries and the fact the Pacers suck as a team and you might see how shelling out $15 million a year to a bad basketball team might not be a priority for the rest of us.

Now if you want to leave, I can respect that because you’ve  got a business to run.  Just leave that check for at least $50 million on the table before you go.  Under the terms of the agreement the Pacers would pay a penalty if they terminate their lease early which, depending on how you do the math, involves the Pacers leaving a nice bit of pocket change on the table.  At the very least that gets the city through the next three years with no main tenant.

Now if you decide to stay, let’s work something out.  If you want the city to pick up the $15 million operating tab of Conseco, then I’m sure you won’t mind giving up that $7-$9 million in non-Pacer revenue from events at the Fieldhouse.   In addition, since you’re no longer operating the facility, you can start paying rent;  say $1 million annually.  Now that means the city would still have to shell out some cash, but you can make up for that by turning over the operation of Conseco to a private management company.

It may not be the best deal in the world, but the Pacers need to understand they are not the be all end all of the city.  Now if the Pacers were the Bulldogs, that would be a different story.   But they’re not, just look at the way they played this season.

The Coats campaign just put out a news release saying they are going up on the air tomorrow and plan to be there through the primary. You can see the ad below.

I’ve been taking a look at the city’s homicide rates lately.  So far, Indianapolis is at 35 murders.  The official number is 36, however I don’t count police action shootings.   Out of the 35 murders, 30 were male, 14 were identified as African-American,  15 were under 30 and in almost all cases the murder weapon was a firearm.

To put this in perspective, at this same point in 2009 the city had 25 murders.  In 2008,  30 murders.  2007, 35 murders.   And in 2006, 30 murders.    The city can end up going in two directions with its homicide rate.  It can drop to a near record low of 102 in 2009 or it can go through the roof like it did in 2006 to 150.

The challenge for local officials and neighborhood leaders will be to implement a comprehensive, community strategy to address the homicide issue.  While you can’t stop every murder, you can do a better job of making sure repeat, violent offenders are off the street.  You can also make sure areas of the city are less attractive to criminals by tackling abandoned housing, cleaning up neighborhoods, improving the quality of education by giving parents more choices and options.  And you can also turn libraries scheduled for possible closing into neighborhood resource centers.

I think it can be done.  However, it’s going to need to be done soon because things can spiral out of control real quick and blood can flow pretty fast.