1:30 P.M. update – The CIB bill passed out of committee 10-2, with a lot of lawmakers acknowledging that there will be changes before it is all said and done.

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Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian testified today before the Senate Appropriations Committee over the the plan to address the $47 million operating deficit.

My colleague Norm Coxhas a pretty good synopsis of that out of touch testimony.  I and few other media people spoke to Polian after his testimony and I can honestly say I have never spoken to a person whose head was so far up his rear end that he had no clue as to what was taking place with regards to the mood of the public who want to see the Colts make a meaningful contribution to help solve this problem.

I’ve inserted the interview here so you can hear it for yourself and make your own judgment call.

Bill Polian Interview

I have some attorney obligations to address for the next few days, but I plan to dissect the Colts $100 million “contribution” to Lucas Oil, which is at best a half-truth, so stay tuned.

After all this time of the Pacers getting a bad rap, I think it’s the team on the other end of downtown that really needs a kick in the rear.

Okay, here are the details on the state CIB funding proposals to close the $47 million budget hole which includes $20 million in operation costs for Lucas Oil, $15 million for Conseco, $5 million for the Convention Center and $3 million for marketing the Convention Center as they sit right now.

• CIB budget cuts – $10 million.
• Potential Colts contribution – $5 million.
• Potential Pacers contribution – $5 million.
• Revenue from Alcohol tax increase – $40 million.  $8 million goes to Marion County, the rest to other Indiana cities and towns,
• Expansion of the Downtown Sports District to include the Marriott hotel – $6 million.
• Increase in the ticket tax from 6% to 10%- $6 million
• Increase in the Marion County food and beverage tax by 0.25% – $5 million.
• Increase in the Innkeepers tax from 8% to 9% – $ 4 million.

A full hearing is expected in the morning.  My personal preference would be to avoid raising local taxes and expand the Downtown Sports District to capture the $15 million.  That would be much better than making the hotel and food and beverage taxes amongst the highest in the nation.

I’m pretty cool with the rest of it, however there is no guarantee the Colts and Pacers will kick in their fair share.  In addition, Senator Luke Kenley equates the increase in the alcohol tax to a penny on beer and wine and two cents per shot.  I can live with that, especially since the alcohol tax has been the same since 1981.

What’s important to remember is that this is all a starting point and a lot can happen in 30 days.  If you don’t like any of this, offer a suggestion or shut up.  It’s just that simple. 

I’ve also included audio from the briefing on this blog so you can hear Mayor Greg Ballard and Senator Kenley in their own words.  The entire news conference is about 40 minutes.  Each section, except for the last,  is 7-10 minutes for easier digestion.  Part 5 is less than 3 minutes long.  The reporter questions are a little low, but you can hear the Mayor and Senator.

CIB Briefing part 1

CIB Briefing, part 2

CIB Briefing, part 3

CIB Briefing, part 4

CIB Briefing, part 5

6:00 p.m. UPDATE: I just left the briefing on the CIB, but the information from the briefing is embargoed until midnight.  However it is fair to say my sources are pretty darn good.  I’ll have the complete interview with Senator Luke Kenley and Mayor Greg Ballard on tomorrow morning’s show, as well as the rest of the details on the CIB.

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I’m hearing some more details out what Indiana lawmakers will propose tomorrow to deal with the Capital Improvement Board’s operational issues.  Here’s what it looks like now, but please note, this could change.

• Pacers contribution reduced to $5 million.
• Colts contribution increases by $5 million.
• A 100 percent increase in the excise tax on alcohol which would generate about $40 million statewide, $8 million of which would go to the CIB.
• An increase in the admissions tax, as well as food and beverage taxes in Marion County.
• $10 million in “efficiencies” from the CIB.
• An expansion of the downtown sports district to include the new Marriott hotel.

That’s what I’ve been told so far.  Remember this is a very fluid situation and could still change.

In 14 days, your taxes are due.  If you’re like me you got them done early, broke even and called it a day.

For some people, April 15 is a day of “Tea Parties”  both locally and nationally where citizens will come together and express their grievances with their government.  While I’m all for people exercising their Constitutional rights, I wonder if this will be something substantive or will it be just another rally?

I’ve covered government and politics for more than 15 years and I’ve seen this happen before.  People get mad, they rally and they go home.  The most successful movements were in it for the long haul. They didn’t just rally, they developed a media strategy, they phone banked, they canvassed neighborhoods.  They didn’t just call lawmakers and gripe, but they developed clear, articulate position and shared their ideas in a non-annoying fashion.  And even when they didn’t win the first round, they stayed in the game and eventually got most of what they wanted.

I’m somewhat skeptical of the latest movement.  I figured that if the voter outrage in the country were that serious, it would have showed up in the special election in New York’s 20th Congressional District.  So far, it hasn’t.

I’ll be down at the April 15th rally at the Statehouse doing what I do best, the question is what will the people who protest do on April 16th?

Expect a comprehensive statewide proposal to  be this Thursday regarding the Capital Improvement Board and its $35 million operational deficit.

Lawmakers are being tight lipped, but the proposal will be included in HB 1604 which created a similar like Capital Improvement Board in Ft. Wayne.  Senator Luke Kenley says the proposal will not only address Marion County but also deal with funding issues from across Indiana.

Kenley says he can get support from other lawmakers by showing any state investment can be supported by an appropriate return on investment and by getting help for different communities he thinks lawmakers will buy into the program.  It’s estimated that Downtown Indianapolis generates about $800 million in sales tax revenue for the state.

It’s still unclear how much the Colts and Pacers will contribute to shared costs of the facility.

Kenley would not say whether the plan includes expanding the downtown sports district to capture sales tax revenue from other parts of Marion County, but he did say the plan did not include expanding CIB membership to include representatives from other counties.

When asked about the upcoming plan, Governor Mitch Daniels said he is letting the process work and a plan is coming together.  He also says the entire region has a stake in downtown Indianapolis.

As stated in a previous post, no lawmaker would comment on what was in the plan, but from what I’ve been able to gather today, it could include the following.

• An increase in the hotel/motel tax, ticket tax and car rental tax.
• A penny increase in the tax on sale of every 12 oz. of alcohol.

The Senate Appropriations Committee meets on Thursday at 9 a.m.

We are making some changes to Indiana Barrister.  You guys have been so great about visiting that we’ve outgrown our current host.   Tomorrow we will be transferring to a new server so we can have more bandwidth.  This may cause some problems for you trying to read or post to the blog, but they should all be cleared up by the Thursday.   But by growing we can put up more interviews that you can download and make more informed decisions about issues of the day.   Thanks again for reading Indiana Barrister.

I spent a good chunk of the day trying to get a feel on what Indiana lawmakers will unveil on Thursday with respect to the Capital Improvement Board and its multi-million dollar operations deficit.  Here’s what I’ve been able to gather so far.

• There are a mix of options on the table, however user fees appear to be the funding mechanism of choice.
• All parties involved are expected to pitch in, the state, the city, the Colts and the Pacers.  The question is exactly how much and in what form.  Think of it as four people ordering dinner and they have to split the check four ways, but some just had the salad while others had the steak.
• Don’t be surprised that in order to get the rest of the Legislature to buy in, there’s some mechanism included so other cities and counties can pay for their economic development projects.
• I would not be surprised if that funding mechanism is an increase in the tax on alcohol that you purchase in grocery and liquor stores, but not at bars and taverns.
• I am being led to believe that the legislation will originate out of Senate Appropriations.  There will be public testimony and a vote taken that day.
• Expect bi-partisan support on this one.

That’s what I’ve been able to gather so far.  The situation is still fluid and the whole deal could still fall apart, which is why no one will comment on the record.

Stay tuned.  Thursday could be a fun day or a total train wreck.

Advance Indiana is demanding I disclose the details of some annoying e-mail I received regarding how I should cover future taxpayer revolts.

I took me about a micro-second to figure out how to deal with this.  Ignore it. I mean if I’m a such a fraud and charlatan, then why would Advance Indiana spend so much time obsessing over what I do?  Who spends a lot of time on someone who apparently doesn’t matter, right?

There must be something else going on.  It could be because I’m black.  After all Advance Indiana’s favorite targets tend to be black men: Barack Obama, Andre Carson and now the new guy who runs the airport, so it’s just the cost of doing business.

Oh well, time to head to the Statehouse and continue to be the legitimate, well-respected media guy that I am;  jealousy is such an ugly thing.

By the way, I hear the city has reached a settlement over the use of polygraphs in the police department which may clear the way for their use in weeding out corruption.   Just thought you should know.  There’s that darn legitimate media guy again.

There’s nothing like getting back into town after a weekend of comedy, cigars and good alcohol only to find threatening e-mail waiting for me.

I won’t go into details, but needless to say the person told me that I am in the middle of the “Taxpayers’ Revolt” regarding the “elites vs the common people” and if I know what’s good for me I’ll pick the right side or else there will be consequences.

I don’t know who the person was because they did not use their real name, however if you want the media to give you “fair and balanced” coverage, I don’t think making threats is the way to go.

In fact, you just may get the opposite of what you were asking for.  Wouldn’t that be fun?

We had some technical issues yesterday, but the blog is back up and running. Here’s the latest news.

Indiana’s unemployment rate creeped up to 9.4 percent, up from 9.3 percent.  The scary part of the figure is that 58 of 92 counties have unemployment rates of 10 percent or higher.

Expect a bill next week, probably Thursday, to deal with the CIB budget shortfalls.  No word yet on the actual funding mechanism.

I’m told Stephen Rink, the Decatur Township Trustee will go ask the State for a tax increase in order to pay for fire service as the township is growing broke.

I’m also hearing Dr. Eugene White took a swipe at former John Marshall principal Jeff White in an administrative meeting recently.  He reportedly said Jeff White was removed from his job because his mental capacity and was in an institution getting mental treatment.  The last time I checked Jeff White was home recovering from heart surgery.  That sounds like slander and defamation to me.

I’m off to Illinois to go be a comedian.  Back on Sunday.