Let me ask you a question.

In this economic climate where average people are losing their homes and jobs at a rate not seen since the Great Depression, are you willing to fork over $15 million a year to operate Conseco Fieldhouse because the billionaire Simon family says it’s too expensive for them to operate?

(Insert expletive here) NO!!!  That’s exactly what I thought too.

However, the Pacers are standing pretty firm in their demand that the city take over the operational costs of Conseco.  In a presentation at this afternoon’s Capital Improvement Board Meeting, Vice-Chairman Patrick Early said while the Pacers have not threatened to leave, they have told the city that all options are on the table if they are forced to keep paying for the facility.

Early says the Pacers have only turned a profit two out of the past 20+ years and by picking up the $15 million operational costs, the team would have a chance to break even.  He also said they contribute $8 million in sales tax revenue for the downtown area.

Early made his comments as the CIB outlined $1.5 million in additional cuts in order to close a $36 million shortfall.   Cuts were made in grants to the arts, tourism, Indiana Black Expo and other operating expenses.  Currently the board has found nearly $8 million, but still has $26 million more to go as well as find a way to pay for $57 million in loans to pay for Conseco, Lucas Oil and other properties.

The Board also looked at what one percent increases in admissions, food and beverage and hotel taxes would bring annually.  The total would be about $24 million, but also make Indianapolis first in the nation in admission taxes and second in food and beverage taxes.

Just about everyone is waiting to see what kind of solution Indiana lawmakers come up with.  But I can tell you this, I pity the politician or billionaire who asks the general taxpayer to pick up the costs of Conseco.  I have a pretty good idea what the reaction will be and involves torches, pitchforks and a lot of (figuratively speaking) bloodshed.

I’m doing some research on the city’s homicides.  Right now Indianapolis is at 12, which is about one murder every six days.  How does this compare to previous years at this time.  Check this out…

• 2009 – 12 homicides; one murder every 6.5 days.
• 2008 – 20 homicides; one murder every 3.9 days.
• 2007 – 23 homicides; one murder every 3.3 days.
• 2006 – 23 homicides; one murder every 3.3 days.

Either the economy is that bad and people don’t have time to commit murder because they’re looking for work or something else is going on.  Once I get it figured out, I’ll let you know.

Here is some audio I captured over the past few days.

Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy.

Congressman Andre Carson on the economic stimulus package.

Franklin Township Board member Joe McCullough on fire consolidation.

Feel free to give them a listen.

Snoopy doesn’t stand a chance!

“You are entitled to all the lousy, crummy, graft-ridden government you want and are willing to pay for.”

• Governor Mitch Daniels last week on government reform to 450 Lake County Residents at a town hall meeting.

Although they were scheduled at about the same time, I managed to attend both the Democratic and Republican County re-organization meetings where both Ed Treacy and Tom John were re-elected as chairman of their respective parties.  As the only media to show up at both events, here are some of my observations of the day.

• Both re-orgs were about evenly attended,  Democrats had 201 voting precinct committeemen show while Republicans had 204.  Long-time observers on the GOP side said they had never seen so many pc’s show up in the off year election and there was no contest.
• Although I knew Democrats kept their infighting behind closed doors, I was surprised there was not even a milligram of public opposition to Tom John.  No one from the Republican Liberty Caucus nor  the Campaign for Liberty (the Ron Paulers) staged as much of a token protest across the street.  Even John critic, Gary Welsh, who is a pc, did not vote against him nor abstain from voting.
• The big issue on the Democratic side was unity.  Although they have the numbers, Marion County Democrats are facing some serious divisions.  The divisions are so bad that the most popular Democrat in the County, 7th District Congressman Andre Carson spent about half of his speech preaching  party unity and told Democrats they did not have much time to get their act together and start getting behind candidates.
• The big challenge for the GOP will be to reach out to new voters, embrace new technology and recruit good candidates.  Their advantage is in unity and organization, even though they fall short on numbers.
• Speaking of numbers, Democrats and Republicans leadership have agreed on purging about  110,000 inactive  voters from the rolls, saving the taxpayers about $75,000 in printing costs.
• Just about every candidate who is a potential Mayoral candidate was at the Democratic re-org, Melina Kennedy, Frank Anderson, Joe Hogsett, Kip Tew and Woody Meyers.  In addition, both candidates for Sheriff, Tim Motsinger and Bart McAtee, were present at the GOP event.  Democrats do not have a sheriff candidate as Kerry Forestall is waiting on a federal appointment.
• I thought the atmosphere was positive at both events, the GOP’s felt more like a political event where the Democrats’ felt more like a Saturday morning breakfast because it was set up in a less formal manner.

Overall, I think 2010 is going to be an interesting year.   The numbers favor the Democrats, but unity and cohesion are on the side of the GOP for now.  In addition, we won’t have property tax revolutions, Barack Obama or a referendum on George W. Bush’s sixth year in office to point to, so for the first time, in a long time, it just might be a good old fashion contest without a lot of external factors.

Make it good guys.  I’ll be watching and writing.

I attended today’s Marion county reorganizations for the Democrats and Republicans today.  I’ll have some analysis tomorrow, but guess who was at the GOP re-organization, running for Sheriff and brought his IMPD vehicle with him?   Not sure?  Here are some photos I took to help you out.

Nice way to start your run for Sheriff ;  I thought there was a rule against taking IMPD cars to political events.

Since Democrats and Republicans are doing their county re-organizations today and nothing major is expected to happen at either event, I thought I’d do a little handicapping of the 2011 Mayoral Race, since everyone and his mother is planning to run on the D side.

I’m mainly sticking with the candidates whose names have appeared either on this blog or get discussed in coffee shops, fundraisers and bars.  If I’m missing someone, feel free to add them.

Melina Kennedy

• Strengths – Has experience in the Mayor’s office and will work hard.  Also reportedly has close ties to Andre Carson and Lacy Johnson.
• Weaknesses – Ran in 2006 for County Prosecutor and was the only countywide Democratic candidate to lose.  Also has close ties to Bart Peterson who also lost.  Could be the Walter Mondale of the 2011 race.

Frank Anderson

• Strengths – Incumbent sheriff, with two countywide victories under his belt.  Could be first Black Mayor of Indianapolis.
• Weaknesses – His management of the jail and sheriff’s department.  A multitude of potential skeletons as well as potential physical and mental health issues because of his age.

Woody Meyers

• Strengths – Has a ton of money to play with.  Very smart and articulate.  Also has potential to be the city’s first Black Mayor.
• Weaknesses – Ran against Andre Carson in 2008 and lost.  Establishment still holds a grudge.

Brian Williams

• Strengths – Venture capitalist and businessman.  Could raise a lot of money and bring new blood to the table.
• Weaknesses – Little name ID.  Never held public office.

Joe Hogsett

• Strengths – Held statewide office.  Strong ties to Evan Bayh and high name ID in Democratic circles. Former head of the state Democratic party.
• Weaknesses – Defended businesses against discrimination and civil rights complaints, which could be a problem for Black voters, a key constituency in Democratic politics.  Also ran for Attorney General in 2004 and lost to Steve Carter.

Kip Tew

• Strengths – Strong ties to President Barack Obama and was key in putting Indiana in the “blue” column.  Could draw upon that organizational and fundraising advantage.
• Weaknesses – Never held elected office.  Obama may not be popular in two years which would limit Tew’s ability to win a general election.

These are just my early thoughts because 2011 is a long way off and anything could happen. Feel free to share your opinions.

Need a laugh?   Click here.

Although some members of the Franklin Township Board in Marion County may have opposed fire consolidation in the past, some are giving it a second look.

Faced with the loss of at least $1 million in annual revenue due to property tax caps, the township trustee, Terry Royalty, is forming a committee to look at all the township’s options, including fire consolidation, to deal with its financial crisis.  The Board is also doing a study of how revenue would be lost on a parcel by parcel basis due to the tax caps.

Here is the actual statement from Township Trustee Terry Royalty…

I know there’s been a lot of questions recently about the townships plan to move forward in light of the property caps that will take full effect in 2010 and will take a healthy bite of the townships future revenue stream.

I want the board and the public to know we are already preparing for these challenges and we will do our very best to protect property, lives and the taxpayers in Franklin Township. In light of this I’m announcing three steps which I am implementing immediately.

I’m placing an immediate hiring freeze on all positions in the township and I’ve instructed Eric Reedy of Reedy Financial to conduct a parcel by parcel analysis of Franklin Township property taxes and collections to produce the most accurate figures possible and the affects of the tax caps in Franklin Township and I’m establishing an informal work group to look at the projections of 2010, 2011 and to make recommendations regarding all options the township has to meet these financial challenges in 2010 and 2011.

Appointed to this group is: Jason Hansman, Andy Hughes, Paige Green, Chief Weasner and Debbie Civals will co-chair the group. Brian Bosma and Eric Reedy will serve as advisors to the working group and if anyone has any recommendations for review please contact me so we can take care of it. And that’s my answer to all the questions before we get into the rest of the meeting.

Township board members say they would also be open to listening to any presentation by the city of Indianapolis on the issue of merger as well.  No decision would be made before June.  However, township board members are concerned that with less than 10 months to go before the property tax caps fully kick in that a lot of time has been wasted and plan to deal with the caps should have been put in place a long time ago.

Well, duh!

Take a look at this folks, between tax caps, abandoned and foreclosed housing driving down assessed values, a lot of local governments are going to be forced to look for efficiencies and merging services.