Here are some interesting tidbits and information regarding matters affecting Indianapolis and Marion County.

• Capital Improvement Board officials say they won’t use property taxes, and other taxes and fee increases are the last items on their list, as they try to plug a near $50 million operation deficit.  At a meeting today, CIB officials outlined $5 million worth of cuts that included hiring freezes, scaling back on maintenance, advertising, security and legal fees. They say they are still talking with the Colts, Pacers, Indians and other vendors on how to make up the rest of the shortfall.  More details will be available next month.

• The City of Indianapolis and Perry Township are both moving forward with plans to merge their fire departments.  An ordinance was introduced at tonight’s City-County Council meeting approving the merger and a formal presentation will be made Tuesday night to the Perry Township Advisory Board.  Township Trustee Gary Coons says if the merger goes through, Perry Township residents would see a nearly 20% drop in the portion of their property tax bills that pays for fire service.

• And the opponents of charter schools who are trying to protect IPS from competition may want to think their position.  A school bus driver was suspended for three days, with pay, for dropping off students at Castleton Square Mall after a downtown field trip.  Three of the students ended up getting arrested for shoplifting.  The students were from Arlington.  There’s no word yet on how the students managed to convince the bus driver to take them to the mall or where the teacher was who was responsible for the students.  And charters are a bad idea.

Gotta run.

It’s nice to be back after a weekend of the old song and dance routing.  Here’s what I’ll be paying attention to this week.

1. What will the impact of the federal stimulus package be on Indiana now that the Senate has cut funding to state and local governments and to education; two areas Indiana lawmakers have been counting on help shore up the state coffers.
2. The members of the Capital Improvement Board will explore some funding options to shore its close to $115 million in short and long term shortfalls.  Let’s see if anyone makes it clear that any broad based countywide tax to cover these expenses will go over like Michael Jackson coming over to babysit.
3. How will former State Representative and Lt. Governor candidate Dennie Oxley’s weekend DWI arrest impact the Indiana Secretary of State’s race in 2010?  Oxley was rumored to be the Democratic front-runner.  Now the D’s have no one.
4. Indiana lawmakers will hear testimony this week on reforming township government.  I’ll be looking forward to some township board members explaining how some of them get free health care and life insurance and some rent township space out of their homes and charge it back to the taxpayers.

Abdul’s Comedy Act

*The above link may contain material considered unsuitable for people with no sense of humor or perspective.

I’m on the road in Illinois playing comedian this weekend.  The show went very well and I will try to upload some of the audio when I get back to Indianapolis.  I can tell you one the best lines of the night was when I told the audience that as I crossed the border back into Illinois, I saw the sign which read, “Welcome to Illinois.  Rod Blagojevich doesn’t work here anymore.”  He is still the gift that keeps on giving. 

I’m making a stop on the way back to Illinois and wanted to share these latest unemployment figures for Indiana by metropolitan area.  The statewide average is 8.1%.  It’s what you would think, the further north you go, the worse it gets.

• Indianapolis-Carmel – 6.7%.
• Ft. Wayne – 8.2%
• Elkhart-Goshen – 15.3%.
• Kokomo – 9.9 %.
• South Bend – 9.9 %.
• Columbus – 6.5 %.
• Terre Haute – 8.5 %.

I’m heading out of town to go be a comedian, but here are a few things to ponder while I am away.

1. State officials are privately saying Indiana’s unemployment rate could hit 10% before it’s all said and done.
2. It looks like the Mayor cleared more than $200,000 at his latest fundraiser.
3. It appears a statewide smoking ban, with exemptions, has the best chance of passing  out of the General Assembly.
4. There’s word some Republican PC’s who are not happy with current chairman Tom John’s leadership may try to recruit a protest candidate or two at the GOP’s March 7 meeting, the names I hear, bloggers Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden.  I know Welsh is a PC, not sure about Ogden’s status.
5. Amos Brown still won’t commit to any kind of debate over the consolidation of Marion County government and its impact on the minority community.  I’ll let you know if he changes his mind, but I wouldn’t want to debate me either.

I’m off to go tell jokes and get paid.

I told you the other day about a possible scandal flying under the radar screen at Indianapolis Public Schools concerning Title I funds.

Well there are a few more details starting to creep out.  I’m hearing that apparently over the last few years Title I money has been used for staff lunches and junkets.  

Now the last time I checked, Title I funds are supposed to be spent on improving the quality of education for kids in failing schools, not throwing staff parties and taking trips.

Somebody is going to be in big trouble when the dam breaks on this one.

More people are waiting in the 7th Congressional District to get their free digital TV coupons than any other place in the continental United States.

That number comes from PC Magazine, which reports more than 1.8 million households were not ready to make the switch.

Luckily for them the U.S. House has voted to push back the date from the switch to digital TV from February 17 to June 12.

Broadcasters are not happy as they’ve spent a lot of time and resources to meet the February deadline.

And for the record there are 8,511 households in Indianapolis that did not have a coupon.   The largest is Puerto Rico with more than 48,000.  Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia also topped the list of households that did not have coupons to make the switch to digital television.

Here are a couple thoughts before I call it a day.

1. Lawmakers passed government reform (creating county councils with a county executive or manager) out of committee, with exceptions for Lake County.
2. Bill Crawford’s issues with Charter Schools have nothing to do with their performance, but how one of his constituents was treated.
3. If this session seems more “confrontational” than most, that’s because it is and from what I’ve been able to gather from both legislator and lobbyist alike is that it’s going to get a lot worse before it’s better, so don’t be surprised if they go long.

Good night and good luck.

One of the architects of the original Lucas Oil Stadium financing plan says a ticket tax or user fee might be the way to go to make for the stadium’s nearly $45 million operational shortfall.  

Capital Imporvement Board officials reported last week that Lucas Oil would run millions in operational deficits.  However, Republican State Senator Luke Kenley says any broad-based tax is unlikely because the general public has paid enough for the facility and that a user fee or ticket tax would probably work better.  Kenley also says lawmakers may also have to look at whether the Colts, Pacers and Indians are paying their fair share as well.

An original proposal would have rolled over the operational costs into the Stadium’s long term financing, but Kenley opposed the measure saying it would have been an irresponsible 

Kenley made it clear that any statewide bailout is out of the question, because it would just open the door to other Indiana cities and towns asking the State to give them money to cover the costs of their operating facilities.

CIB officials expect to unveil more financial information at their next meeting.