The same union mentality that helped caused the demise of the American auto industry is working its way into downtown Indianapolis.  

United Here, a hotel workers union, is holding a march this afternoon on Monument Circle in an effort to unionize workers at the Westin and Hyatt Regency in downtown and the Sheraton at Keystone at the Crossing.   Union officials says hotel workers in Indianapolis make less than those in other Midwest cities because they aren’t unionized.

A union spokeswoman says the starting wage for a housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis is $7.25 an hour, but that same wage in Chicago is $14.25 an hour.

Now let’s apply some common sense to this situation. 

Using their math the Indianapolis housekeeper makes about $15,000 annually.  Using a standard salary calculator,  the Indy housekeeper should make $19,000 to be comparable with the Chicago housekeepers salary.  But that’s not what’s happening, using the Union’s own math, the Chicago housekeeper makes about $27,000 a year.  So not only is the Chicago housekeeper overpaid, the Unions want the Indy housekeeper to be overpaid too.

Now before you all say I am advocating slavery (even though you get free meals and housing), I believe in paying people as much as possible.  Good wages tend to translate into good performance, however the company must be able to afford the labor.  If the  hotels increase the housekeepers’ wages they will have to cover the costs by increasing prices, cutting profits or laying off staff.  And in the economic climate none of these are good ideas.

But there’s a union behind all this so why should I be surprised at any of this.

Opponents of charter schools are using a new report out by the Indiana University to argue there is practically no difference between the academic performance of students in charter schools versus those in traditional public schools.

The 180-page report evaluates charter school performance at the elementary level and has reached a number of conclusions, including the following…

1. Charter school enrollment has grown 175-percent over the past four years, while traditional public schools (TPS) in the same communities have either lost population or remained unchanged.
2. Charter schools serve a higher percentage of minority and low-income students than TPS’s.
3. Charter schools are complying with the open enrollment and lottery provisions of the the state’s charter school law.
4. TPS’s serve a higher percentage of special needs children than charter schools.
5. There is a high demand for charter schools at the elementary level.
6. Schools, whether a TPS or charter in high mobility areas are impacted equally by student turnover.
7. TPS’s get more funding than charter schools which includes dollars for construction and transportation.
8. Students in charter schools tend to spend an average of 6.5 more days in school than TPS’s.
9. The jury is still out on the positive/negative impact of charter schools on TPS’s in Indianapolis and Northwest Indiana.
10. There is more accountability in charter schools today than in the past.
11. 85-percent of parents of children in charter schools say they are satisfied or very satisfied with the education their kids receive.
12. The report says while there is no practical difference between student performance in charter schools and TPS, it also acknowledges that the study’s results were not long-term and that the schools surveyed taught lower achieving students who were more at risk of dropping out of a TPS.

Opponents of charter schools, such as State Representative Vernon Smith of Gary are using the opportunity to push legislation to put a moratorium on charter schools across Indiana.  

Supporters of charter schools, like myself, can’t understand the critics.  They would rather spend money, time and resources on a school district that is closing schools, losing population and firing teachers than one that has a waiting list and 85-percent parental approval ratings.

It makes me wonder whose interest do opponents of charter schools really have in mind? 

This memo went out this weekend to Beech Grove city employees from Mayor Joe Wright. 

Everyone,

As I discussed at the employee budget presentations in September and again in my State of the City address in October, 2009 will be a dramatic transition year for the City. In preparation for legislation-imposed reductions as required by House Bill 1001 (property tax caps) and now, with the grim revenue forecasts in the economy, transition realities are here. 

The entire country is in a recession; in most experts’ opinions, the worst one we have had in decades.  As you may have read in Friday’s STAR, Governor Daniels ordered steep budget cuts at the state level and no raises for state employees.   

What happens at the federal and state levels, affects Beech Grove. Our revenue flow has depended on $2.7 million in income taxes and $5 million in property taxes.  Both of these areas have taken hard hits lately, thereby negatively affecting the dollars we receive.

We are proactively preparing for the inevitable realities coming our way.  Many difficult decisions will be made and phased in during the first quarter of 2009.

In this process, our priorities are:

• to maintain public safety as the top priority for our community
• to ensure the surplus is protected
• to maintain our balanced budget
• to ensure the retention of quality services through better efficiency of available resources.

 What is on the horizon:

• there will be a five to ten percent reduction in the City’s workforce
• there will be an impact on healthcare benefits due to the rapid rising cost of services and drugs

I have directed Clerk Treasurer Kincaid, Chiefs Buckley and Witmer, Public Works Director Merl and the public safety unions to work with me to evaluate all possible steps and implement lean service concepts that allow us to comply with HB 1001’s requirements and contend with the decrease in revenue while maintaining our high quality of public safety and City services for our citizens.

There is no good time to share this news. Big changes are required by legislation and the economic realities of our time. The decisions and end results will be difficult for everyone involved.  I will continue to communicate with you as we move forward.  Thank you. 

Mayor Joe Wright

City of Beech Grove

Yikes!!!

Although we voted on November 4, today the members of the Electoral College cast their votes.  Indiana has 11 electoral votes and the ballots will be cast this morning at the Statehouse.

Barack Obama won the election, 365-173 electoral votes over John McCain and all of Indiana’s 11 electoral votes.  This is the first time a democrat has won Indiana since 1964 and the fifth time in nearly 120 years.

For a good primer on the Electoral College, click here.

A lot of people say we should get rid of the Electoral College, I disagree.  It’s a system that forces candidates to compete and the election isn’t decided by the populations of the five largest states in the Union.

There is an argument that instead of going winner take all, we should switch to a system where the votes are allotted by who wins the Congressional District and whoever gets the most votes wins the two at-large electoral votes (i.e. the ones represented by the two U.S. Senate seats).

It’s something worth thinking about.  

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You guys may recall an earlier post concerning the latest gossip and tidbits I was hearing from around town. I promised more, so here it is.

Anderson for Mayor?

The names of Democrats who want to be Mayor in 2011 is growing.  I hear Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson is forming an exploratory committee to run for the job currently held by Greg Ballard.  If Anderson formally files, this would set up a rather interesting primary battle against Melina Kennedy, should she get in the race.  I’m also hearing the name of Dr. Woody Myers resurface as a possible contender as well.

Forestall Forgoes

Speaking of Sheriff’s department,  the word on the street is Marion County Sheriff Deputy Chief Kerry Forestall is putting his bid to run for Sheriff in 2010 on hold.  With Barack Obama elected President, Sheriff Anderson is rumored to be submitting Forestall’s name as a candidate for U.S. Marshall in the Southern District of Indiana, a position Anderson used to hold.   No word yet on who else is applying for the job, but it’s safe to assume that Indiana Congressmen Baron Hill and Brad Elsworth also have possible nominees for that spot.  Forestall was assumed to be the presumptive nominee for the Democrats.  The name I’m hearing now as a possible contender is Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer.

GOP Stuff

Although Marion County GOP Chairman Tom John says he plans to run for another term as County Chairman, will have at least one challenger.  Semi-retired IU law professor Henry Carlson is planning to challenge John for the Chairman spot.  Carlson’s daughter, Liz, is the head of the Washington Township GOP club.

CCR’s

Expect City-County Council Republicans to be a bit more organized in the way they do things next year. Although they a lot of accomplishments under their belt, the budget, police merger, filling all 200 board appointments, there was a sense that the caucus wasn’t as focused as it could have been on message and it allowed Democrats to control the agenda at times.

Malone not AWOL, just absent

And finally, I wrote this week that CCC member Barb Malone was AWOL from Monday night’s last Council meeting of the year.  Malone sent me an e-mail this week telling me she was traveling and had informed the Council that she wasn’t going to be able to make it.

Final Shameless Plug

I never thought I would live to see the day, but I must have finally arrived in this town.  My engagement made the Talk of the Town page in the Indianapolis Star.  This is twice in two days, with this kind of luck, I’m off to buy a lottery ticket.

I was asked by the Indy Star to pen a guest column on Governor Rod Blagojevich to provide some perspective on his current troubles.  Here’s the link.  Hope you enjoy it.

My Democratic friends at Blue Indiana are taking the Governor to task over the latest state revenue forecast. Indiana will face a shortfall of more than $760 million.  They are basically saying that under the current economic climate Indiana is anything but an “island of growth.”  For the record, the Governor never said during the campaign that Indiana was in great shape, he argued that Indiana was in better shape than a lot of other places, including my home state where the current Governor is very likely on his way to prison.  

My question for my friends with the “D” behind their names is simple, is that if you don’t like what Mitch is proposing,  what is your plan? What ideas did do you bring to the table?  You may not like the Governor’s suggestions of 3-percent cuts across the board, no pay increases, holding the line on all non-essential spending or the all important, no tax increases.  If you don’t like any of these, which you are perfectly entitled to, then give the public some ideas and let’s have the debate.

Otherwise, please sit quietly and let someone else do the heavy lifting.

Think about this.  Nearly a year ago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was vilified by the hard core right (especially the national talk radio crowd) for his prosecution of  Vice-Presidential Chief of Staff Scooter Libby on perjury charges.  Today he’s a hero for filing criminal charges against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.  

My how times have changed.

The nation’s economic slowdown is taking its toll on state coffers.  Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels today announced a $763 million shortfall.

The state had projected to spend $13.3 billion but will only take in $12.5 billion.

The Governor says he is looking at 3-percent cuts across the board in state agencies on top of 7-percent cuts that were already made.   There will be restrictions on hiring and travel and cutbacks in grants and subsidies.

Payments to schools, public safety, Medicaid and highway infrastructure will remain untouched.

Daniels says he will not raise taxes to balance the budget nor does he plan any layoffs.  

He also says there will be no pay raises in 2009, however they will increase bonuses state employees get based on performance.

Depsite the bad financial news, Daniels says Indiana is still in better shape than most of the other states in the country.