On Friday night, RTV 6’s Jack Rheinhart ran a story on how the pay raise and retro pay offer by the city of Indianapolis to the police department had been taken off the table. I did some follow up on this over the weekend (which I managed to do and stay until 3 a.m. both nights by the way) and here’s what I can tell you.

FOP President Aaron Sullivan says the raise and retro offers were taken off the table late last week. He says the city told him during a negotiation session. He says when the officers voted against the Mayor’s proposal earlier this year, that’s when the city said it was off the table and no longer an option. He says the city then told him the money for their raises had been spent on other public safety measures, such as jail overcrowding. At no time prior, Aaron says, had he ever been formally told the raises and retro pay were non-issues.

I spoke with Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell this weekend also. Steve told me they had communicated with the FOP that the offer for the raise and retro pay was off the table. And the FOP must have misunderstood the city’s position. I did question Steve about the where there the money for the raises went, citing the sewer fund and County Option Income Tax were being used to pay for public safety. Steve told me the money was pulled from across the budget and that City Comptroller Bob Clifford could provide me with more details.

What’s interesting is the officers have been furious, as noted by the postings on Indy Undercover. It’s also noteworthy that as upset as the officers are right now with the city, between 100-150 showed up to help search for a missing child on the east side this weekend. However, the Mayor’s office does have a point when it says the Union voted down the offer back in July, but I do not recall the Mayor ever taking the retro pay issue off the table publicly, saying it was no longer an option.

Steve did also say that in a few days all of this will be Sheriff Frank Anderson’s issue as the new head of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Force.

I would hope the two sides might be able to work something out soon. The City-County Council meets Monday night and will vote on a raise for all countywide officers. And it looks like some action is being planned Monday night by the officers, that while perfectly lawful and in adherence to departmental procedures, could be extremely embarrassing to Indianapolis as the city will have nationwide attention with the Colts playing the Cincinnati Bengals at the RCA Dome for Monday Night Football.

I’ll be watching.

There’s another controversy brewing with the Marion County Coroner. This one could be potentially more disturbing than all the other issues. More details next week.

Things are about to get a little bizarre with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and it hasn’t even been created yet. Republican City-County Councilmember Jim Bradford is introducing an ordinance that would take control of the new consolidated police department from the Sheriff and put it back under the Mayor. The measure will be read into the record Monday night and a hearing before the Law Enforcement Consolidation Committee will occur Tuesday. Although Democrats could block the measure at the Committee level, it could still be brought to the full council for a vote in January.

This move comes on the heels of three Republican Marion County Sheriff’s deputies being passed over for promotion to Captain. The Deputies, City-County Councilmember Lincoln Plowman, Becky Lake, the fiance of former candidate Steve Davis and Tim Mottsinger were given the wrong textbook by the Sheriff’s Department to study for the promotions exam. Deputy Doug Shefel was also given the wrong book by the Department. Sources say the three complained about the study guides, but were told it was their own fault for purchasing the wrong texts. The Sheriff would not hear their personal appeals. None of the three would comment.

Although Mayor Bart Peterson has said he would veto any measure that would put consolidation under his office, a survey of Councilors, who would also not comment on the record, revealed there are potentially enough votes, 18, to override a Mayoral veto.

Another Secretary of State Recount showed Republican Jon Elrod is still eight votes ahead of Democrat Ed Mahern. A hearing will be held in the morning over the actual contesting of the election.

I have to admit, when I first heard about a plan to privatize the Hoosier Lottery, I was a little taken back as well. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Put the emotions aside and look at the facts.

First, the Lottery isn’t going anywhere. It will still remain in state hands, just like the Toll Road , the Indianapolis Water Company and Airport. The state will hire a private company to oversee the lottery, and get a lot of cash for it. The money will be used to send people to college and bring more smart people to Indiana . Private companies already manage and run the riverboats, casinos and horse tracks. It’s not an expansion of gambling because nothing more is being added to the state. So after looking at all that, I’m trying to grasp what the problem is?

The Governor has the backing of all the major public and private colleges and universities in Indiana . And those schools have a lot of alumni and a lot of supporters who probably wouldn’t mind making a phone call or two to their local lawmaker. Secondly, the budget forecast shows there’s not a lot of new revenue on the horizon, and that forecast the experts say is optimistic at best. Do we have to all the necessary safeguards? Sure. Openness, transparency, no loss in revenue, you bet we do.

But if we have a way to pay to make people smarter as a result of the money that comes from a voluntary activity, that is usually paid for by people who aren’t good at math, will someone please tell me what the problem is?

If Governor Mitch Daniels proposes privatizing the lottery today, he may find a friend in David Orenlichter. I spoke this morning with the Democratic State Representative to gage the Democratic reaction to the Governor’s plans to privatize the lottery. Orenlichter didn’t outright say it was a bad idea. In fact he said that if the government were to privatize a function the lottery might be the place to start. He cited the fact that the lottery was not a mandatory government function but a voluntary one. And the fact that Indiana already has privatized gambling in the forms of casinos. The Governor is expected to unveil his proposal at 11 a.m. today.

Here’s another story as to why township government should go away. Apparently a Westside Marion County Township Assessor has told their employees that if they don’t vote in the May primary, they won’t get a raise this year. I’m all for voter participation, but this seems a little extreme. The only way to know if someone voted would be to check the ballot and then the elected official would know how their employees voted in the last election. Nothing good can come of this, but then again, it is township government so what do you expect.

Governor Daniels expected announcement tomorrow to privatize the lottery comes at a time where the state is looking for some extra cash. The revenue forecast expected tomorrow will show pretty flat numbers. Budget Director Chuck Shalliol says the state isn’t in a crisis, but happy times also aren’t here either. Shalliol wouldn’t give me exact figures, but he says based on the forecast if Indiana were going to buy a car, it would want get something nice, but reliable. Privatizing the lottery could bring a $1 billion for higher education, however with full-day kindergarten and the state’s other financial obligations, tomorrow’s forecast definitely shows cloudy financial skies for Indiana.

The Lawrence Utility Company could be for sale. Sources say Citizens Gas will acquire Lawrence Utility for $40 million. Although he declined earlier comment, a spokesman for Citizens Gas says there will be 20-percent rate reduction in customer bills and will immediate for customers upon completion of the deal. A news conference for the deal was scheduled to be announced Thursday in Lawrence at City Hall.

I managed to pick up quite a bit of info yesterday. Here it is.

Coalition of the Willing Woman

Jean Breaux, daughter of outgoing Democratic State Senator Billie Breaux, may find herself with more influence than she thinks when she arrives at the Capitol. Sources say there is a lot of in fighting on the Republican side of the aisle, particularly amongst the men of Conservative Caucus and the Leadership. Things have gotten to the point where the women of the Senate may be the Chamber’s saving grace when it comes to health care and Full Day Kindergarten. They already exercised their muscle by the Republican female Senators backing David Long, in his quest for the Pro Tempore. Stay tuned.

Privatization Pitfall

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Crawford tells me he plans to hold two major hearings on Governor Mitch Daniels’ efforts to privatize state government. Crawford says prison privatization has not worked as well as the administration has touted. He cites recent budget committee hearings where the administration has asked for more money for health care and food services. Crawford says he opposes privatization, but would not cut services to the poor or prisons as a way to reign in the Administration. However, Crawford says he does have other “budget options” at his disposal that he ma be willing to use.

Someone Call Security

Wayne Township Trustee-elect David Baird is reportedly looking for a few good men. Sources say Baird wants to hire security guards to protect the Wayne Township Trustees office. With recent disposal of the Fire Resource Center, I don’t know what the guards would have to protect, but with crime out of control in Indianapolis, I can’t blame him too much.

The Race For County Chair

I’m told Kyle Hupfer, former DNR Commissioner, is getting into the race for Chairman of the Marion County Republican Party. Attorney, and former Todd Rokita campaign manager, Tom John is also a contender for the job.