The matter in question, an ordinance approving a plan “to streamline business permitting in Allen County,” was discussed by an extraordinary gathering of both the Allen County Council and the Fort Wayne City Council and witnessed by most of the leaders of the Fort Wayne business community. The ordinance in question was outlined in a generally informative presentation and then passed during a meeting within the larger meeting by the Fort Wayne City Council. The remarkable performance played to a full house in the renowned Allen County Public Library under the cooperative batons of City Council Vice President John Shoaff and Darren Vogt, the County Council president.

In short, the ordinance proposes to spend $1.5 million, about the price former Councilman John Crawford reminded me of the unsuccessful Calhoun Street redo, to make it easier for big construction and development projects to move through the local permitting process. Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy, one of the leading presenters and architects of the proposal, noted that currently it can take a frustrating month or much more to get a project permitted, which we were told repeatedly last night is much too long. Perhaps.

Consequently, a variety of fixes have been proposed in the proffered ordinance, including: aligning 19 departments on the same software, putting the process on line, making the progress of a project visible to the applicant, hiring an expediter to shepherd projects through the maze, setting up a feedback system and retaining a consultant to untangle the tangled growth of regulations that perplex and stymie projects. Ms. Malloy also noted that the permitting process wasn’t quite the disaster portrayed in the recent Republican mayoral primary. Sitting across from her was the loser in that primary and the soon to be former councilwoman, Liz Brown. Not in the room was the winner of the primary and the other complainant, Paula Hughes.

The ordinance in question was written to resolve problems that confront just eight percent of applicants while the other 92 percent proceed through the “maze” in 24 hours or less, Ms. Malloy said. The kicker is that the eight percent are valued at $330 million, probably as much or more than the smoothly-sailing 92 percent. Consequently, the effort is worthwhile. The 80-20 rule reduced to 92-8.

So, last night a parade of the leaders of the business community came to the lectern and voiced strong support for the ordinance: SDI, GM, The Building Contractors Association, the Alliance, the Chamber Fort Wayne Metals and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, among others. There were two individuals who voiced concerns, but in general the 100 plus in attendance, mostly representing business, were strongly, adamantly in favor of the changes. One dissenter asked if the rush to help business will lessen review by neighbors and others who might be adversely effected by speeding the process. After a very few polite nods the group hastened right past his comment. Business is on the march!

The most interesting questions from the assembled council members, city and county, were posed by Councilwoman Liz Brown. Her’s were questions of procedure and of promise. First, she wanted to know who would “hire, fire and manage” anyone retained through the ordinance. The answers from the six member bi-partisan, city-county committee that has met for a year and a half to bring forth the ordinance, were muddy. The committee will do that, County Councilman Roy Buskirk softly promised. Well, the committee comprises two council members from each city and county, the deputy mayor and a county commissioner. It is ad hoc. What is the llegal standing for a committee derived from two councils to act unilaterally? Do they have appropriating powers, who will hold the money, who will follow up? Mrs. Brown asked probing questions that apparently had not been fully considered by the committee. Seems the country will hold the money, but the rest remains to be worked out. Trust us.

The second prong of Mrs. Brown’s questioning concerned just that, trust. She noted memories of a succession of committees and volumes of promises that red tape would be reduced and that computer upgrades would open bureaucratic bottle-necks. She echoed charges from her recently failed campaign for mayor that those promises had, by and large, been kept. Zing. Ms. Malloy and the founder of the committee, the rustic Roy Buskirk, explained how this process was designed with just those failures in mind and would lead to measurable progress. Trust us. They promised the committee would continue to meet and would continue to gather feedback from the business community. Trust us.

Despite her comments, one citizen and one member of the committee said that this step, the ordinance and the work, are essential to improving business and increasing jobs and the wage base in Allen County. Everyone nodded. Something needs to be done, was the choral response, and this seems the best step forward.

Becoming increasingly frustrated, Mrs. Brown went on to blurt out, “so we are agreed, it really stinks to do business in Allen County.” Hardly anyone nodded agreement. It was the sort of unnecessary comment that won her 25 percent support for her mayoral candidacy.

In the run up to the vote on the ordinance, Darren Vogt invited those at the table to pose questions. Few posed questions, most made statements, such as one from City Council President Mitch Harper who said the resolution was “hastily drawn” and “incomplete,” his shot at the administration. The internecine warfare of the last two weeks threated to resurface when Karen Goldner and Tim Pape responded with their own testy comments. Mr. Harper noted that it was not an appropriation bill, at all, more like a resolution. Tom Smith, the level-headed councilman from the northeast side, agreed with Harper. The real work of parsing and appropriating lies ahead for both councils, those august solons of county council, and the playground scrappers on city council.

It was left to Mr. Shoaff, who chaired the evening’s meeting, to reign in another of Mrs. Brown’s outbursts and to bring the matter to a vote, which passed, nine-naught. Unanimity takes strange forms.

So, business wins one. The pressure is now on Ms. Malloy and the county commissioners to flesh-out their proposal and win funding. What we were reminded last night is that government needs a good reform every now, a fresh look, new eyes, and to determine if policies of a century or even a decade ago are still relevant and citizen-friendly, and to remind government employees that they work for us. Repeatedly, the comment was made that some departments of government are not customer-friendly to which, based upon my unfortunate experience in the building department a year ago, I can attest. So, this process should not just be about smoothing the way for developers to bulldoze the neighborhood overnight, but rather smoothing the way for every person in Allen County to receive fair, courteous and responsive treatment when dealing with government.

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Elissa McGauley was not happy. The economic development specialist for the Department of Economic Development, slumped in her chair, her face was not its normally bright, smiling self. In front of her, to the right, at the city council table, sat Tom Lewandowski and Cheryl Hitzemann, both of the Northeast Indiana Central Labor Council, representing, as they said, “unemployed and anxiously employed” area workers.

They were systematically highlighting inconsistencies in the tax abatement program that Mrs. McGauley runs for the city.

Lewandowski and Ms. Hitzemann had been at the table before, a few months ago, for the same purpose, to inform council that the powerful labor body would conduct a study to determine if the promise companies made while seeking tax abatements were being fulfilled. They said at the time that they would work closely with Mrs. McGauley and were very complimentary of the time and attention she had given them up to that point. They were no less complimentary last night as they stressed repeatedly that it was the system, designed by the state, city and council, to bring jobs to the area and to increase the local average wage, that they were assessing, and their’s was not a quest to excoriate any one person or any company for failure to perform or for fraud.

So, last night they handed down their indictments, based upon assessment of the 2005 promises and the subsequent reports, detailing whether the unnamed companies had delivered the goods. Hard to tell, was a big part of the findings.

Mr. Lewandowski and Ms. Hitzemann said in comparing the scores of reports they found widespread inconsistencies in what was detailed: the reports, they added, were a hodge-podge of ill-defined statistics signifying next to nothing for the central purposes of evaluating compliance and in support of that stated goal of creating more jobs paying higher wages.

When Mrs. McGauley was asked to join the two at the table she did so reluctantly and, at first, suggested she really didn’t want to talk about the matter. She then went on to agree with much of what the labor leaders had said. But she was not the issue and council treated her with deference and respect. It is the way the program is set up, and especially the vagueness concerning how compliance is to be reported that was severely called into question.

Councilwoman Liz Brown tried and failed to undermine the duo’s analysis which, as Mr. Lewandowski hastened to add, was done without the first taxpayer dollar. Mrs. Brown didn’t seem to get their point that the system was not providing measurable data, something she has so often less deferentially demanded in other situations. Finally, Council President Mitch Harper expressed the essential point: that we citizens are all expected to “be in compliance” in our personal dealings with government and it should not be any different for corporations who seek government help, your tax dollars, in order to grow, in order to make a profit. It is a question of the “erosion of trust in government,” he added, a point well made.

It was later noted that a company would be “in compliance” if they hit 75 percent of their apparently fungible employment and payroll goals. Hmmm. Try that with your boss…or your creditors. Seventy-five percent. Isn’t that a low “C” in school. Is that our expressed level of excellence? A council member asked what would happen if the company achieved 74 percent? Eyes searched the ceiling for an answer. None was really given. In essence, once a company has gotten their tax abatement the money is all but gone and just try to “claw it back.” Heck, we could get a reputation of being anti-business.

So, council has now to decide whether it will act to improve the alleged messy system, or wait for another evening when Mr. Lewandowski and Ms. Hitzemann present yet another set of findings that further call into question the efficacy of the entire program. It was added by another council member that the information provided to council upon which they now make decisions about your tax dollars would not be sufficient information for a business to make sound decisions. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, Mrs. McGauley, slumped in her seat and John Sampson, another of the economic development gurus in Fort Wayne, the director of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, looked very concerned sitting next to Mrs. McGauley. Mr. Samson has yet to answer Mrs. Brown’s question about the “losses” his organizations have suffered in their quest to bring jobs here. He says that statistic is impossible to determine, but he is sharp as a tack when it comes to touting his operations few “wins.”

In a side note, the agenda last night was dominated by new ordinances creating tax breaks for companies in exchange for the promise of jobs…. Word must be out. One of the applicants, it was noted, is a company that shut down operations in Hicksville, our not-so-distant neighboring community, to come here, certainly in part for the abatements. One can question whether companies play towns and cities off against each other in the abatement game, and one can certainly question whether that which companies promise to us is ever delivered. Given the inconsistencies in the self-reporting system now run by Mrs. McGauley’s office is very hard to determine, at best.

Brick streets and their maintenance was also on the agenda last night. A bill to preserve and maintain our few brick streets was passed with hardly a whiff of dissent. Tim Pape noted that brick streets last significantly longer than asphalt streets, cost fractions to repair over the same period of time, are better for the environment (asphalt leeches oil in to the ground), can be locally produced (oil comes from you know where), and enhance property values in neighborhoods where brick streets exist. I argued these same points in the mid-80s to city government, the Block Grant evaluation task force during the Helmke years, but got nowhere. To their credit, West Central pushed this for years and the city has finally come around, so thanks to Tim Pape and to the others whose efforts will save you tax dollars and enhance a bit the livability in those neighborhoods.

Oh, and one other thing, John Shoaff, councilman-at-large, announced last night that he is gearing up to fight changes to State Boulevard where it curves at Spy Run Creek. The state wants to straighten the curve and add lanes so as to speed traffic another couple of miles per hour, exactly the opposite of the successful traffic-calming effort on Rudisill Boulevard. Given the road is part of our Park and Boulevard System, deemed of historic significance by the federal government, and passes through a neighborhood that is also on a historic register, Mr. Shoaff has plenty of backers in his effort.

By the way, sorry for the hiatus. Germany called…

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Beans.

The Republicans at city council last night were anxious to get through the short agenda and onward to their bean dinner in the suburbs. The coming primary is foremost in their minds and judging by the recent haircuts and sartorial dress at council last night more than a few are girding for the last hectic week before the fates decide. The agenda was to a necessary distraction.

But, Mitch Harper played it straight. No short cuts. Business with a smile, but all business. He even recognized a large group of Boy Scouts who came to observe the governmental process and who were led by the city’s able forester, Chad Tinkel. Mr. Harper even invited three of the Scouts to lead the body in the pledge of allegiance that opens the regular session of council last night. Steady at the helm.

The committee session was rather proforma, a public hearing to which no one spoke, followed by discussion of three measures which all passed out of committee with 9-zip or 8-one majorities. Ah, consensus. In fact, two measures, the designation of economic revitalization zones to help local companies expand, were approved with numerous laudatory comments about each business. One council member made a point to commenting to the Scouts that the companies were both in high tech suggesting what merit badge they might next pursue.

The regular session zipped right along with mostly 9-0 votes, but Mrs. Brown registered a couple of “no” votes as did Mr. Harper. The president also abstained on bills concerning one of the software companies. Mr. Harper is very, very careful to protect his reputation for fairness and might be taken as a model by a couple other council members.

The only bill that raised any dust was that which concerned the changing of lighting on the Cloverleaf. Marty Bender was angry. He reminded council that the interchange is state owned ground, however the city is footing the bill and the state can later order the new lights be taken down, thus, leaving the city out $200,000 and without lights at the busy interchange. His comment was forceful and latent with anger. He had previously mentioned how “screwed up” state government is compared to local government which he finds more than trying enough. He voted no, as did Mr. Didier, Mr. Smith and Mr. Harper. Five to four. Mr. Bender did compliment the city for choosing LED light to replace the sodium vapors, noting the savings in significant electricity and maintenance, but he was angry with the State of Indiana for not offering to contribute and holding out the threat that the Department of Transportation might order the city to tear it all down. Hmmm. One might wonder where this is going and where it may pop up again?

Mr. Harper gaveled down the regular session and then opened the floor to citizens to speak. Growing visions of beans were dancing in Republican minds, sugar plum fairies and all. Charles Eberhart, candidate for mayor on the Democratic ticket, popped the balloon as he strode to the table and then whispered some cryptic comments directed at Mitch Harper concerning something to do with the 4th District which Mitch represents. Very strange. Mr. Harper looked a bit perplexed, but more at the way Mr. Eberhart presented himself, I guess, rather than being uninformed of the topic. Mitch is seldom out of any loop.

Then, it was time for council members to speak. The beans were about to rise to their full gaseous potential despite bubbling in warming trays miles away from Ceruti’s. At first, a number of the council members passed their opportunity to comment yielding to John Shoaff who initially offered a rebuttal to comments made by editorialist Tracey Warner of the Journal Gazette in the Tuesday morning paper. Mr. Warner’s snipe at Mr. Shoaff concerned, and concerns, a traffic “problem” that the administration plans to “correct” in a manner which Mr. Shoaff opposes, the widening, straightening and speeding up of State Street west of Clinton. Mr. Warner wrote Shoaff was “micro-managing” and interfering. Shoaff shot back that the project affects hundreds of homes in a dozen neighborhoods and could well halve their property values and cost more to the community in the long run than we would gain from an extra lane and five more miles per hour of speed. Mr. Shoaff pointed out that Warner “micro manages” every day from his editorial page, so it is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

Then, Mr. Shoaff changed tack and comment on the recent spate of comments about how utterly and terribly hard it is to do business in Fort Wayne. He explained that, for sure, there are problems, but that by and large the system works quickly and takes into account the various interests that might be effected by new projects or expansion. He mentioned the matter of flood control, as one example. He singled out a candidate who had been expressing this forcefully and commented that it was a bit unfair. He tried to keep the comment “gender-free,” but slipped later and noted the culprit was a “she.” Mrs. Brown stiffened.

Shoaff added that a intergovernmental committee has been at work for a bit under a year and is about to offer a report. That committee included two county commissioners and the no non-sense Roy Buskirk. Mr. Shoaff is also a member, as is the deputy mayor and another member of council.

Then it was Mrs. Browns turn and she let fly. She offered one anecdote after another, including a failure to get forms and processes on-line and the infamous 40-copies of plans required to submit for a project. (She would, perhaps, have the tax payer foot the bill for reproductions?) She was hot. She added that over and over again as she has campaigned she has heard from developers and project managers that the system is cumbersome and convoluted.

She snapped that she stands by her comments that business development “efforts are stymied,” that it is an “extremely difficult process” and thanked Mr. Shoaff for the opportunity to “enlighten him on the process.” She did note it was a problem on both the county side and the city side, but did not note where complaints she had “constantly” heard should be directed. Her comments have been campaign attacks directed at the city administration in her effort to win the nomination, not against the county. As the city does not have a building department, as the county controls the taxing records, more than a few permits, and information on land use, as the planning department is a combined county-city affair it would be helpful to specify the bottle necks. The city may not necessarily be the “culprit.”

Mr. Pape then took his turn and pointed out that often fingers are pointed at the city when it is a county matter. He noted that 12 years ago a red tape commission was set up to slash that villain from local permitting processes. He talked about 12 years of the continuous improvement philosophy then introduced by Graham Richard and how the city, in that oft repeated chant, is doing more with less. Expect to see that line on billboards. Then, Mr. Pape chided Mrs. Brown: “It’s not the smartest thing to say you’ll do something over which you don’t have control.” She was visibly angry. He added that every developer wants a fast track for their particular project, but that there are others who will be effected by that change and those people need also to be advised and heard.

Then, Mr. Smith, a staunch Republican, gently added that during his decade plus on the Plan Commission he found staff to “work very hard” to help planners and developers, that the process was fair, and was balanced.

Mrs. Brown grabbed her bags and left in the middle of his last sentence.

The truth is there are problems as Mrs. Brown points out. Some are easier to overcome than others, many are not so easy to resolve because a given, specific problem is inter-governmental, some problems, in fact, were created in Marty Bender;s “friends” in Indianapolis at the legislature and will have to be solved there. The city is a creature of the state and they set many of the rules. The city and county, however, are working together now on the problem and we all expect them to offer specific changes to remove ridiculous or outdated provisions from local books.

Ironically, as the dust settled, as Mrs. Brown’s heels could be heard clomping toward the parking lot and her cooling bowl of beans, Mr. Shoaff was heard to say that his reference had been to statements made by Paula Hughes, not Mrs. Brown.

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So the big item on the agenda last night was a $30 million bond proposal to further clean our drinking water. One council member after another offered appreciation to the administration for the way in which the project was structured and for the recent briefings the administration gave to council members leading up to the committee vote.

The usual suspects who most often support the administration voiced their approval: Karen Goldner, Tim Pape and Glynn Hines. Even John Shoaff said it was wise and appropriate. Mr. Shoaff is usually to bonds as a mongoose is to cobras. He doesn’t like them for a variety of reasons, mostly the additional cost, but last night he express approval and appreciation of the project. Other council members around the table asked a few questions and made a few comments, but nothing unusual until Liz Brown, candidate for mayor in the Republican primary, and councilwoman-at-large, jumped in.

“So, you’ve been working on this for ten years! she said. A polite and affirmative response was offered by Kumar Menon, the head of city utilities, who detailed a deadly outbreak of cryptosporidium in Milwaukee water in the mid-90s that led to new, federally mandated treatment processes. She asked a few more questions and got more polite answers from Dr. Menon, his associate Matthew Wirtz and another gentleman from the department. She nipped at the proposal from a variety of angles trying very hard to find somewhere to attack. She finally did, it seemed, for a brief moment, find an opening concerning other projects that would be undertaken with money from the bond, projects that would otherwise have been paid for from other sources. Her vision of uncovering malfeasance in office petered out. Each subsequent line of interrogation led to more polite answers that all seemed rational business practices. Other council members nodded or rocked in their chairs. She leaned forward and asked about the City Utilities cash that would be involved in the project and was met with more polite and detailed explanations. She finally, with a tone of frustration, ended one line of questioning with a mutter comment, “well, that’s disturbing.” It was hard to tell what had disturbed her, but she was clearly disturbed.

She ended up being the only member of council to vote against, what another member of that body labeled, the safe drinking water bill.

Then, as the vote was called, she blurted that she wanted to explain her vote. Heads turned. Apparently, she is not against safe drinking water, not against the UV equipment to be purchased with the $30 million, not against the bonding method, not against the low interest rate, not against anything in particular that had anything to do with the bill before her, she was just angry that Menon and City Utilities had supposedly snubbed her over unrelated questions of fire hydrant financing from a year ago and she was using this vote and her questioning to find a way of getting back at them for her perceived injustice. Menon apologized for failing to provide her with the information she had requested and rather lamely said he had that very information for her just yesterday but she had failed to show for the briefing, but she could stop by anytime, he smiled. She made the point a second time and Tim Pape reminded her that she had missed the meeting.

Normally, bills make three steps through council: introduction, committee discussion and final vote. Introductions are rather pro-forma, usually just a reading. The committee session, in which all members are a part of all committees, is where, homework having been done, each member may ask as many questions, ad nauseum, should they so wish. Normally, council members explain their rational for voting a measure up or down during final vote in regular session. Apparently, Mrs. Brown felt compelled to blurt out her frustrations well in advance of the final vote, as if she was trying, in some sad way to explain her seething anger.

Marty Bender was also irritated by a new lighting proposal for the Cloverleaf where Coliseum Boulevard (the Bueter Road) meets Maumee Avenue. He was not, however, angry with the city; nope, his frustration was with the State of Indiana. When the state rejiggered the ramps at the intersection they removed a 90-foot tall light. The city, upon review and consideration, decided to install new, highly energy efficient lights and to remove the badly deteriorating and costly-to-maintain tower lights. LED systems are going in. According to Marty, the state caused the problem, has placed a variety of constraints and mandates on the project and requires a state approved contractor do the work, but will not contribute the first dime to the project. Regardless, the city traffic engineer noted that costs of operating the new lights will plummet, as will maintenance costs. The old lights required changing expensive bulbs every two years, the new LEDs should last 15 years between change-outs. The old system eats 44-thousands watts of energy per year compared to 8,200 watts for the LEDs, according to the engineer. He, Shan Gunawardeena, went on to add that the city is replacing old systems through out Fort Wayne with LED fixtures and leads the state in that sort of energy saving, dollar saving effort. President Mitch Harper then brought up LEP (Light Emitting Plasma) lights which were invented in Indiana and are manufactured just south of Indianapolis. A long, technical discussion ensured, but the off-shoot was that the city is also analyzing LEPs to determine their quality, longevity and cost of operation. The city clearly feels proud of their cost-saving, new tech initiatives.

The other big matter last night was a flood mitigation project between the old north side industrial park and the I-69/Coldwater intersection. A land swap will mitigate flooding in the area, make land more “developable” and beautify there area, as well. Most members of council were clearly pleased with the resolution, including Tom Didier, in whose district the area lies and in whose ears regular complaints have been heard repeatedly from the hundred or so firms that have suffered water damage and other problems over the years. The deal between the City, Menards and Sturges Development will cost just under one million dollars, but the city will be able to recoup much of the costs and put more land in production thus yielding a few more tax dollars. We shall see.

In all, three big projects came to the table and the city walked away with three wins. It is an election year and each Tuesday is increasingly highly charged as we approach the May primary and then head toward the November ballot. It was clear that the election was a factor in the discussions.

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The drowsy end of the two-hour meeting might have been the most interesting. Charles Eberhart from somewhere in Waynedale lumbered to the open mic. A few weeks back he had affably pushed Pickle Ball, a downsized version of tennis for geezers like me…and foggies like him. Last night he called into question, in an equally affable manner, that the city and the county had both hired the same guy to represent them in matters concerning co-location in the old and new city halls. Eberhart wondered how either entity could trust the negotiator to have their interests foremost. He noted that Ken Neumeister was that man and then quipped that Neumeister had boasted about how he had already saved the county more in the deal than the substantial amount they are paying him. Hmmm? At whose expense. Eberhart, a retired union man, added that such an arrangement would have been unthinkable in management-labor negotiations of his era. You could see eyes on council narrow as they considered the implications.

Neumeister is already known or playing both sides, perhaps against the middle. He raises money for Democrats and Republicans, helps the sheriff with his fund raising, bought land that he sold to the county at a nice profit and has thrown his weight behind Democrat Mayor Henry for re-election and behind Republican Ken Nicolet, a city employee, who is running against incumbent Republican Tom Smith in the primary. Call it bi-partisan government or Machiavellian self-interest, when Eberhart raised the question you could tell some council members were not comfortable with the implication of conflict of interest.

Mr. Eberhart’s comments called into question the wisdom of Mayor Tom Henry in hiring Neumeister at taxpayer expense to represent the city while also representing the county in the matter.

Otherwise, it was Tim Pape’s night. He made closing arguments on two matters before council and was on the winning side in both votes: adding a management position to the 311 Call Center for $75,000 including benefits; and in releasing some $3 million for city utility maintenance that Council President Mitch Harper had managed to tie up. In both cases Mr. Pape listened to the arguments on both sides of the matters, held his comments until the end and then clearly and succinctly summed the situation, enunciated the potential downsides and stated his rationale for his position and action. He may well have moved a vote or two with his clear analysis, maybe not. Council members often come to the table prepared, often have already made up their minds and are indifferent to the arguments either side of them. But, Mr. Pape can be the most eloquent of the members of council, speaking in a “everyman” way that is easy for everyone to understand and would have made Perry Mason take note. Last night he burnished his image.

Oh, about the call center, 311. The city made the point that the system can do vastly more than simply take calls and route them to departments for response. Additionally, the system can develop methods by which statistics gathered in the calls provide government officials with trends that can help foretell problems so preventive maintenance or “preventive” policies can be implemented. Without leadership it is achieving only a small measure of its potential payback to the community. A stitch in time saves nine.

That was also the theme of Mike Kiester’s presentation to council concerning sewers and lining work that will be soon undertaken by the city. Kiester was asking for a million dollars to line 31,000 linear feet of aging sewers. He gave a very, very strong presentation to council and got their unanimous approval. He said TV checks had identified the areas most in need of lining and that by doing the work now it would cost the city much, much less than inevitable emergency repairs. “We are trying to get ahead of the problem.” A stitch in time saves nine.

There were a number of appointments on the docket last night: Lockwood Marine, a reader of this page, a friend of John Shoaff and a champion of honest government, was reappointed to the Metro Human Relations Committee. You might remember that there was a previous vote that ended tied. Tim Pape was not present at that meeting, but was for round two. Last night Mr. Pape cast his vote with John Shoaff’s nominee. Councilwoman Brown has nominated another capable fellow. At the previous meeting when called upon for his vote Mitch Harper had passed, but eventually had to vote and chose to cast his chit in favor of Mrs. Brown’s nominee. Mitch frequently holds his vote until the end, perhaps to see which way the wind is blowing. In this matter his vote in that first round was crucial and one could see a bit of chagrin flash across his face at being on the spot: vote for friend John Shoaff or Republican candidate Liz Brown’s nominee. His vote made the matter a tie that was broken last night by Mr. Pape.

There was also a bit of cat fight at the beginning of council last night. Again, you may remember on his second night as council president, early in January on a very snowy night, the record snowfall for that night in Fort Wayne history as Mr. Harper later pointed out in his defense, the newly elected president was late to gavel down his own meeting. Very, very unusual. Last night, before the cameras came on Mr. Harper quipped humorously about being late and then snickered that Councilwoman Goldner might again take umbrage if the meeting got off to a slow start. She was not amused in the slightest. She shot back quickly by repeating her criticism of that snowy January night that it was “rude” to make council, members of the media and a half dozen visitors wait. (He had called ahead to have the meeting held.) He retorted something toward Ms. Goldner that was lost under the surprised sounds of other council members. He just should have left that one drop.

And, there were two public hearings at the beginning of the meeting. En toto they involved over $4 million of public money. Committee chairman Tom Smith called once, twice then a third time for public input. No one came to the mic at his first call, nor the second nor his third. And, when the mic was open to publicly make a comment about anything concerning the city of Fort Wayne from sewers to the ninth floor only Charles Eberhart bothered to make a comment.

For all the gnashing of teeth, for all of the anger and angst, few people bother to take the time to come to council and say what is on their mind. Very few, indeed.

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Accounting.

Mayoral Candidate Paula Hughes has chosen to pick a fight with the Henry Administration over accounting.

A few days back Paula issued a news release saying essentially that the City of Fort Wayne, not the “city,” was leaning too heavily on the equivalent of lines of credit, mortgages and credit cards to finance projects.

A spokesman for the mayor, former Democratic Party Chairman Kevin Knuth, countered that when making large purchases, such as a home or a fire station, individuals mortgage and cities bond. Currently, according to Councilman John Shoaff, for every bonded dollar there is another $.81 in carrying charges, which, compared to a home loan, sounds like a good deal. Total payouts on a home loan can be double or more the amount borrowed. OPM, other people’s money. Borrow at a low rate and invest in projects that will bring a higher return on investment, profit. Don’t we clamor for government to emulate business practices?

Candidate Hughes says that the city is $405 million in debt, long term debt and references page 49 in the City’s 2009 budget. Kevin Knuth believes the figure for the City is closer to $175 with some $20 million expenses incurred due to the construction of the ballpark and the rest associated with the federally mandated separation of our sewers from storm runoff system. Mr. Knuth adds that Mrs. Hughes supported the construction of the ballpark. Her spokesman has not responded in writing to that point.

In an email conversation with City Controller Pat Roller she notes that our community, as differentiated from the Civil City, a specific taxing district of which there are many in Allen County, carries a debt load of some $275 million of which a large portion relates to the annexation of Aboite and the subsequent construction of fire stations and other infrastructure construction required in the annexation agreement. She adds that a large portion of the bond load will slough off in 2013.

Mrs. Roller notes that there is substantial debt attributed to City Utilities, but explains that it is a separate governmental entity and supported by user fees, your water bill check, rather than the general tax rolls. I do not see much of a difference for matters of this discussion as both of my pockets draw from the same checking account. Whether my support is in increase water charges or property taxes or higher prices at a mall (due to TIF taxes, another story within this story) they are all expenses I incur and the differentiation between one source of revenue or another, in the case, is a difference without a distinction. I pay both fees and taxes, so the bonding matters in the aggregate to my bottom line.

So, I respect Mrs. Hughes’ point and the rebuttal of Mr. Knuth and Mrs. Roller’s accounting-ese. All raise appropriate questions that should be answered with clarity by both candidates as the campaign progresses. Mrs. Hughes thinks we should pay as we go, that is pay cash. Mr. Knuth favors a combined system of cash and credit, or bonding. I think there are very few of us, indeed, who have the income or the discipline to buy our cars and our houses with cash.

Perhaps the fairer question is about the proper mix and the proper levels of indebtedness, and a forthright presentation to the community of actual expenses.

Mr. Shoaff raised a good point that the administration often choses to obscure the total cost. In the case of Calhoun Street, the price tag was not the $1.2 million presented to council and the public, but nearly twice that when carrying fees were included. The same could be said of the purchase of the new Harry Baals Government Center. City officials presented one number to council and came back later with a much steeper price tag due to fees and expenses, as a lawyer hustling the deal put it. Councilman Tom Didier seethed when he asked administration officials: “why didn’t you tell us that in the first place.”

So, is the $405 million Mrs. Hughes decries out of line and budget-busting. Probably not. Is it high? Yes. Is it unsustainable? No. Think of it like a mortgage or a line of credit. Is Mr. Knuth telling the truth with his low, low analysis? Certainly, but he is parsing in an effort to shed the best of lights on the situation. We all pay a portion of the total. Mrs. Roller, offering a number somewhere in the middle, as are Mr. Knuth and Ms. Hughes.

The question remains: is the total too high, unsustainable, a drag on City financing options? Yes, no and maybe. It depends on how you look at it. Should we carry a lower debt load? Well, of course. Perhaps council should join Mr. Shoaff and his colleague Councilman Tom Smith, in his pay-as-you-go effort.

But, this accounting question, and the underlying discussion of the proper allocation of precious dollars is a point that should be central to the mayoral debate and we should thank Mrs. Hughes for bringing it up.

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The Mitch Harper era has begun.

Last night’s council meeting was blandly civil, exasperatingly cordial, and smoothly managed, front to back. Hardly a hair was out of place, matters came up, matters were politely discussed, hands where reservedly raised to vote with little pinkies extended.

Mitch was fully and completely in control last night and it was a bore.

Even Councilwoman Liz Brown was generally polite, except for one little snarky moment, but generally, every vote was unanimous. And, be it known that large amounts of money and large projects were read, discussed and voted. Perhaps Councilman Pape’s absence contributed in some way to the rather un-Fort Wayne-like evening.

The single highlight of the evening was when Councilman Tom Smith put everybody in the economic development community on notice: he held a copy of the Journal Gazette up, to the delight of Ben Lanka, and explained to everyone the circumstances surrounding a failed deal between Trine University in Angola and Steuben County government. He had highlight paragraphs in green. A $28 million dollar deal to create high-tech, high-quality investment had fallen through because the county government up north could not come up with their match. Here is a link to the JG story…

Smith called loudly on the local job hustlers to get to Trine by sun-up, if not sooner (if they hadn’t already been circling around the carcass) and pitch that the project be brought down here. As the deal has fallen through in Steuben it would not be poaching, Smith noted, but rather a matter of saving a valuable project for the area and for Mother Indiana. (Certainly, there are ec dev types in Toledo who can also read…and they would be poachers.)

So, Smith put the local quasi-governmental “job-creators” on notice that they better pitch this one immediately, will be under pressure to win it, and better have a report on the table by noon, perhaps the Mayor could include the successful deal during today’s State of the City address. One could imagine that Smith and others at the table were thinking I&M money as seed to build new industries, not just jobs, but lines of businesses, in Fort Wayne. Ring the bell, document the salivation. Perhaps a convoy formed this morning for the trek up with walkie-talkies to report back from the front.

That was it. Smith rang the bell. The rest of the meeting was rather staid, which is, I believe, how Mitch prefers it. Taking the House of Commons and transforming it to the House of Lords. Here, here. Pip pip.

There was a light moment last night, Charles Eberhard humored the group during “public mic time” with a call for more Pickleball Courts in Fort Wayne. A matter of some general concern, certainly. Pickleball is tennis for foggies and geezers like myself. He explained it is played on half of a tennis court and involves much less stress and strain. He called on John Shoaff to be his doubles partner in Over 70s competition. I think someone suggested the two might rise to represent Fort Wayne at the World Cup or Olympic levels.

So ended the meeting. Pip pip.

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Mitch Harper was on time, in plenty of time, but is still getting his sea-legs.

Marty Bender was mercifully silent.

Sampson and Udris were stellar.

Mrs. Brown had her attack collar on again.

Mr. Howard clarified with a smile.

Mrs. McGauley went on and on and on.

And the smell or a rat was detected.

The meeting gaveled down perfectly on time with seven, not nine members present. Two Democrats, Mr. Pape and Mr. Shoaff, were both absent. Mr. Pape eventually arrived. Housekeeping was quickly taken care of and Glynn Hines, sixth district councilman, moved two bills through with perfect diction and decorum. Hines gave President Harper exactly the sort of civil and unembellished committee leadership Mr. Harper has been looking for. Hines needed five minutes at the very most. Polite and efficient. City Utilities Committee yielded to Finance and the meeting began to bog down like the German Army at Stalingrad.

Tom Smith’s committee was all about infrastructure last night. City Engineer David Ross came to the table to explain an Auburn Road project. Widening, sidewalks, new signals, all to aid traffic flow. Ross went on about the cost, some 80% of which will come from other sources, not your property taxes. Ross referred repeatedly to a digest sheet he had provided to council in their two-inch thick packets of materials for the night’s meeting.

Two city employees then came to the table to explain a sewer design project. One of the two witnesses was very, very nervous and was treated with kid gloves by everyone at the table, especially the normally acerbic Councilwoman Liz Brown. The young woman had trouble explaining the project and then learned from a councilman that an important sheet had been left out of the packet and the vote would have to be tabled. They were mildly chided. The two employees went on to explain they were trying to save the city money and time by conducting the study in 2011 for projects scheduled for 2022 and 2025. Because the project proposed is very large creating the design now will show other area projects where not to dig in the coming years so that costly relocation of utilities will not have to be redone in ten years. Very smart. Very nervous. One piece of paper missing.

The Lake Avenue Road Diet was next up and the discussion and the reminiscences and the personal stories of young councilmen daring to pass on the unusually narrow stretch of Lake from Anthony to Coliseum. Council members just could not keep from telling stories or near misses, all except Marty Bender who uttered not one sound all night, mercifully, except “here” and “aye.” The traffic engineer explained that Lake will emulate Rudisill’s configuration without the bike lanes. Two travel lanes and a center turn lane will reduce travel time and the number of accidents, he said. It made sense and council members generally agreed. Again, most of the money will come from federal and state sources, not local property taxes. They smiled at that. Progress on someone else’s dime.

Next, a bill to add a travel lane to Dupont. Again mostly federal dollars at work. The $10 million project will cost we local taxpayers $1.2 million. After much discussion leading to the vote Tim Pape quipped that everybody sure wants to cut federal spending, unless it is for their project. It passed unanimously.

Then, the stars of the evening, John Sampson and Andi Udris had their turns at the table. Sampson, whose leg bobbed up and down like he was working an old sewing machine explained his organization, the Northeast Indiana Regional Marketing Partnership, a non-profit construct of local government and business, to council. He was blunt, to the point, clear spoken and passionate about his work. They are, essentially, outside sales for Fort Wayne. They call on companies and “site selectors” to get leads or make first contact with companies that may wish to relocate to Fort Wayne. Mr. Harper, it seems a past critic of Sampson, lauded the presentation, to Mr. Sampson’s obvious surprise and relief. Mr. Harper delivered the praise in such a way that Sampson was leaning back in his chair preparing for a verbal blow when, instead, the doggie biscuit was presented. Council approved Mr. Sampson’s request for funds.

Andi Udris, our big Latvian director of the Alliance, another non-profit economic development “engine,” then took the seat. The Alliance, he explained to a council that already knew, are the “closers” for Fort Wayne. Once Samspon finds and qualifies a lead Udris and his team then close the deal by helping the relocating company through the various permitting and other processes needed to start a business here.

Sampson and Udris were both given the funding from council they requested and some council members suggested, Tim Pape, in particular, that they should get more because the jobs they do are so critical to the community.

A story was told about a contest, literally a contest between Fort Wayne and Kansas City for a manufacturing planning to expand. Came down to a meeting in KC where the company explained to the mayor about a million dollar problem in the way of moving to Kansas City. The mayor, it was retold, excused himself and came back in only a few minutes with a commitment to allocate the needed $1 million.

Udris and Sampson both painted a picture in which cities fight one another today to lure companies to their industrial parks. Companies with jobs in this recession are king and they go where cities chip in the most…

They both suggested that a large chunk of the I&M lease money be spent on economic development tools to help them bring more jobs to Fort Wayne. Their presentations were sobering and very informative. If it wasn’t clear before it should be now that Louisville or Aachen or Tsingxang would love to lure ITT or any other local industry away from Fort Wayne, and they are happy to pay whatever the price. And, with the ease of moving capital, the speed of equipment obsolescence and the increasing computerization of everything, almost any company can move…quickly.

There followed a humorous discourse between President Harper, Clerk Sandy Kennedy, Councilwoman Brown and Councilwoman Goldner over a proposal by Mr. Harper to make council records more easily “searchable” on the city web site. I recommend you watch on City TV the exchanges where Mr. Harper would explain city policy and Mrs. Kennedy would say it wasn’t so. Mrs. Brown and Ms. Goldner both go into the semantics mess.

Among the shortest lines on the agenda last night and the biggest drain of time was a Special Ordinance establishing new Economic Development Target Areas. Elyssa McGauley ably runs that program for the city that ties many abatement and incentive programs together to benefit existing local businesses wishing to expand or improve their systems. Council members had received her comprehensive packet with a neat description of each newly proposed zone well before the meeting. To illustrate, she displayed a large map with each new and existing zone colored and outlined. She then proceeded to read what was before each council member, as if a witness at a congressional inquiry with a dozen lawyers following line by line. It was unnecessary and long, long, long. Council members love economic development, but they, too, tired of hearing what they had already studied. When Mrs. McGauley finally left the table she looked completely drained of energy and emotion.

Mr. Harper, with his promise to move meetings along more efficiently, could suggest to administration witnesses to be brief and not go over material included in council packets.

Finally….the matter of garbage cans and their financing. You may remember last week Tim Pape put on hold the question of financing the recycling carts. An Arizona firm and a Pennsylvania company with offices in Fort Wayne, PNC Bank, were the finalists. $33k was the difference in favor of the Arizona bankers. Mr. Pape questioned whether the deal would fall within Buy Indiana parameters, thus giving “points” to PNC because of their “local presence.” The tabled discussion resumed. Val Ahr, the deputy controller, came to the table and was almost immediately under attack by Mrs. Brown. Ahr said she “shopped” the deal between Arizona and PA to see if they could come down on their prices. Both made adjustments. The cost to the rate payers dropped and the difference between PNC and Arizona narrowed to $17,000, still favoring the Arizona company. But, “under the bus” for political considerations. Jim Howard, purchasing director, then quickly came to the table, sorted things out, gave reasoned and clear advice and the matter passed with two votes opposed, Brown and Mr. Harper.

A nasty end to an unnecessarily long meeting. Mrs. Brown, who had been gentle with witnesses most of the evening took an unnecessary shot at the Alliance in the form of a condescending barb about their website, and then growled at Mrs. Ahr who had reopened bidding and saved the city considerable money.

The rat? One has to wonder why PNC was given special treatment. These things come and go at the table with dizzying speed. So, why should PNC get a “second look?” Perhaps it is less about garbage can financing, less about Buy Indiana legislation and more about a pending downtown development.

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I can only imagine the frustration Mitch Harper must have felt as the shiny new president of Fort Wayne city council struggled in his car plowing through snow, slowed by the grey-hairs in their rear-wheel-drive Buicks, to get to the meeting he was to chair, a meeting in which eight other council members were patiently (to degrees) waiting, where the city clerk had laid out the table as if for Thanksgiving dinner, where two “real” reporters, a couple scruffy bloggers, an intern, a police officer, the new fire-fighters union chief, a few administration representatives, two men from City TV and a couple of aspiring candidates patiently checked their watches in the hope that by staring at the second hand the president would magically appear.

Over seven long minutes the wishful thinking turned slowly to frustration.

Karen Golder showed her cold-induced-ire by moving to start the meeting without President Harper. A rather confused discussion followed and Vice President Shoaff eventually took the president’s chair to get the show going. “Oh,” a coup d’etat” smiled the senior eminence among the two real reporters. About then, President Harper, flushed, flecks of snow on his overcoat, hair blown slightly askew with a framed picture under his arm strode forcefully into the Chamber using the “secret” passage from the men’s room to council chambers.

Meanwhile, Otto, the tall, laconic camera operator for City TV resumed his countdown to air yet another time. Three-two-one. The camera’s red light came on. Without missing a beat, Mr. Harper gave the welcoming intro, quipping about the weather, made a self-effacing joke and quickly shifted attention by holding up the portrait of our recently deceased mayor and offering a rememberance to Paul “Mike” Burns, a Democrat, who would have lit into the tardy council president like a thoroughly pissed off hornet for being late.

Too bad you could not have seen this at home. There really should have been a camera in the car beside Mr. Harper, one mounted on a following car to show him swerving in and out of traffic, and a camera overhead in a helicopter to show his breakneck progress. I am sure he drove like the perfect gentleman he is, but there must have been beads of sweat on his temple and a dryness in his mouth.

And, there was a new seating chart last night. Seating matters and is dictated by el presidente. While they all have microphones and use them for emphasis, position counts. Relationships develop. Liz Brown now sits out of striking distance from the witness chair with the result that her piercing stare does not bring any witnesses to tears last night, as it has. Councilmen Bender and Hines dwarf her from either side like bodyguards or, simple, guards. Mr. Shoaff, the new VP, sits now next to the City Council Attorney Joe Bonahoom whose son Zach is running against City Clerk Sandy Kennedy who sits at the left hand of the president. In truth and in Biblical parlance the president rather sits at the right hand of Clerk Kennedy Almighty, maker of agendas and rules.

Tim Pape has been exiled to the end of the table, where Mrs. Brown once so menacingly scowled. Tim smiles more, sometimes like a full Venus Fly-trap, but his questioning disassembles spin in a more disarming way. Councilman Smith is next to Karen Goldner and may be feeling the first effects of the cold she brought to the table last night.

On the matter of the recycling bins, Valery Ahr, the deputy controller, came to the table to explain the new financing. Mrs. Brown listened and then asked a few key questions, in a most polite way, that revealed that the new financing package will amortize over seven years, rather than ten, and result in greater payments in each of those years. Consequently, payments will be $120,000 higher each year than budgeted. Where will the extra money come from, asked a patient Mrs. Brown? The deputy controller haltingly said that City Utilities would cut spending here or there to find it. Mrs. Brown asked the question in different forms again and again until it was clear that there would be consequences. Hmmmm. Two questions: why did the administration not check with the banks in the first place to ascertain rates and terms so they could properly budget for the loan figures, and is City Utilities rolling in enough extra money that they have $120,000 pocket money laying around? Or, are they robbing Petre to pay Paolo? What budget line or service will suffer because of the forced change?

The dumpster ordinance was tabled on a motion from Tim Pape (yup, after all that…) because the winning lender is in Arizona and he wanted to know how far apart the winner was from number two, PNC, with branches conveniently located all over Fort Wayne, as if a drive through might help. Okay, there are PNC branches here, but will the loan be serviced by workers in Waynedale or those in Pittsburgh. (The hold is a result of the Buy Indiana legislation that Karen Goldner sold to council. Indiana firms, say in Evansville, get preference, points, ahead of out-of-state firms, say in Antwerp, Ohio, in contracts with the city. You can easily see how that will benefit us all.) Delaying the vote has consequences, in this case, possibly pushing the final vote out beyond the “lock-in date of the low, low, really low interest rates Valarie won for us all. Low rate expires, a higher rate is offered and we all pay more… Oh. Council, in a sort of muddled cacophony of thoughts tried to find a parliamentary way of speeding the process after Mr. Pape received his answer, and came up with a Rube Goldberg four or five step process. Clerk Kennedy, experienced at these things over the decades, offered a solution that will simplify the process to two steps with a final vote in well under the wire. (Young Mr. Bonahoom, her challenger, was hopefully taking notes.)

Otherwise, Mr. Harper ran a civil and congenial meeting that was a testimony to his Robert’s Rules skills and his legislative experience. It will be interested to see whether future meetings are an Alice in Wonderland journey through the Robert’s looking glass or whether he and parliamentary side-kick John Shoaff use Roberts to speed meetings, contain the outbursts and dot every “i.”

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It came as a bit of a surprise to John Shoaff when he was nominated for vice president of Common Council. But, it underscores how non-partisan, at times, our council can be. Shoaff, despite being of the minority party, was moved, seconded and unanimously approved by all five Republicans and the three other Democrats in about seven seconds. Electing Mitch Harper to the presidency a scant minute and a half before, by comparison, took well over 30 seconds. Shoaff looked mildly bewildered. But these things are worked out before the meeting, which saved everyone time. Someone, however, might have warned him.

That was one of the themes at last nights council meeting, saving time. Mitch Harper led off by saying that as president he would play a subdued role as president and focus on quietly managing the process for maximum efficiency. He did, however, involve himself in most of the discussions last night and probably, in one evening, said more from the president’s chair than did former council president, now merely Councilman, Marty Bender in all of last year.

Tim Pape saved the most time. He said nothing. Zero. Not a single public comment. He voted, he offered whispered asides to Councilman Tom Smith to his left, but Tim, usually argumentative, often the voice of the mayor from the table, sometimes the orator, said nothing. He was followed closely in brevity by the still stunned Councilman Shoaff, the ever taciturn Marty Bender, Mr. Smith and Glynn Hines.

Hines saved bundles of time by bundling numerous ordinances up for discussion into one neat bundle, the first sign of the “consent agenda” that President Harper has lovingly spoken. That style of agenda would reduce the number of items for on an agenda to just those about which council members would wish to hold discussion or debate. Hines noted that a group of ordinances from Water Filtration were each about the purchase of a given supply, activated carbon, pebble lime, sodium chlorite and others, each within its own ordinance. So, he asked consent to lump them together. So given.

Jim Howard, the animated city purchasing director, effused from the witness microphone that he and the administration had tried something new, a reverse, internet auction, to get the best prices on all the various and sundry chemicals that are used to treat our water. He explained that the city, in cooperation with a firm specializing in arranging such auctions, set up a system that graded vendors on quality and price. Bidding was blind with the dozens of companies seeking to sell to us seeing only their position in the bidding. The number two company, for instance, would then feel compelled to lower their bid a bit, in this reverse auction, to leap-frog to number one position. Mr. Howard gave statistics to show that the process had saved us quite a bit over last year. In one instance a starting bid was $704 for a product while the final bid dropped to $613, one assumes, per ton. Mr. Howard was very proud of the process and the results. Council also seemed pleased. The process saved money, according to Howard, and will, over time, save…time.

Fire hydrants. We have over 9,000 fire hydrants in Fort Wayne. Maintenance of those hydrants was another topic of discussion. Scores each year are damaged by sloppy driving, among other threats to hydrants. Annually, the city tries to rebuild, replace or repair half of the hydrants so that when a fire truck races to a halt, the firefighters rush to the hydrant and expectantly turn the valve that water actually comes out. Unfortunately, there have been disappointments from frozen or malfunction units in the past. The Fire Department and Water Maintenance are working much more closely together, it was stated, to keep them all in tip top shape. (One would have thought they would have been working together on that matter since Heinrich Hildebrecht was chief…) It was noted that that the oldest hydrant is dated 1916 and that models from the 50s through the 70s do not have the quality of previous or current products. 1916. They just don’t make them like they use to…

There were humorous moments last night. City Clerk Kennedy, in her annual role as president pro tem between outgoing and incoming presidents, jumped the gun, and the gavel. There is a floor manager who for years has given a count down to the council president so that the live “airing” of council via cable’s City TV opens precisely on time. Sandy, who certainly has seen this process play out over the last decade and more, called the meeting to order only to be waved off by the floor manager. “Thirty seconds,” he said. Laughter.

Mayor Henry addresses city council

Mayor Henry descended to speak to council. He offered prepared remarks last night near the beginning of the meeting in a conversational style that sounded every bit like a speech that had been painstakingly crafted to present the administration’s very best side. He started with the I&M settlement, added the co-location win, added 911 consolidation, added the facade grant program, add the completion of the downtown Marriott, added, added, added. It was an impressive list and a strong presentation. Then he tried humor. It was a jab at Liz Brown, his possible opponent in the Fall. He said sometime to the effect that when he came to work he found someone was parking in his mayoral parking spot. He repeated the line for emphasis and then delivered the punch line about Liz Brown already trying to move in. The laughter that followed ranged from enjoyment to mild groans. At least one, “oh jeez” was heard. In effect, the Mayor had given stature to his opponent, he had lowered himself to her level and elevated her to his level through his try at humor. He opened himself to a reposte which she quickly delivered but was drown out by the din. The mayor’s strong delivery of accomplishment after accomplishment after accomplishment was diminished by the attempt at humor. Tom would do better to remain, as one councilman later said, in the Rose Garden, Mayoral, above the petty fray.

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Here’s what I have learned from sources high and low.

The benefits and problems of instituting a local city court had been researched by City Clerk Sandy Kennedy for months before its introduction. Fort Wayne had such a beast in the past, and before which I once had to pay my dues to society. $49 and costs.

The five “signators” to the introduced ordinance included as least one member of council who was surprised to see he had “signed” on.

The impetus for the city court came from frustration that the city had piles and piles of unpaid traffic fines, among other unpaid fines, and felt the county was not pursuing them seriously or with alacrity. Given New Haven had successfully instituted a city court and that similar courts were functioning around our beloved state, Clerk Kennedy did her duty.

The city, Sandy Kennedy and others with whom she had chats, saw the city court as taking the bull by the horns and clearing thousands of unpaid bills from her desk, and making a lot of money for the city in the process. (Better scofflaws pay than property owners.) Sandy and her supporters seemed not fully aware of the cut the other governmental entities would take, thereby diminishing the city’s haul and making the establishment of a court less lucrative and, perhaps, not worth the bother. But, then again, New Haven seems to think it is worth the bother.

Why did it hit council table so late? Well, no one clearly answered that question. It may be that Sandy or Joe Bonahoom, the council attorney, learned late that steps would have to be taken this year to have the court in place sooner than later. I have heard the comment about electing a judge would have to occur next year, or the whole thing would have to wait until 2015. Undoubtedly, there is a second route, perhaps appointment of a judge, but I would guess Republicans would be granted that opportunity, given the governor is a Republican, the top state election official is a Republican (perhaps soon to be indicted, but none the less), as are the commissioners. “Hear ye, hear ye, City Court will rise, the Right Honorable Judge John ‘Hang ‘em high’ Popp will take the bench.”

The other theory of tardiness is more sinister: Joe Bonahoom tried to embarrass Sandy. His son, a former DJ on a cruise ship, is running as a Republican against Sandy, ostensibly to get his name out there, and dad is alleged to have thought delaying delivery of the drafted ordinance until too late for the normal month of intros and hearings, would cause just this sort of calamity. Joe, however, is not that devious, he is a very, very nice man and dedicated to his community’s well-bring and to maintaining his family’s exceptional reputation for community service. But Joe is criticized for not devoting enough time to his council work (vis-à-vis his private practice) resulting in paperwork coming down to the table late.

The mayor, I was informed, was volcanic last week when the train-wreck seemed imminent. He belatedly had learned that Tim Pape, his man on council, was floating in an inflatable rubber ducky ring among the other sharks off a Floridian beach. Sharks, Tim can be assured, never attack lawyers: professional courtesy. Mr. Pape and family told everyone long ago that they were heading to Disney World or another Florida playground and would not be there for the pivotal vote, scheduled December 28th at 5:30pm. With the defection of sorts of Comrade Pape Sandy’s idea was near implosion and had now landed in Mayor Henry’s lap. Political types on the ninth floor were on the phone begging the three undocumented Republicans to sign-on to the bill so that a fifth vote would be there for introduction. No one did. I know of one who was asked and he said others were contacted. So, the deputy mayor was dispatched to put get Humpty Dumpty into Redi-Med.

Chats were held with Prosecutor Richards and Judge Fran Gull, two quick critics of the ordinance and a modus vivendi was agreed. They would shelve the bill, as if there was an alternative, and meet again, sometime soon, you have your Blackberry call my Blackberry, and discuss the next step. Perhaps the county will step up enforcement, perhaps there is really nothing that can b e done.

But, back to the question of the original five signatures: Bender, Shoaff, Goldner, Pape and Hines. Seems Sandy has persuaded Marty to sign on, as well as Glynn. I think they were doing her a favor, one from friendship and the other from political courtesy and loyalty. Marty, a law and order man, probably saw the upside of enforcement. She then penciled in the names of the other Democrats, as a good Democrat partisan would. (Nothing wrong with being a political partisan, unless they are of the other party, eh.) She is old-school in that way. One councilman was surprised to see his name on the ordinance, but thought, as he often does, that it merited discussion, so he was game.

That bit of partisanship ticked Tom Didier off. From the dais he rued that he “thought this was a council of nine members, not just five.” When last week, in an effort to pull the rabbit out of the hat Mr. Didier was begged, cajoled, hassled to sign on he did not, for better or worse. The ordinance fails and the idea crawls into a cave to either desiccate or recover and rise anew to threaten our delicate local political eco-system.

So, then comes the bizarre news release and the news conference to which we were not invited, announcing the wonderful opportunity to work more closely with Karen Richards and Fran Gull and to have a fruitful dialog. The news release read like some seventh level Communist hack had written the piece; the meat of the announcement relegated to the last paragraph in the hopes most readers would have fallen asleep before arriving at the exciting climax. Most of the top part of the news release tried to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Seriously, that is exactly how the happy-face bosses in Hungary wrote about the “challenges and opportunities” some bureaucratically caused disaster had wonderfully afforded them. Whoever wrote it has a future in North Korea.

Months ago, during a visit to the Clerk’s office, one my friends there, a hard-working, intelligent and dedicated veteran of local government, told me that the state had made it more difficult and much more expensive to track down traffic fine-evaders by charging the city for online database searches of driver license information. The alternative is much more time-consuming. She then recounted stories of how noble citizens would come in, spin elaborate yarns and ranted and raved about how a traffic ticket was someone else’s fault, never, ever theirs. (Envision meters stealthily trading places one with another to ensnare her!) I happily witnessed one loud mouth, leviathan of a woman ranting in her nearly indistinguishable dialect about how she had been entrapped by a traffic meter. Her flailing butt nearly crushed me against a counter as she gesticulated. You could see the super-human effort of staff and other citizens to stifle smiles.

So, what next? Beth Malloy will meet a few times with Karen and Fran and ask them to push a bit harder to bring scofflaws to task. Maybe they will write a memo or two, push a bit, and then everyone will return to business as usual, meaning good people will pay their traffic tickets and the ones with the jacked up cars with the silly rims will blow them off.

So, the problem is remains. People flaunt the laws and the courts, for whatever reason, toss most of the cases. That is a matter to examine. Sandy tried to do something about it, did not pull it off well, at all, and it lands in Tom Henry’s lap like a bag of ripe Limburger cheese. It then is seen as his sneaky effort to create a new bureaucracy and steal a political march on the Republican dominated county offices. Whether there was any political stealth remains to be seen. I kinda doubt it. Clumsiness, bad timing (Noel, oh Noel, Happy New Year) and political insensibilities are more likely the culprits.

Sandy goofed.

Mr. Didier was very upset, ticked, angry, frustrated, for a variety of good reasons.

Tom Henry was handed a bag of poop for Christmas.

Will Beth and Karen’s eyes meet? Will a political solution be found? Will city and county finally find love in that new cozy cottage on Berry Street? Stay tuned in October to see if this drama become an issue in the forthcoming election. Liz Brown has already tried to turn it to her advantage. Perhaps Sandy Kennedy will turn it back to her advantage in brochure, speeches and ads. I can see the campaign lines now: ‘It is a matter of Justice: A thousand cases were filed and only four resolved.” Point those fingers at the prosecutor for sleeping at the wheel. I can hardly wait for the sequel.

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The Irish have been reduced to beggars. One report notes that their debt is so great that it will cost each person $2,500 a year for the next 1,900 to pay off the debt. That is without interest. The government is shedding layers of employees, the private sector is shuttering shops and factories, foreclosures abound, taxes are going up steeply and the banks, the banks, are curtailing lending. Soon, the Irish will shed their current government only to find the next set of ministers can find no way out, either. They have huge debt and no reserves.

So, Ireland that fought so long and hard to gain her independence from London, is now beholding to…London, Berlin and Washington, to the big English banks, the German government and the International Monetary Fund.

What goes lightly reported is that the big guys, the senior bond holders, the first in line to be paid from liquidation of assets, will get almost everything out. The little guys, the shareholders, will get nothing.

The German government and taxpayers do not like this.

In fact, the Germans are increasingly called upon to bail out their neighbors, first the profligate Greeks, now the Irish, soon the Portuguese, perhaps the Spanish, perhaps the Belgians and, some suggest, the French. Oh, for the French to beg for German help.

The European approach, demanded by Berlin, is for all to tighten their belts. The Germans have set the example. And are now, also demanding senior bond holders contribute to the bail outs, as well; but the markets, the markets, are in an uproar and the rich are pulling their money back home, further exacerbating the situation. Socialism for the rich and the well positioned. The senior bond holders are hedge funds, bigger banks, sovereign investment funds. They are the country club set, the ones who want you, the taxpayer to live within your means, but to bail them out if their investments, their chancy investments that encouraged of chancy loans to chancy people who were dazzled by the sales pitch. They plan to continue to live beyond their means and to take some of yours, too.

So, the Germans who are characterized as the dull, “get-rich-slow” people, the ones who have saved and carefully invested and been prudent, who have worked hard and built for the long run, are now expected to bail out the Greeks who retire at a weary 50 with full benefits, or the Irish or the Portuguese or the concrete loving Spaniards who are fleeing a coastal building bubble that is ready to pop in a huge way. The Germans are expected to contribute taxpayer money to help out the big banker, the hedge fund manipulators and those speculative sovereign fund managers, such as once high-flying Dubai. (Dubai is trying to sell a stake in Emirates Air to raise cash.) Consequently, the Germans are increasingly scorned by the average Greek, Italian, and Portuguese who want German taxpayer money, demand German aid, but are angered if strings, reform strings are attached.

Here in Fort Wayne we will also feel the fallout and we also will be asked again and again to pay for the excesses of the Wall Street crowd through diminished services, collapsing infrastructure, and higher taxes. The disaster in Dublin, in Lisbon, in Madrid and Athens will be felt here, right here in Fort Wayne. You remember, “no man is an island.” We host foreign companies, our businesses sell to foreign concerns, our banks -Wells Fargo, 5th-3rd, Chase, etc.- have relationships with their banks.

So, we should scrutinize close all of our programs in Fort Wayne. Council members have heard a dozen warnings from the administration about the coming two years of revenue reduction due to our own economic downturn, the Great Recession. Remember the Great Recession? Yet, they are all bellying up to the bar to spend the I&M payout. They will call their pet projects “investments” in our future.
I think on this blog we have been abundantly clear that $72k for a consultant to set up a communications system is highly questionable. I can assure you the administration has heard every word we have said. I think we have all seen other examples of questionable expenditures, especially in light of the impending revenue crunch. They should hear our words on those matters, too.

Now, comes the I&M settlement and the dogs are already pulling at the carcass -a few million for my district, a few million for this, a few million for that.

The tendency is for government officials to divvy up the spoils in a way that makes us all feel like we are getting a piece of the pie, that co-ops the prudent, that spends the cash down to nothing and leaves us worried about coming budgets and services.

Big cat Keith Busse would like everything to go to economic development. He is a banker and an industrialist. His impulse is understandable and self-interested. He will use his influence with Councilwoman Liz Brown and others to see his point of view and spend where he wishes. On the other hand, John Shoaff wants money for trees and parks and beautification. His emphasis is on quality of life not quantity. Our demand should be to sit on the money, to encourage governmental efficiencies and scrutinize all expenditures, and to expect more from our neighborhood leaders and citizens. Like our German cousins, we have long had a tradition of getting rich slowly and building carefully for the future.

In short, we should do more for our community by expecting more of ourselves. We can not always toss the load onto government which means tossing the load onto those of us who actually pay taxes and create prosperity and a higher quality of living.  So, I suggest slowing the process by which the initial $5 million I&M payment and trust funds are expended and passage by council of a formal plan to utilize the annual I&M payments. There is no hurry. If we are truly connected to the rest of the world, as our economic development teams so often chirp, then we may soon see adverse ripples from the Irish disaster, the Greek tragedy and the the other woes in Europe. It would be nice then to have savings and a renewed sense of community service to see us through.

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No one as so much as raised an eye brow when Tom Smith read the I&M-City deal into the record in preparation for the final vote, well, penultimate vote, last night. Some eyes darted from colleague to colleague, there was a careful smile, but no objections, no points made, no fingers thrust into the air, no beating of the chest over an arcane principle. Mr. Smith brought the matter to the table then Council President Marty Bender called for ayes and nays. It passed 9 to zero. Tim Haffner, the city corporate counsel sitting in row three, could have stayed at home and watch from his couch. Angela Boerger, the message mother for the city, could have enjoyed another hour of Wagner. Nobody on either side of the shifting aisle of local politics wanted to rock the boat, everybody is happy with this deal. Now, one more step at the state level and then it will be official. In fact, council members, members of the Henry Administration and some citizens are already conjuring up uses for the funds.

Tom Smith has a broad outline of ways he thinks the money could be best spent. John Shoaff will lobby for money for community beautification, among other uses, each member at the table will have a punch list of ideas. You can also bet every department head will have their wish list, as they well should. So should you.

This is a rare moment. The city has a windfall. What is the best use of the money? You are cordially invited -or so it was said at least four times last night at council- to offer your ideas. The invitation is sincere. Do not be shy, otherwise a perfectly good idea might be missed, as was voiced by one councilman last night. Send your ideas to this email address: citycouncil@cityoffortwayne.org You may also write to your council member or at-large representative via the Clerk’s office at One Main Street.

There were a few other matters that prompted discussion. Two citizen volunteers appointed to the Redevelopment Commission, Casey Cox and Tom Obergfell, presented their annual report to council as required by an ordinance conceived and shepherded to law by Councilwoman Liz Brown. They both spoke quite eloquently and thoughtfully about the past year’s work of the RDC and what is ahead of them. A round of laughter was prompted when Mr. Cox said that “some of you may be following the Harrison condo project.” Understatement is a clever form of humor. Mr. Shoaff and others have been “following” the project. Cox suggested that something is abrew. Asked what concerns them most Mr. Obergfell commented on the North River Project and, by way of explaining the Tax Increment Financing system, noted that the city has no money simply to buy the acreage, as Councilman Tim Pape suggested might be prudent. Mr. Pape argued that the land may not be as attractive now to developers as it might were the city actively marketing it. Mr. Obergfell simply said that the TIF that could be used to funnel funds to that project was currently dormant. Given the year of debate over the Harrison Square project and the ongoing concerns for downtown redevelopment it was wise of the City to ask Messrs. Cox and Obergfell to make the presentation, rather than others. They were well received by every member at the table.

During “open chair” time John Reynolds of Allied Mechanical took his turn at the mic. He complained in very respectful terms that a recent contract upon which he had bid might be less expensive to the city if its elements were broken apart. He said his bids on various parts would have saved the city $2,878 and change. Not all that much, he eventually noted, but every bit counts, he added. Council members explained to him that the bill would be back before council in early December and they would look into it then, and added that he should come back to make the same point and hear an explanation, if any is offered. They were most respectful of Mr. Reynolds as was he of them.

During council’s chance to mention odds and ends Bishop Luers and St. Francis football got mentions, as did the coming burial of a young soldier, Sergeant Kevin Pape from Fort Wayne, who was recently killed in combat in Afghanistan and will find his last rest near Colonel Sion Bass and Lieutenant Paul Baer at Lindenwood. His death should remind us that we should invest our newfound wealth with his sacrifice in mind and a dedication to make our community a better place.

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Glynn Hines woke everyone up at the end of a moribund council meeting: net year is election year and we may want to move the budget process up.

Until then the meeting of Fort Wayne Common Council was winging like little martins passed resolutions, over introductions of bills and through a “public” hearing of sorts with hardly a sound. The Committee session had only one item to discuss, but in two forms; a legal public hearing, at which no one, not even the recipients of a proposed tax break, chose to speak. Diversified Marketing Solutions wanted a $640,000 off their tax bill in exchange for creating a handful of jobs. In the jargon of government, an Economic Revitalization Area was created to give structure and justification to the break. Moments later the same measure, now having sailed through the public hearing, was up for discussion. Elissa McGauley, economic development specialist for the city, explain the rationale behind the proposal and wove a story of an old building being revitalized, a corporate headquarters being moved to Fort Wayne and a distribution center soon to open. Tom Smith, who chairs the committee, liked the story she detailed and said as much, with emphasis. Heads nodded, vote taken, unanimous approval. The underlying principle is to help local businesses, usually small businesses, expand. It does. Like any human project it has its strengths and its weaknesses, but it is based on all of us helping entrepreneurs among us get a start or expand. It takes a village.

Then, council members got up, took the pledge to the flag, bowed their heads for a moment of silence and Clerk Sandy Kennedy re-read the roll to open the Regular Session of Common Council. By now, Mitch Harper had joined his colleagues to form a full house. The audience numbered about eleven, including a police officer, two reporters, two bloggers, two citizens who never miss a session, two unidentified individuals, a citizen-politician who loves to lurk on the margins of the room and the camera operator for the City TV channel. No one from the administration, except the gifted Ms. McGauley, was there.

So, in regular session council breezed through 19 ordinances with remarkable speed and consensus. Only one member, Mitch Harper, voted against any of the 19 measures; he did not explain his vote. No one bothered to ask him why. Mitch always has his reasons.

Finally, council invited citizens to amble to the table to express themselves in some way on some item of community interest. No one did. Going once, going twice, going three times, noted the council president, Mr. Bender. He really, really sounded like he hoped someone would come forward to speak.

He then invited council members to speak about whatever matter they might find of pressing consequence. John Shoaff announce two matters, others added a comment or two and then Tom Smith, who had chaired the budget process in November, applauded the group for their good work, gave himself a pat on the back for chairing the perilous process and then tossed a piece of red meat on the table: next year why not require a co-sponsor for any proposed cut. Liz Brown stiffened, her eyes sharpened. She had proposed the most cuts this last go-round, and had lost all of them except one a gift from God in the person of Greg Leatherman who brought laughter and a dose of reality when he tossed her a $5,000 win. She nearly hugged Leatherman. Smith had just opened a wound. Others spoke to the issue and then Ms. Brown retorted that it was her duty to find excess in the budget and propose cuts. Tim Pape then added that council members should first speak with department heads where they, council members, proposed to make cuts. Ms. Brown again bristled and on both counts she was right. It is her duty to make proposed cuts and she will not have to fill out a “mother-may-I” form to show she has duly parleyed with someone in the street-light warehouse, although it might help her a bit to understand the rational behind departmental budgeting, perhaps the point that Mr. Pape was trying to make. John Shoaff came to the rescue by suggesting that any proposed cut should have a second to be introduced for discussion, a la Robert’s Rules of Order, the bible for such bodies and one that seemingly only Shoaff and Harper at table have read. Mr. Shoaff made it clear that he would second some motions just to facilitate discussion.

Then Hines, quiet most of the night, reminded everyone that next year is the city election and they might want to move the budget process up a bit to avoid a hearing on election night. Someone muttered warnings of political agendas and posturing.

At the table was one member who is all but announced for mayor: “I am keeping my options open,” said Liz Brown to a reporter. More than a few people would support her, and more than a few would support Mitch Harper, at the other end of the table, who is also interested in the job, although reservedly so. Tim Pape and Karen Goldner strongly support the administration for their good reasons. Tom Henry is likely to run again. Others at the table like Paula Hughes. As we grown closer to the election, to the rising tempers and louder voices, each vote will gain significance and be a platform for posturing. Perhaps in those numerous “no” votes Mitch Harper is building a record; perhaps in his criticism of Councilwoman Brown Mr. Pape is previewing spring skirmishes, perhaps in all of her lonely votes Mrs. Brown is trying to out-conservative her brethren. Glynn Hines reminded us all that there will be a nice break for the various holidays and then the battle will be on to determine whose priorities guide the city for the coming four years.

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