Posts Tagged “Pat Roller”

By Jim Sack

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. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

There was no council meeting last night. Given the break, given the pause from passage of one tax break after another, cross examination of administration witnesses, presentations by sewer and insurance experts a few matters are worthy of contemplation.

Who will be the next mayor? Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Fire Hydrants? $2,9 million? Well, that’s what Mitch Harper wanted to cut last night from the city budget and it passed, to almost everybody’s surprise, even for Mitch a bit.

More than four hours after a rejuvenated Marty Bender gaveled down the meeting and turned the budget hearings and process over to Finance Chairman Tom Smith the process of cutting the mayor’s budget was still ambling along. Council members, the media, guests, citizens, employees were all a bit slap happy when it came to the matter of Fire Hydrants. It was one of 24 proposed budget cuts voted on in last night’s Marathon session. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

The Marty Factor was in play last night for most interchanges between council and city, council and council. That factor being a renewed gentleness at the table in light of the recent reminder of the fragility of life in the person of Marty Bender, council president.

City Clerk Sandy Kennedy who is very close to Marty Bender told people that he is coming around and probably watching council proceedings from his hospital bed which prompted a call from Council Vice President Mitch Harper for a round of applause for Bender from all gathered in the room last night. The recognition from the table and the audience of some 30 folk, a large crowd by regular council standards, was heart felt and prolonged. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Last nights extraordinary city council meeting stated on a somber note: City Clerk Sandy Kennedy, tears in her eyes, told a few of us before the meeting that Marty Bender, council president, had suffered a seizure during dinner with his daughter and was hospitalized. She was quite distraught.

A subdued Mitch Harper, council vice president, eased into the president’s chair and quietly started the meeting with comments on Mr. Bender’s situation and his wishes that President Bender would quickly recover. He then gaveled open the rare Thursday session to resume oversight of the mayor’s proposed budget, focusing last night on use of CEDIT dollars, the County Economic Development Income Tax, a $19 million stream of revenue for the city. Controller Pat Roller parsed the pile of money: some goes to maintenance of the parks, much to debt service, some to the Board of Works and over $4 million to Economic Development, the department chaired by John Urbahns who was on hand last night, passing out notepaper to one forgetful reporter and cough lozenges to a coughing writer as he awaited his turn at the table. Nice guy. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Budget time at city council. The budget is the blueprint by which policy is made. Dollars are allocated to programs and projects that should, in the composite, articulate the philosophy of the community as it looks to its future.

But first, the roll call. Eight “here,” one “present.” Mitch Harper is known to graze just a few yards away from the rest of the herd. Gavel down, President Marty Bender conducted the first movement of the night’s concert, Do Pass or Not Do Pass. Two ordinances were passed out quickly, each relating to the sewer problems we have in Fort Wayne. Eight “yeas,” one “nay,” Mister President, announced Clerk Sandy Kennedy. Harper being the lone “nay,” grazing upwind from the sewer question. No rankling, not much discussion, a quick presentation highlighted by a fuzzy map and a quick vote. Mitch staking out a position? Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Budget time again, that annual process of setting priorities and stretching pennies, has begun, Councilman Tom Smith in charge.

The administration, in the person of the chief financial officer, the controller, presented a slide show to preface the discussions and debates. It was a overview of revenues and expenses and how they have changed over the past ten to twenty years. In short, most of the city’s expenses are in personnel costs, (78%) and most of the revenue still comes (74%) from property taxes, although, as Controller Pat Roller bragged, the city over the years has developed new streams of revenue to “diversify” government resources, unlike other cities that are in much worse financial shape than Fort Wayne. She introduced a budget that is essentially flat for a city, she noted, that is physically some 38% larger than ten years ago and has 35% more roads to pave and repave and repave than years past. The number of city employees is down and costs are contained, she smiled. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

As one local government official said, “there was conflict between Pat Roller and Greg Purcell and Tom (Henry) chose her.”

Greg Purcell is returning to Michigan to care for ailing family members. Maybe that is the case, but it sounds as lame a reason to leave the high-paying job as Mike Pence saying he prefers the life of a Congressman to that of a Senator. Something is not right.

Purcell, is seems, did speak truth to power, was critical of the way matters such as the casino issue and the I&M fight were handled and eventually lost favor with the mayor. You might remember the mayor said he was neutral on the issue of bringing a casino to Fort Wayne and then was seen lobbying hard in the legislature for just that outcome. In the matter of the I&M lease of City Light property the matter was and remains poorly explained to the public, has become entwined in legal machinations and has not been the win for the community and himself that the mayor expected.

Read the rest of this entry »