Click to enlarge

No related posts.

It should be noted, (and Pape and Goldner never mention this), the ordinance only appropriates $700K. There is nothing in there that spells out when they have to do anything, or what they have to accomplish. Just give Tom Henry and Beth Malloy $700K to buy more software and contract some of Beth’s friends to provide retraining programs for employees who aren’t very nice to applicants. There are no deadlines, no benchmarks, no nothing. Just cash.

Pape submitted the ordinance, which is laden with errors. He also has no clue who wrote it. Goldner and Pape call it a power grab. Henry says Harper is ignoring the business community.

Harper did this for valid reasons, and rather than show a willingness to work out the kinks in the ordinance, Golder and Pape would rather stand in front of cameras and piss and moan.

Goldner in her press release stated, “Harper unilaterally decided he’d delay the process himself and <sic> add more red tape.” It’s not more red tape. Given the city now wants to give health insurance to city employee’s spouses, Harper is not only questioning the language in the ordinance and the lack of benchmarks, among other things, but whether or not the city can actually afford it.

Goldner continued, “The ordinance is designed to eliminate unnecessary delays in large-scale business investment that creates good paying jobs, and it needs to get done now.” It’s been an ongoing problem for years. What’s two additional weeks to insure it’s done right?

In a release today, GOP Chairman Steve Shine stated the following:

“Vogt and Harper are exercising a spirit of cooperation that has been missing in local government for quite some time,” Shine said.”This action exemplifies what Republican leadership is all about.”

The action of bringing city and county councils for joint deliberations and agreement on benchmarks has been met with much different reactions from fellow council members. The all-Republican Allen County Council reserved discussion on the changes in the permitting process without fanfare. Conversely, Democrat Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and Councilpersons Karen Goldner and Tim Pape are greatly resisting a full discussion of all stakeholders that are charged to protect the taxpayers in one meeting.

“I am disappointed by the action of city Democrats,” Shine said. “As a taxpayer, I am glad council leadership came together to make sure this expenditure isn’t simply a blank check to the Henry administration.”

Goldner, Pape and Henry just want business as usual when it comes to “their” ordinances. Ram it through, the hell with scrutiny.

Related posts:

1. My Kingdom for a Camera Blow for blow, topic for topic, insult for insult, last...
2. Touché By Jim Sack It was like watching a fine fencing...
3. Too Heavy to Move By Jim Sack It was what was missing that proved...

Of those that gave a positive rating came this comment.

Thanks to him we still have Navistar (NaviStay) in town and Harrison Square is complete capping off the redevelopment of downtown.

Huh?

And from one giving a negative rating came this.

He reduced the city expenses and taxes and made do with the facilities they had in these tough economic times- Uh,No He Didn’t. He finished the baseball stadium that the previous mayor started–Uh, No He Didn’t. He saved the International move to super expensive Illinois with hundreds of thousands in consulting fees–Uh, No He Didn’t…… He did strong arm I&M on the city light lease. Just can’t wait until the bill from I&M comes due…..

You can view the rest of the comments at the News Sentinel here.

No related posts.

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.

Related posts:

1. Steam-Rollered By Jim Sack As one local government official said, “there...
2. Four More Years? By Jim Sack There was no council meeting last night....
3. The Budget War Subsides By Jim Sack Fire Hydrants? $2,9 million? Well, that’s what...

In Soviet times Kremlin watchers parsed every word in a speech looking for signs of change or looming purges. Every photograph was compared to others to see who had recently been left out and might be on a train headed for the Gulag. It was and is the little things that count. Read between the lines to find the true story.

So, yesterday I counted the number of applause lines and looked for signs of whether there were “plants” in the house to lead the herd in cheering Mayoral self-congratulation. (There were two nests of excessive exuberance…one seemingly led by a by a councilman.) I counted the use of “we” compared to “I” to determine attitude, and I checked the use of the conditional tense for signs of bets being hedged. Instead, I was impressed with most of the show. Tom Henry, in his State of the City speech yesterday at the library began with lavishing praise the leadership of our gem of a library system, Jeff Kroll, and peppered his remarks liberally with praise for staff, community groups, historic figures, we of the average citizen, the remarkable young Taylor Reuille and many others. The first person singular was less active than the plural. Even though it is an election year, Mayor Henry stopped short of wallowing in self-praise and spread congratulations around in ample portions. “We” outnumbered “I.”

He did voice lingering frustration with Harrison Square projects, and his one hedge was that it is nearly done, but named a lead bank and a number of local banks that would soon be fully on board to finance the four-story project along Jefferson. “Nearly’ qualified the belated success. He would have liked to have made a triumphant announcement a center piece of his SOTC address, I would guess. And, curiously to an Soviet-watcher he called it the last part of the puzzle which, if I remember, was actually the last piece of the first phase of three phases of development in that area. Perhaps just a scrivener’s error, perhaps it was not.

Mayor Henry touched all of the bases from public safety to economic development to social equity. As he spoke I put a star by each reference to economic development and by the end of the speech my eight pages of text were awash in stars. Had I “starred” each use of the word “jobs” the pages would have been black with constellations. First and foremost, it was a speech about economic development and local finances. Our house is in order was the hummed mantra throughout the speech. He is most probably right. Unless there is some lurking monster hidden in the bowels of the books, Fort Wayne should rightly become the mecca for municipal bean counters and fiscal bodies. Hold high the Holy Grail of fiscal prudence, bring forth the pilgrims, fill hotel rooms, give seminars, hire more waitresses. You may have heard that Gary is slipping toward some form of receivership. We, chirped Mayor Henry, have a bank account that would make Scrooge McDuck, one of my favorite childhood friends, make prolonged duck-sounds of envy.

I saw most of the members of City Council there assembled, as well as plenty of friendly, administration officials, mostly beaming; there, too, were leaders of banking, industry and the arts. It was the plenary session of our leadership, no doubt. Social service leaders were scattered about, the candidates for mayor were there, it was in every regard a gathering of the forces and organizations that drive Fort Wayne. Certainly, criticisms were uttered from the aspirant candidates and others, but downers were few and far between. Cautious Tom Smith, that very down-to-earth and usually fair councilman, felt the speech was a bit short on plans for the future, but otherwise he applauded the speech. Most in attendance rather quite liked it. Conversely, those whose current task is to tear down the mayor for their own campaign goals had more pointed comments to make. And, interestingly, a friend who watched on TV said the Mayor looked angry, perhaps a factor of lighting. In the hall he was nothing but smiles and radiance.

After the speech there was a stand-up gathering stoked by free hors d’oeuvre crudités and meatballs on picks. Nearly everybody stayed and elbowed around to renew friendships and practice small talk. Smiles predominated, and not because of the food. Often, at those sorts of gatherings you can walk group to group and hear the put downs, or the critical asides that temper a speech. Not at this one. It was like a wedding celebration and Tom was the father of the bride. Absent were those dark little gatherings of assassins plotting in corners an overthrow or deriding the bride’s dress. Everyone who stayed was nearly jovial. The two pretenders to the throne, Mr. Doden and Mrs. Brown, left immediately after the last applause had died. I did not notice whether the third, Mrs. Hughes, was there.

While the mayor does not add much to a speech, he and his writers crafted and delivered a well balanced message yesterday. He took some credit, but spread plenty around, he sounded a couple of sad notes to modulate the otherwise cheery litany of successes, and he made jobs/economic development/finances his underlying theme which he pounded home. He (and his able writer) remembered that on the street there are many, many people who still are looking for work, who can’t get their rent together and have to turn to bread lines to stoke their fires of ambition. It is for the least among us that we also must work, not just the elite who know the ways to power and wealth.

For the most part Fort Wayne is in fine shape, but Mayor Henry reminded over and over again that jobs, jobs and more jobs are the key to our future. Perhaps it is the details of that mantra Councilman Smith felt were lacking.

The Light Lease inheritance will frame the future that rightly concerns Councilman Smith and others. Mayor Henry spoke about that, took credit for the win, should have spread that credit around a bit more to include Graham Richard and Ivan Lebamoff, among others, but wisely has spread responsibility for its allocations to the community at large and a small task force in particular. Perhaps the joy in the anteroom yesterday from those many leaders was part celebration of a good speech, in part in celebration of a strong financial balance-sheet and mostly for the mouthwatering appeal of $75 million of inheritance. Perhaps it was less a wedding celebration than the rehearsal dinner with everyone anticipating the butchering of the fatted calf.

Related posts:

1. Smith Sounds the Charge By Jim Sack The Mitch Harper era has begun. Last...

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.

Related posts:

1. Council Sets the Stage… By Jim Sack It was a fresh start last night,...
2. Here’s Tommy…. (With apologies to Ed McMahon) By Jim Sack It came as a bit of a...
3. No Objections to the City-I&M Deal By Jim Sack No one as so much as raised...

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.

Related posts:

1. The Budget War Subsides By Jim Sack Fire Hydrants? $2,9 million? Well, that’s what...
2. A number of things.. By Jim Sack The Skybridge and the Embassy. I am...
3. Council Sets the Stage… By Jim Sack It was a fresh start last night,...

Planning for debates and town hall forums should begin now.

January 3, 2011 - Fort Wayne, Indiana

Liz Brown, candidate for the Republican nomination for Mayor of the City of Fort Wayne released the following statement concerning the upcoming Republican primary election and the need to begin planning and preparing for candidate debates and town hall forums:

As we enter this 2011 municipal election year, it is important that Fort
Wayne voters have all the facts about the Republican candidates seeking to lead this City. The best opportunity for the Republican voters to determine which of the mayoral candidates best understands the issues and represents their interests is for us to share our views in multiple candidate forums, together. Although the exact number and identity of the candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Mayor may be unknown today, it is likely in the coming days and weeks the field of candidates will increase. However, planning and preparation for multiple debates and town hall forums should not begin after the official February filing deadline – it should begin now. I am ready and willing to begin discussing and sharing my specific plans and ideas with the voters of Fort Wayne.

Economic development is a term all politicians throw around, without ever
really defining what it means to them. We need to make it as easy as possible for business to start here, expand here, and stay here. Government should not be in the business of creating jobs, but it should eliminate all obstacles that prevent businesses from doing so. We should be working with our businesses on a daily basis, not just in times of crisis.

We can eliminate the red tape encountered in the numerous permitting
processes and requirements businesses encounter when opening or expanding. Government can be proactive in anticipating where the logjams are and eliminate them before we discourage business owners. Every business owner I have talked to has a horror story about doing business in the city or county. It may have been last week, or 10 years ago, but the point is, their perceptions have not changed. We must change that, so they share their good impression of how easy it is to do business in the City of Fort Wayne.

Every state and major city is concerned about their economic future and Fort Wayne, the 2nd largest city in the State of Indiana and the 72nd largest city in the United States, is no different. We need to ensure that we can maintain the level of services our citizens have come to expect while making sure that we can afford the promises we make to our employees. This requires a budgeting approach in which we scrutinize not just the cost of running city departments but whether they are providing services that are necessary and appropriate.

In order to allow the voters of Fort Wayne the chance to hear all the
interested candidates articulate their ideas, plans and strategies for the City of Fort Wayne for the next four years, I ask all the candidates to join me not just in the usual debates but also in multiple town hall forums and neighborhood meetings to explore these issues and plans in depth. To the candidates who have publicly made their intention of seeking the Republican nomination for Mayor known and to the candidates who will announce their candidacy in the coming days and weeks, I am ready to debate. I have been known for asking probing questions when it comes to spending taxpayers’ money, now it is time to allow the citizens of Fort Wayne the chance to also ask probing questions of all the candidates, so they are well-informed when they head to the polls in May.

Related posts:

1. Four More Years? By Jim Sack There was no council meeting last night....

There is an interesting story in the Journal-Gazette this morning concerning the casino. In short, the idea is dead…for the moment.

Here’s the link. Tell me what you think.

Here is my take. Mayor Henry still doesn’t get it and still is not being candid with us.

Very, very few people in Fort Wayne, with whom I spoke, liked the idea. There were plenty who were open to a casino in town, but only a few who broke into renditions of old Wayne Newton songs when the idea was presented in polite conversation. This was a business deal presented to the mayor by a guy with excess slots who wanted a new source of revenue. The rubes in Fort Wayne were to be his victims.

Mayor Henry said the developer came to him with the idea and it was the Mayor’s duty to find out if the idea was good for Fort Wayne. That, itself, is a smoke-screen, but it is the way he went about contemplating the possibilities that flies in the face of logic: he hired consultants to determine how to get the legislature to approve the idea upon which he was publicly neutral. The referendum was a smoke screen, an expensive smoke screen. It cost well over $100,000 when all was done and would have cost significantly more if a special referendum were to have been authorized.

If he really wanted to know he could have commissioned Andy Downs to conduct a 2,500 person survey to provide a sense of whether the average person was in favor of a casino, or not. We know that the money people, the developers and the investors would have done well; the question was always whether the people in Fort Wayne would want a casino in our midst, along with the inherent crime and the degrading effect it has on the poor, those suckers who would waste hundreds on slots and the other money pits. Oh the dreams of “the loosest slots in Indiana.” Democrats are supposed to be the champions of the poor, rather than complicit in fleecing them.

The few jobs it would have created for the working class among us would have been negligible compared to the last pennies being spent on gambling.

And, do we really want a cheesy casino-lite in our midst. I doubt we were going to see Monte Carlo West here. Tom Didier said it well, it was just not a good fit.

Now, I can see that having a casino somewhere in the center, near the convention center, near the Embassy, near the ball park would provide the tourism people with another selling point to bring conventions to town, and that should be counted on the plus side. I can also see it would be a source of tax revenue and, given that many of the buildings downtown are on the dole, that would be a nice change. But it was not a good fit.

Mayor Henry famously said he was neutral while spending a great deal of tax dollars to push his neutrality on the legislature. He squandered more than enough tax dollars to re-open the mothballed Swinney Park pool happily for years used by neighborhood kids, a pool that he closed for lack of funds. Priorities, Mayor Tom.

He could have asked our legislators whether they favored such a measure and he would have gotten the same general answer, it was not a good fit. He could have gone to the neighborhood association quadrant meetings and asked. He could have assembled a focus group at the Grand Wayne for a frank discussion. He could have saved a hundred thousand and avoided that unsavory taste of crow.

Mayor Henry never did make a good case for this to the public, to city council or to our delegation in the legislature. Instead, he made an end run which cost us a lot of money and failed.

An effective poll of the community at various levels would have told him that, and at much less expense. That among other mistakes is why council cut his powers to hire consultants and why there was a small fire-storm when Deputy Mayor Malloy award a contract to a consultant in Chicago. A certain level of trust is missing.

In Lanka’s well-written story Tom’s parting thought is “I guess we know how the legislature feels about us.” He misses the point. We residents of Fort Wayne were also indifferent at best to the idea and gave him precious little support in his lobbying efforts. Perhaps he should have said, “I guess we know how you all feel about my idea.”

No related posts.

Joint Statement of the City of Fort Wayne and the Office of the Allen County Prosecutor on the issue of a Fort Wayne City Court:

[...]

The idea of a Fort Wayne City Court is one that has been talked about for some time. The ordinance calling for a City Court was prepared because City Clerk Sandy Kennedy, various members of Fort Wayne City Council, including Council President Marty Bender and Councilman Glynn Hines, along with the Henry administration, all believed it to be a good idea. Research supported its pursuit.

In light of the new opportunities for dialogue, the City, City Council and the County/Prosecutor’s Office have agreed to address these issues and work to secure those solutions within the current system. As part of that mutual understanding, the ordinance calling for the establishment of a Fort Wayne City Court has been withdrawn from consideration.

Horse hockey. The fact is this. The Henry administration thought they had the vote in the bag. 5 ayes and 4 nays. The five they knew that would vote in favor were all the usual Henry disciples, including Tim Pape.

Prior to the press release, Frank Suarez was busy on the phone calling the opposition. While I’m not certain how many of the opposition votes he contacted, I do know he contacted at least one of them. What? Wait? Why you ask, if they had five votes in favor? Simple answer.

Tim Pape left for sunny Florida, creating an “absent”. Hence, the “joint” press release was nothing more than fluff. It was a draw.

Related posts:

1. Maybe Pape, Goldner and Henry should hole up in a hotel in Illinois Karen Goldner and Tim Pape are whining like school yard...
2. No Objections to the City-I&M Deal By Jim Sack No one as so much as raised...
3. A drama, a romance, who’s behind the curtain, where is the dagger? By Jim Sack Here’s what I have learned from sources...

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?

We have a line up. Tom Henry is already running and only a calamity will keep him from leading the Democratic ballot, while on the Republican side a yawner shaping up: Paula Hughes is fading, Liz Brown has made her splash with little follow up, Mitch Harper is…well, Mitch Harper is very hard to read, and Eric Doden is treading water. No excitement. None.

A year ago Tom Henry looked very vulnerable. Little seemed to be going right for him, but a cautionary note was sounded by a Republican councilman: “if he gets a big payout on the I&M deal he will look golden.” He did and he does. The city is not in the throes of layoffs, the administration is not closing parks, just the opposite, new ideas are presented to council each week for their consideration. For most of us Fort Wayne is in fine shape. The city, like Scrooge McDuck, is wallowing in a $100 million surplus, what more needs to be said. While famed financial analysts are predicting a quickening pace of governmental collapse and default due to dwindling revenues Fort Wayne has the luxury of calmly contemplating how to invest in our future. Tom Henry (thanks to Graham Richard, Ivan Lebamoff, Tim Haffner, Pat Roller, etc), will have a hundred lines for his campaign brochures ranging from “I cut your taxes” to “It’s a Sunny Day in Fort Wayne.” He closed the deal.

Henry already has a sizable campaign war chest and should be most concerned that the line of contractors bellying up to pay to play doesn’t get him in trouble. Need I mention Matt Kelty? The campaign finance reports will make interesting reading.

Paula Hughes wants to run Fort Wayne but announced in New Haven. As president of council council she was already seen as an outsider, so the announcement cemented that “barbarians at the gates” image, or just the suggestion that many more mistakes would follow under the Hughes Administration. The one word that is repeated by politicos when referring to Paula’s campaign is “uninspiring.” On her web page and in her announcement she spoke of jobs and economic development. Everybody speaks of economic development. It is part of the mantra, it is the call from pulpit that is expected to illicit response from the congregation. It is becoming a cliche, meaningless, a slogan empty of substance. Give me a specific or two or three or four. What do you mean by economic development? Show me specifics!

Same with Councilwoman Liz Brown. She announced recently her intentions to take over city government. More economic development, more attention to business development, more services for neighborhoods…and, and, lower taxes. That’s novel. Two telling votes were against neighborhood wishes so they are not moved, the city already is on knee pads to help business relocate or expand, and economic development is a throw-away phrase. Mrs. Brown may have a warm and reassuring personality, but it does not come through at council where she is very aggressive with her fellow council members and with most people who testify at the table. She has not won may friends, and that is the essence of being a mayor, consensus building. It is one thing to be the one in an eight to one vote, to wave the finger in the air and make an arcane point, but in leading a city a higher level of team-building is essential. She who torches common ground will have a very hard time reaping a harvest.

Eric Doden. Hmmm. Comes from a wealthy background. Ambassador Steel. Father made a million. Just moved to town. Now, he wants to take over our city. I value John McGauley’s judgement greatly. Mr. McGauley might make a fine mayor someday, so when John says that I would really enjoy Eric I believe him. I would expect Eric however, a la Liz Brown, to serve a term on council to learn the ropes. She, to her great credit, has jumped in to government head first, sometime feet first. She is in the process of becoming an expert on city government and it be to our detriment to lose her on council. Doden should do the same. Learn the departments, learn the budget, learn the players, gain some “cred.” It is always nice to have new blood, new ideas, new energy, but Eric has not learned the basics, let alone the nuances that determine success or failure of a city. Why do some city’s rise while some fall…Chicago, Detroit, Gary, Pittsburgh. Leadership.

The wild card is Mitch Harper. Mitch knows almost every living thing in Allen County. He has a thousand stories to tell on any given topic. He knows where the bones are buried, literally. So, will he run? There are plenty of people -friends, relatives, blogs, passers by, barmaids, politicos and the rank and file- who would love to see him run. He is one of the smartest politicians in Indiana, bar none. He is as nice to little old ladies as one could ever expect. He is nice to everyone. Beside the personality to be mayor he has the experience, he also is very, very politically savvy and would probably not hire a lobbyist to push gambling while telling the rest of us of his neutrality.

Harper, in short, would make a superb mayor. Mr. Harper, however, is taking a long time to decide. Targets do not stand still forever.

Regardless of who runs the numbers, the raw numbers favor Republican candidates. With the annexation of Aboite Township neighborhoods the balance of power shifted to the Republican column. Matt Kelty would be mayor today, but his campaign was as inept as one could ever imagine. Tom Henry, then outside politics, holding now power base, a former councilman who had been tossed overboard by his neighbors, was able to rise from the dead and become mayor.

Public sentiment is not for a law-and-order type, not for a dynamic reformer, not for a moral imperative, at the moment, a steady hand at the helm is valued. November of 2011 could however, call for another sort of candidate and personality.

Right now, Tom Henry is odds on to win. He is a steady hand. Money, reputation, personality and respect all favor him. Only Mitch Harper can match or exceed him on those points, and Mitch seems to have retreated to the side lines.

So, unless Tom Henry does something untoward, unless Liz Brown comes up with a hot and defining issue, there will be no reason to change.

Related posts:

1. Another Candidate for Mayor? By Jim Sack We understand there is a political poll...
2. The Legacy Fund Battle By Jim Sack There was no meeting of council last...
3. Warnings of Political Agendas and Posturing By Jim Sack Glynn Hines woke everyone up at the...

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.

Related posts:

1. Fort Wayne gets dumber and dumber Yesterday the Board of Public Works approved paying NOVI Energy...
2. I&M Fort Wayne Light Lease fight – $500,000 and counting The Henry administration has spent nearly $300,000 on attorneys, and...
3. Fort Wayne Garbage contract stinks even more as Tim Pape admits partner owns 5% of Earth First In an article by Ben Lanka this morning, Tim Pape...

One hour to deal with millions and millions and millions.

Friendliness.

Respect.

Thoughtfulness.

No rancor, no animosity, no moments when one council member snapped a reprimand at another council member. Only one mildly tacky moment.

I&M representatives in the front row and city representatives behind them

So, last night Tom Henry in the person of Tim Haffner brought home the bacon. As Ben Lanka pointed out over the weekend in his excellent piece in the Journal, it was a long and convoluted process that started a century ago with the establishment of City Light around 1909, changed course when we leased the utility to I&M in the mid-70s and seemed headed for a costly divorce when Graham Richard pulled out the pre-nup and challenged I&M’s plans for a seamless takeover. Lanka and Dan Stockman’s piece is worth reading, well worth reading.

Due to Mayor Richard’s higher expectations and to the tough, thoughtful, careful negotiating by Tim Haffner and the team he assembled, I&M has agreed to pay the city, you and me and our children, tens of millions, not a few hundred thousand, for the utility. As Mr. Haffner said last night, this frees up the Light Lease Trust fund, over $30 million, for public use, and wins the city close to $40 million more over time, to better our community.

It was a very polite meeting and the matter cruised through the public hearing and the vote without hardly a negative comment. Only the testifying president of the Chamber of Commerce seemed oblivious to the tone of the evening by mentioning how unseemly all the squabbling had been to an outsider considering Fort Wayne as a site for their business expansion. I guess he would have preferred the city take the initial low ball offer and simply roll over so his job would be a tad easier. One wonders who he cares about?

So, back to the pros at the table. They were literally tripping over each other to move and second the “do-pass.” Tim Pape explained it clearly: the administration had done a very good job of keeping council members informed at every step of the process. Everyone was up to speed by the time the resolution was brought to the table. People may wonder, he said, why we argue for an hour over $11,000, but speed this through. Everyone at the table, simply put, had been part of the process. They could, however, have done a better job of keeping we peasant masses informed.

The only unseemly moment was when Liz Brown noted that she had gotten a phone call from heavy-hitter Keith Busse of Steel Dynamics and a variety of other business organizations and interests, pushing for the community’s pay out to go straight to economic development. Busse, as presented by Mrs. Brown, seemed greedy and pushy. Candidate Brown sounded too anxious to get her teeth into the kill. Tom Smith, in a calming comment, suggested that many, many needs in the community exist and that many, many of them might fall under the economic development rubric. He said there would be time for the community to offer its ideas at a measured pace. No need to fight like hungry hyenas.

So, with a smiling delegation of I&M folk, smiling council members, a smiling corporate attorney, Tim Haffner, a few beaming members of the administration, not to mention a jovial audience the measure got a resounding “do-pass” and the evening was all but over. The Henry administration reassured everyone that plenty of time will be structured for public input, that the ideas we folk offer be taken serious and that the process will be even more transparent as the new body scanners at Baer Field. Keith Busse is welcome to a seat at the table like the rest of us.

Another matter on the agenda last night was a report by Kirk Moriarty, the head of the Enterprise Zone, on the activities of his group. The Enterprise Zone runs along the central railroad tracks and was set up to create jobs in the center city. Liz Brown was sublime in her praise for Mr. Moriarty’s work and that of the organization upon which she sits as a member. The Enterprise Zone was a good idea in the early 80s, Graham Richard made it work then as a private citizen, and remains a good idea now, but sadly, over the years has underachieved. This is candidate Brown’s passion so let us see what her work there and that of Mr. Moriarty can produce that might speak to her management of the city.

As for the rapprochement between the City and I&M, give Mr. Haffner and his team a great deal of credit. They decided to expect more and they got much, much more. Haffner assembled a remarkably talented team and went eye-to-eye with AEP, the parent of one of America’s largest companies…and earned a sizable payout for Fort Wayne.

Haffner, it should be noted, came into the fray with an unfair advantage. His dad had worked as a young man for City Light and then for for the City running the Street Light Department among other offices in our little town. Kenny Haffner was always determined to do the best for his city, raised a remarkable family of public-minded kids and his son’s achievement would have made the tough, compassionate, go-getting elder very proud. It reminds us that this city has been built over two-centuries of tough, hard-nosed, determined work, and more than a bit of healthy public squabbling, despite the ruffled sensitivities of our man at the Chamber. So, before the hyenas start pulling at the kill, remember the little giants who got us here and give a little thanks. Now, back to work.

Related posts:

1. No Objections to the City-I&M Deal By Jim Sack No one as so much as raised...
2. Warnings of Political Agendas and Posturing By Jim Sack Glynn Hines woke everyone up at the...
3. Budgets and Badgers By Jim Sack Budget time again, that annual process of...

A TV hit of the 50s and 60s was a series of stories about the results of sudden wealth. Each week Michael Anthony, the butler to the millionaire, John Beresford Tipton, would present a cashier’s check for one million dollars to someone chosen for the benefits or corrosive effect of sudden riches by Tipton.

Enter Tom Henry. Give him great credit for this coup, that being negotiating a much better settlement from I&M Power than they had first offered and that most anyone on council imagined he might achieve. Give also credit to Tim Haffner, the occasionally maligned corporate counsel, who led the team that got blood from that turnip. He has more than earned his keep. His dad would be proud. Oh, and thanks, too, to former Mayor Ivan Lebamoff who set the stage for this win many years ago.

So, now, let the trouble begin.

As in the Millionaire, as in life painted by lottery winnings, some people ended up prematurely dead, hounded by greedy relatives, or poisoned by their own excesses, left penniless in the end. Some, however, used the funds wisely and basked in the glow of success. Here is my advice to Fort Wayne and to Tom Henry.

First of all, Tom secured it so he gets to lead the discussion on how it should be spent.

Secondly, Tom is the employee of the citizens of Fort Wayne and it is our money, not Tom’s, not Tim’s, not council’s, not that of any individual.

Thirdly, we should show maximum prudence in investing this in our future. But, prudence is in the eye of the beholder, so what might be prudent to one segment of the community, one leader, one faction, may not be prudent to the whole. The discussion and the allocations should be public.

Fourthly, we should begin with a discussion of what our overarching goals are for Fort Wayne: a creative community, an industrial city, a center for medical research, the amateur sports hub of America, a city of remarkable parks, great arts and chic dressers? If you don’t know where you are going any road will take you there, and lead to wasting our new found mini-fortune. Road map, please.

Fifth, this should be a question we pose to all of our candidates for city council next year and to those who would be mayor. What are their visions for our community’s use of these hard won millions, what are their visions for our community.

Additionally, I would suggest we look at these extra millions as a prudent family would, which is what we are and should always strive to be. A portion of these funds should be added to our rainy day fund; a portion should be used to bring better “tools” to the family’s work; a portion should be spent to pay off our most expensive debt; a portion should be spent to beautify our city.

Finally, there will be a thousand hands reaching toward this new pot of wealth. Such sad, needy stories you will hear. Such hair-brained schemes will be hatched. Tom Henry is in the enviable position today of basking in the glow of achievement. Tomorrow, if not already yesterday, he will begin to the feel the pressure of pushy people pressing for their cut of the take.

His wisest step would be to do nothing for a while, nothing. Let the thoughts percolate, consider quite a few options and then move carefully forward.

In the early 1980s when Win Moses came to office he did something quite wise, he created the Image Task Force that composed a list of some 154 ideas for the benefit of Fort Wayne. Some, obviously, were better than others, but many, many of them came to fruition, including Germanfest which was spawned from an ambiguous line: “perhaps the city could support another festival.” Support, hell, we brought money into the city.

Tom, call for submissions. Keep notes, make lists. Let the ideas pile up on your desk or in the hands of a minion. Let them pile up and then create an appointed, unpaid team to sift through them. Let each council member collect ideas from their districts.

But, above all, what we should not do is think this gives us breathing room. Get back to work, nose to the grindstone, eyes on the prize, we are in competition with every city in the world, so this money only gives us a chance to invest in our future, not throw a party.

Related posts:

1. A Good Squabble Pays Off By Jim Sack One hour to deal with millions and...
2. I&M Fort Wayne Light Lease fight – $500,000 and counting The Henry administration has spent nearly $300,000 on attorneys, and...
3. Fort Wayne gets dumber and dumber Yesterday the Board of Public Works approved paying NOVI Energy...