Gang of Four = Union Busters

What is it that the Gang of Four have against low-income New Albanians and what is it they have against unions?

They continue to demand that the sanitation department bleeding is a chimera, full well knowing that the only alternative to the mayor’s plan is a 50% increase in residential fees – an increase that would severely impact widows on a fixed income, single-parent families in financial straits, and retired couples on fixed incomes.

They continue to hold out false hopes to the city’s sanitation workers, leading them to believe that their jobs are safe, when it is obvious they are not “safe.” But it makes a great political tool to use against the mayor. Tell me truthfully – if the mayor had come forward with a proposal to make the sanitation department self-supporting, wouldn’t the Gang of Four have jumped on that with just as much vigor and obfuscation? You know they would have.

The Coffey diversionary plan to abandon downtown redevelopment to the YMCA would likely have resulted in the construction of a minimal facility. More to the point, it would have been built by non-union trades workers. What do they have against unions.

Now, they have their long knives out for the police department. My experiences with the police department have all been positive. I’ve listened carefully to the rational basis for the city’s take-home car policies. It is a presentation all should hear. Any doubts that linger about its benefits to the city would float away. I invite the leaders (or detectives, or street cops) to explain it. They can show definitively that this is NOT a perk for the cops, but rather a rational approach to making the best use of a short-staffed police force.

Using unions as playthings and straw men, these so-called Democrats are the city’s biggest union bashers and it’s time they were called to account for it.

Remember it now and in 2007.

The Gang of Four
Larry Kochert
Steve Price
Bill Schmidt
Dan Coffey

…otherwise known as the right side of the room at city council. I’m a progressive. I lean left.

Business as Usual

Destinations Booksellers is open and doing business as usual. For some of you, we won’t be able to identify a book as being one you ordered. New books arrive daily, so if you are expecting a call from us, make a call to us instead and we’ll be able to deliver it promptly.

Unrepentant

Thanks to Roger Baylor for pitching in during a time-sapping Monday.

Wouldn’t it be grand to be discussing something good? For example, I’ll bet you weren’t aware of the tremendous number of folks involved in a books drive for our newest New Albanians – the evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. City Clerk Marcey Wisman, she of the apparently unspellable first name, and her staff have organized this drive for new and used books. The goal is to gather in 1,000 books for children and young adults, and another 500 for their parents and other adults displaced by Mother Nature from the Gulf Coast. Our store is a collection point and a participant in the drive, so if you have children’s books gathering dust, haul them out for kids who’ve lost everything. An anonymous donor will match cash donations and the value of new books purchases, too, so be sure to consider that option.

Alas, talking about good news is not possible. Like a festering sore, the Gang of Four continue to infect the polity of New Albany. The recalcitrant Dan Coffey scurries like a roach from the light in the kitchen upon the revelation that his partner in obstruction Bill Schmidt illegally commissioned a public works project in the 1st District – one which coincidentally diverts runoff at the rear of Schmidt’s niece’s house.

Good sense would have dictated that Mr. Schmidt make haste to confess his confusion and wrongdoing. That is something he could have survived. This very real violation can be forgiven, but if Mr. Schmidt continues to insist that he did nothing wrong, it rises to obstinacy and falls under the rules of removal for misconduct in office.

Li’l Buddy Steve Price seems to have shut his trap for the moment, wondering if hitching his wagon to the Coffey/Schmidt train was such a good idea after all. Most elected officials determine to please the constituents who vote for them. Price continues to curry favor with everyone except the residents of the 3rd District. Where is “councilman3d” when you need him? In any event, it seems that the Prices and their minions have decided that the time for talk is over and have moved vigorously toward the alternative of action, collateral damage be damned.

And old pol Larry Kochert continues to spend his retirement burnishing his reputation as the biggest gossip in the political arena, crossing back and forth across the partisan line, and seeking just that one last little piece of trivia that can make his life whole.

Hey guys! You didn’t think a little computer problem was going to make me go away, did you? We’re still waiting on that plan you guys keep promising. Personally, I agree with bluegill that your continued yammering that “there has to be another way” is a cruel trick on our city workers.

They Think They Can Fool You

Long accustomed to a passive immunity from consequences (if you do nothing, how can they hold you accountable), the veteran members of the New Albany City Council’s Gang of Four (1st District CM Coffey, 2nd District CM Schmidt, and 4th District CM Kochert – 3rd District CM Price simply follows wherever the leash pulls him) hope to continue a string of no accountability.

Based on long experience, they believe that no matter how decrepit the city becomes, the populace will always blame the mayor, whoever that mayor may be.

The Gang of Four has an agenda designed to protect their patrons – those contributors and former power brokers who like things just fine the way they are. In fact, unlike the progressive factions in this town, it is those minor league mafioso who would like to actually drive out responsible homeowners by harassment and by generally allowing conditions in the city to continue to deteriorate.

You see, just like the progressives who want to see this city realize its potential, the Gang of Four’s sponsors already do realize the potential. Depressing property values now is a means to normalize anti-social and even criminal activity. It also makes land cheap. CM Price has already become a mini-mogul of rental properties – cash cows, in fact, given the exploitation that goes on in this rental market.

That’s why they oppose a well-managed sanitation operation. That’s why they oppose a vigorous ordinance enforcement regime. That’s why they ensure that the building commissioner’s office remains the puppet of developers. That’s why they simply bypass the building permit process. That’s why they undertake public works projects without the proper authorizations. That’s why they (and their wives, in some cases) seek to dazzle the gullible (that would be anyone who can’t read a green-bar budget report) with manufactured numbers. And that’s why you’ll never hear one of the Gang of Four admit a mistake.

We will see if they are right. The spotlight is always on the executive. The Gannett paper’s style is to take dictation from the Gang of Four, with James Garner always on the hot seat. In the past, such tactics have created a general sense of dissatisfaction that results in the ejection of whoever occupies the mayor’s seat.

The Gang of Four believes that will continue. Believing that, they will continue to obfuscate and obstruct, relying on the public to believe their protestations and boasts that they aren’t the problem – it’s the mayor!

But as 2005 begins to wind down, they are worried. Instead of a general sense of dissatisfaction, they recognize that New Albany is awakening to a specific sense of dissatisfaction. Every day they continue their assault on the administrative branch, the mayor gains new admirers.

An acquaintance of long standing who was no fan of James Garner told me earlier this week of her outrage at the dilatory tactics of the Gang of Four, saying “By God, Garner’s the only one down there who knows what he’s doing.”

It’s probably too late for the Gang to retract their heads into their shells. Their performance during these first 21 months has awakened a city that ordinarily doesn’t pay attention until a couple of days before the elections. The city is watching, and learning who is competent and capable and who is a self-serving demagogue.

Patterns

A few short years ago, one veteran city councilman (a self-avowed expert in a wide range of fields) found common cause with yet another veteran councilman to evade all those messy procedures about licensing and permits in building construction.

Apparently, the two are up to their old tricks again, but this time, instead of just evading the costs of permits and those silly rules about wiring, HVAC, etc., they now have conspired to take public money and go off on their own public works projects.

Read this C-J piece about the misconduct.

Question: I understand that under Indiana law, an agent can be held personally responsible when he or she purports to have authority to do an act but does not have that authority. Will Mr. Schmidt try to defend himself at Thursday’s city council meeting? Will the words “I was wrong” even pass his lips? What, did Anna tell him it was OK?

Bad Cop!

The common denominator among the New Albany City Council’s “Gang of Four” is troubling, but the good news is that more and more residents and voters are becoming aware of just how obstructive and destructive these failed public servants are.

That common denominator is that they are against any semblance of order, community, or lawfulness in either procedure or the enforcement of widely-accepted law enforcement norms.

First, they attempted to appropriate the office of the building commissioner to ensure that the black market in permits (or non-permits) continues. Just who do you have to see about this festering sore?

Next, they fought strenuously to defeat, and when they couldn’t do that, to hamstring any semblance of effective enforcement of other city ordinances related to property.

These first two, reprehensible as they were, were explicable. The Gang of Four were simply protecting their own property interests from rational and impartial enforcement. Their mafia-like backers must be very pleased as well.

But now they have their long knives out to slash at the police department. Can we assume that the Gang of Four is trying to protect their own or someone else’s interests by trying to intimidate the police force? Racketeering and political corruption doesn’t stand for long. All four of them are Democrats (although the council’s lone Republican often stands with them), so they shouldn’t be sleeping too comfortably with a Republican administration in charge of the Justice Department and the FBI.

Keep your eyes peeled for big, black Suburbans and dark-suited feds. They’re the only ones you’ll recognize. The undercover officers will blend right in.

Sleep well, Gang of Four.

Fair Use

They may not care for me doing this, but a signed editorial by Tribune Managing Editor Chris Morris deserves a wider audience. Let’s call it “volunteer” transcription instead of an appropriation. Publisher John Tucker can take it up with me and demand an online royalty for this same-day republication, if he likes.

What is wrong with the City of New Albany
by Chris Morris
Tribune Managing Editor

James Garner looked to have everything going his way two years ago.

He had just been elected mayor and eight of the nine City Council seats were won to members of his own party. He had all the political power a mayor of a small city in Indiana could ask for.

However, it seems like in less than two years, all of the euphoria surrounding Garner at the time of his election has gone south. Several City Council members want to fight or question him over every decision. What was suppose (sic) to be a somewhat easy term has been anything but easy.

And Thursday night, it may have come to a boil as Garner and City Councilman Dan Coffey got into a heated exchange over whether or not to privatize the city’s sanitation department. The mayor says privatizing the department is the only way to save the city money. Last year the department lost $785,000.

Of course, the politically correct thing to do is stand up for the sanitation workers – some of whom could lose their jobs when the department is privatized. Although Industrial Disposal said those workers can apply for jobs with their company.

Some on the council, including Coffey, say there has to be a better way (emphasis added). After all, no one wants to see someone lose their job.

So, Thursday night, the council rescinded the $400,000 pledge to Scribner Place – a downtown development project. The council later voted to give $263,000 to the project which includes a YMCA and indoor pool.

The thinking behind the decision is to save money. However, Scribner Place is being used as a political pawn.

Now I am no accountant, and I don’t pretend to have the same management skills as those running our city, but how can the city find $785,000 each year to make up for the loss in the santitation department? They can park city-used vehicles, or force the mayor to eliminate staff, but it still would not equal that amount.

What is the plan?

So far, the City Council members haven’t come up with an alternative plan. Some council members can yell and scream and call the mayor incompetent and insensitive, but where do we go from here? If there is an alternative plan, let’s see it in print. How can we make the sanitation department profitable, and keep all of the employees happy? Why can’t the mayor and the City Council work together, instead of always working against one another.

Police and fire protection take up a large portion of the city’s budget and there is no way we can cut either one of those departments. Health insurance and gasoline costs continue to skyrocket which also eats away at the budget.

So, what is the plan?

Council members need to put personal agendas aside, and focus on the problem. Yelling back and forth at a public meeting is not going to solve anything. This is a real financial crisis, and it needs to be solved. These people, who along with the mayor, were elected to solve problems. If the council doesn’t like the mayor’s solution, they need to come up with a useable (sic) plan so both sides can begin comparing notes and solve the problem.

As citizens of this city, we deserve the best representation we can get. I don’t care if certain council members don’t like the mayor, or if the mayor doesn’t like them. I do care that the city is losing almost $1 million annually in the sanitation department. I do care that money that was committed to Scribner Place is being used as a bargaining chip. It’s come to the point that we either need to move forward with Scribner Place, or just kill the idea. I’m sick, and I know the residents of this county are sick, of all the talk. I want to see some dirt turned, and something built at the site of the project. Caesars donated $1 million to Scribner Place for 20 years. If city officials keep playing with the funding formula for the project, it’s just a matter of time before that pledge will be taken off the table. Then the project would be dead.

People ask me all the time what is wrong with this city. They tell me it’s dirty, houses are falling down, sidewalks are crumbling, and the city seems dead.

Well, I think the City Council and the mayor should answer those questions. This city has problems, and as the governing body and top official of the city, those problems need answers. We don’t need public outbursts or verbal jabs, we need answers. After all, that is why they were elected.

Think about it Chris. Isn’t it obvious? The obstructionists on the council don’t have any plan, unless it is to delay the Scribner Place redevelopment project until it is so costly as to be undoable. The so-called “rescission” of the EDIT pledge was illegal – that pledge is still in effect, no matter how much or how often the Gang of Four congratulate themselves. Once pledged, that commitment cannot be rescinded.

And as for the dirt, the crumbling sidewalks, and the falling houses? That’s the way they want New Albany to be, and to stay. They know that without a vigorous press vigilance (and the metropolitan paper is their tool, not a watchdog), the mayor will be blamed. Few pay any attention to the votes or actions of the council. They rely on their belief that in New Albany, “it must be the mayor’s fault.”

For the record, here are the clueless, lawbreaking council members who STILL haven’t offered an alternative to the sanitation department deficit, but insist “there has to be a better way,” and who tried to vote to rescind the Scribner Place commitment (and, by the way, who continue to oppose the effective enforcement of city ordinances – see below for one reason why):

Larry Kochert, 4th District
Steve Price, 3rd District
Bill Schmidt, 2nd District
Dan Coffey, 1st District
and Donnie Blevins, at-large council member, who is so conflicted on this issue that he should rightly have abstained completely, but who clearly lacks any sense of propriety.

Four of these men have clear and glaring conflicts of interest in their opposition to the mayor’s efforts to “Clean Up New Albany.” And the fifth is just looking out for his political buddies, who have controlled things so long they can’t believe anyone might want a change.

Don’t forget these men when 2007 rolls around. All would be up for re-election, although Schmidt and Kochert have told supporters they are, at long last, retiring from the public arena.

End the Corruption Now

Going by the courthouse today?

Do a little digging and find out which city councilman, while serving in elected office, was cited for repeatedly violating the city building codes by performing “skilled” electrical, HVAC, and assorted other building trades duties without even applying for, much less receiving the proper permits?

Ask around. See if the city didn’t resort to litigation to have it stopped and see if there’s not a consent decree on file somewhere to resolve the matter.

Then dig a little deeper and find out for whom the city councilman was performing some of this work. Could it have been yet another veteran city councilman? And while we’re at it, how many council members own rental properties in this city that were renovated, repaired or subdivided into multiple rental units without the acquisition of the proper permits?

Let’s just put it all on the table.

Let’s demand that every elected official in the City of New Albany list all of their and their family’s commercial interests, employments, real estate interests, etc. so that the public can judge whether their votes are in the public interest or in their own or their families’ interests.

Did you ever wonder why some council members so vigorously oppose the idea of an ordinance enforcement officer? Are they enriching themselves by seeing to it that the building codes and the other city ordinances aren’t enforced?

There’s certainly nothing wrong with owning property or having business interests. Our mayor owns a dry cleaning store. But if the mayor suddenly directs that, for example, all police officers must have their uniforms done at his place, that would be a clear conflict.

And if a city council member opposes the enforcement of health and safety ordinances while operating outside those ordinances, the public has the right to know that, too.

Redacted News From the Future

The following is a piece of fiction created for your entertainment.

xxxxxxxxxxxx – With the probability of a federal indictment on racketeering charges pending, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx city councilman Xxxxx Xxxxx resigned today without admitting any wrongdoing.

In a carefully orchestrated press conference, and accompanied by his lawyer, xxxxx said he was resigning in order to spare the city from “farther distractions” and declared he would clear his name.

The first-term councilman was arrested in the course of an FBI undercover investigation designated as “Operation Charlie McCarthy.”

The federal investigation focused on allegations that Xxxxx and other elected officials used the power of their offices, their political contacts, and bribes to enrich themselves.

Russell Xxxxxxxxx, Special Agent in Charge in the Xxxxxxxxxx FBI office, said undercover agents videotaped Xxxxx coaching the agents on how to obtain xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx vouchers to pay rent, despite the fact that Xxxxx believed the agents were capable of working and earning wages to make the rent payments.

The evidence of fraud allegedly was obtained through confidential informants and included a tape showing Xxxxx urging undercover agents to submit affidavits claiming they were unable to find work or to otherwise support themselves, said Xxxxxxxxx. According to reliable sources who have seen the tape, Xxxxx told the agents he would submit rent bills and late charge fees totaling $600 a month for the rental units owned by Xxxxx. The proceeds were then given to Xxxxx, who owns several rental properties in the city.

Xxxxx County Xxxxxxxxxx Party officials rushed to distance themselves from the scandal engulfing the councilman.

Mortimer Learns From His Elders

Took a moment away from the family to drop in on a local watering hole (no, not a progressive one with craft beers) recently and picked up a new technique for making a living.

At first, it sounded like a pretty foolish idea. It’s based on the junkyard idea that a modern automobile is worth much more in its component parts than as a whole. Let’s say a car goes into a lake. Body damage is minimal, but the electrical system and the interior are totaled.

With the right set of wrenches in hand, a capable mechanic can disassemble the remaining parts and shop them on, say, eBay, or simply park the wreck in a yard. Of course, if you have absolutely no mechanical skills, you can alway hire someone to do it for you.

I tried to imagine how that would work in my industry. Could I cut my paperbacks into two, and still sell each half for the full price? Could I separate my hardcovers into three pieces, and sell the thirds for the publisher’s suggested retail price?

Of course, my inventory would no longer consist of anything that could reasonably be called a book. But, so far as I know, there is no inspection or regulation of just what constitutes a book. If I can find someone to pay the price, it must be good, right?

I wonder if anyone ever thought about doing that with a house? You could take a three-bedroom house and chop it into three apartments. Keep your work quiet (or pay off an inspector) and you wouldn’t even have to go before the board of zoning appeals to get approval. So far as I know, the building inspectors don’t have search warrant powers, so once you’ve finished, you wouldn’t have to worry about a subsequent surprise inspection by the building commission staff.

You could troll for unfortunates (maybe in the bars?) and desperate folks (women on the run from abusive husbands?), newly divorced people who only need a way station, and assorted transients, ex-felons, etc. Once these folks become dependent on you (or your “kindness” in allowing them to pay when they can – don’t forget the late fee income), you’d be pretty much set.

Of course, you wouldn’t want to live nearby, but then all you’d have to do is find a pocket where the neighbors won’t complain.

But what would you do when the neighbors complain? How could you see to it that the “gummint” stays off your back?

And what would you do when those new tenants complain, or what if they come up short because they lost their money drinking, gambling, smoking, or lost their job?

What would a slumlord do? How could he game the system so it’s a no-lose situation?