Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Open thread: Another way of looking at EDIT expenditures.

It’s hardly a secret that New Albany’s two most reactionary councilmen subsist off their council pay packets, scant as those stipends are.

Permit me to dream for a moment …

If we manage someday to get EDIT monies out of the sewer rat hole where they absolutely don’t belong, would it be an example (in more ways than one) of legitimate economic development expenditure to buy out the remaining three years of Boner & Jethro’s council contracts in return for their resignations from public office?

It would be less than a hundred K, right?

Those of us characterized as “them people” keep joking that the council should buy out the progressive bloc and ship us en masse to communistic, atheistic Holland so (a) we could live happily, and (b) be safely out of way of the city’s congenital underachievers … but, given the cost/benefit ratio to be derived from how very little it would cost the city to sweep aside impediments to overall economic progress like the conjoined councilmen, doesn’t it make more sense for the ones capable of glimpsing the future remain, and those that cannot contribute pack up, take their buy-outs, and settle in Birdseye?

Discuss if you wish.

7 comments:

Daniel Short said...

I love the brainstorming taking place, but I fear the leadership vacuum would be too much for the fragile community to handle. Maybe a better approach would be to stagger the buyout so the mental effects on the citizenry would be minimalized.

The New Albanian said...

I must say, that's an excellent observation. To pull back the curtain on the wonderful wizard and his conjoined assistant all at once might be too much for the wee ones.

G Coyle said...

In Mass we have a "recall" law. You must sign up 8-10% of the voters who voted for recallee in the last election. There is no such mechanism in Indiana. However, committing a felony, or being drunk all the time will get you removed from office here. If only it were as easy as you suggest Roger and we could buy them out like in the good old days.

The New Albanian said...

However, committing a felony, or being drunk all the time will get you removed from office here.

Do you know the procedure for this mandated removal?

G Coyle said...

Legal requirements that must be met for officeholders:

"These requirements include not being convicted of a
felony (IC 5-8-3); not being habitually intoxicated (IC
5-8-2); and continuing to reside in the election district
the person represents (IC 36-2-3-5, for example)."

ecology warrior said...

much as i dislike coffey politically i dont see how he has committed a felony and as far as I know he doesnt drink

ecology warrior said...

regarding the sewers, for too many years the sewer utility has funded the city's general operations and if we do not ensure the sewers compliance with the EPA there will be no economic development so taking EDIT away from sewers only serves the frivolous spending of the fiscally irresponsible mayor and his politically motivated projects.

Doug England is the reason the sewers fell out of compliance in the first place and perhaps an audit is necessary to ascertain if the swer and now the stormwater utility is being raided for city operations in violataion of state statutes.

If all sewer revenue is kept in the sewers then and only then can I see where edit funds could possibly be redirected but not to support a rate hike