Friday, September 18, 2009

Council Obfuscapalooza, Part Three: Making Georgetown do the sewer backstroke, and a garbage rate flip-flop.

This is the third part of my city council notes from September 17. For our Georgetown readers, and as a prelude to what follows, consider Bluegill's recent, brilliant encapsulation of sewer fixations as offered by councilman Jeff Gahan.

"CM Jeff Gahan says that the City Council maintains the authority to set sewer employee salaries and should continue to subsidize the sewer utility with EDIT funds as a function of the Council setting sewer rates and that neither he nor the Council is responsible for sewer related issues because the sewer board is autonomous."

---

R-09-22 A Resolution Seeking to Establish a Full-Time Position Or Office to Pursue Grant Funds … Gonder

Self-explanatory, but City Clerk Wisman reads the resolution, which charts the importance of grant writing in the context of federal aid and stimulus packages.

Coffey: We should be using free-lance grant writers who work on a percentage basis.

Gonder: Agreed, but citing a recently pursued grant that would not have been approved had “we” known a match was required, prefers a more coordinated effort.

Coffey is condescending with him, and Gonder endures it. That’s what bullies and the bullied do, isn’t it?

Coffey: We’re in agreement it is needed, but let’s not preclude using free lancers.
Gonder: The resolution doesn’t specify all this. It’s just a step in the right direction.

That surely dooms it. Are steps in the right direction permitted in New Albany?

Bob Caesar: “Would not have to be a forever position” (?) He counsels making it temporary to see if it works, lest we pay someone not to do something.

Like occupy a council seat? I wonder why Bob Caesar hates downtown so much. His business is there, and yet he consistently opposes the place where he works. Is this an improvement over Bill Schmidt?

All vote in favor except Benedetti and Zurschmiede, who vote against, without explanation.

A-09-11 Ordinance Appropriating Funds for One Time Cost Of Living Recognition Payment and Setting Amount Of Payments … Caesar 2

The usual tired arguments from Price. We have nothing, we can never have anything, we pay people too much, I’m impoverished and everyone should be dragged down to my underachieving level … which, when you come to think of it, is the essence of Communism in its real-life application. Fancy that. My councilman is more of a Commie than me.

All are in favor except the congenital no, Price.

G-09-19 An Ordinance to Reflect Technical Changes Necessary As a Result of An Agreement With the Town of Georgetown … McLaughlin 2

Here goes the sewer merry-go-round for another trip, with the 6th district's circus ringmaster at the helm. City attorney Shane Gibson steps up to explain.

Gibson: “It’s not here to ask you to bless anything … it’s the requirement of the state statute.” Says that language has been cleaned up. Wants the council to know that it need not bless the Georgetown agreement, just approve the sewer board’s completion of the negotiation and agreement. STATE STATUTE – if not, Shane would not bring it to the council.

Gahan has many questions and a few disagreements. Did Gtown pay the penalties?

Gibson: All except what was renegotiated. Roughly $800,000 worth paid. His ordinance doesn’t have the ability to affect NA citizens at all; the only wholesale customer the sewer utility has is Georgetown.

Gahan: It says it will not impact NA – I wanna know where the original 1.9 million went (?)

Gibson: $1.9 million was the price for Gtown to be on the city sewers forever. A year after that was negotiated, there was a new agreement because Gtown said it would build its own plant … so, the $1.9 million is all about the original state of affairs, with the reduction made because Gtown would no longer be using the capacity charted for the $1.9 million.

KZ: In my mind, Gtown is no closer to a new plant today than before, and now we want to give them more time. Why?

Gibson: Gtown has paid $900,000 already … the reality is, we can’t shut them off. The city doesn’t have the option to do that.

KZ: (glowering) Hold Gtown accountable for the agreement, irrespective of the people now in office there!

Gibson: They have made progress. The county is helping them. Two sites have been located, and they’re moving on them.

Benedetti: (yet again trying to be reasonable amid the bedlam of grudges past) They can’t do anything until we approve this -- approve the authority for the sewer board to do this – and give the sewer board the authority to do this.

For the umpteenth time, Gibson patiently repeats that the council is being asked to do this because the state requires it, not because the council is being asked to bless the sewer boards negotiation with Georgetown. Gibson doesn’t want to speak about the specifics of the negotiation because the sewer board is not present, but he hazards the view that the current negotiated settlement is incentive for Gtown to get off the system.

Gahan: (Chihuahua-like) Adamant about the $400,000 that he states Gtown is being forgiven, and says that this sum might well impact NA ratepayers because it “all comes from the same pot.”

ALL OF IT, EXCEPT THE EDIT RATE SUBSIDIES IN NA, THAT GAHAN FAVORS, AND THAT RESULT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MONIES BEING EXPENDED AS POLITICAL SUBSIDY FOR THE CONCIL’S RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.

McLaughlin: $400,000 is a balance, not a fine.

Gibson: They paid $800,000. The bodies involved agreed to the compromise on the negotiation.

McLaughlin: “It’s hard for us to do this too.”

Yep, it doesn’t seem to get any easier.

Benedetti: Says that this ordinance should go through because it makes no sense to bankrupt Gtown in order to collect from them.

Clerk Wisman: (I didn’t catch all of this) If Gtown gets off the system, they don’t owe us the $450,000, because the pipe doesn’t have to be made larger to handle their flow.

KZ: Objects once again to the agreement reached by the sewer board.

This being the board that is NOT HERE to discuss the SPECIFICS of it.

Gahan: Would the city attorney “guarantee no rate increases in 2010” right here and now?

In effect, Gibson laughs at him.

Last meeting’s vote on this ordinance was sizably against. Same thing tonight.

For: Caesar, Benedetti
Against: Price, McLaughlin (intones something about it being only the 2nd reading), Gahan, Gonder, Messer, KZ, Coffey

Coffey says he has more questions for Gibson but will ask them later, out of earshot of the public. A guy from the audience asks if he may comment. Coffey says no, only the council president can violate council protocol with impunity.

G-09-17 An Ordinance Authorizing Modification Of Certain Provisions Of The Economic Development Revenue Bonds, Series 2004A (Christian Academy Of Indiana, INC Project) of the City Of New Albany … Price 3

8:45 pm. Things seemed to be going so well there for a while.

No comments. Unanimous in favor.

Z-09-10 An Ordinance For The Vacation Of An Existing Easement Pursuant To A Petition Filed By Carl Holiday And Stephen Goodman … Zurschmiede 3

Unanimous, in favor. Carl and Steve don’t have to sit through this any longer.

G-09-16 An Amendment to Ordinance §50.08 Regarding User/Service Fees for Collection of Refuse, Garbage And Yard Waste … Messer 3

As amended with much theatrics last time, with the amendment being a $2 raise with cost of living increases written into it in the future.

Coffey: No committee for this one ‘cuz the nasty administration first proposed it.

Price: Believes in other options. This bad contract “isn’t our fault” because of the former administration did it. “I’m real uncomfortable with that yearly, I know how that goes, people are hurting.”

Messer: Could cost us twice if we don’t deal with the current contract.

Benedetti: has nothing to do with EcoTech – this is to bring us back even with cost of living increases and avoid the subsidy under way currently. Former mayor Garner negotiated the best deal he could, absorbing the employees and trash haulers and bad trucks. She defends this ordinance.

Caesar: $2 is for the consumer price index increase. Get the CPI straightened out with each contract. The increases have been less than a dollar per year – three increases of less than dollar, and so if it is written in to reflect this, there’ll be only cents increases, but now, “wow we have to throw two bucks at everybody.”

Two bucks. Geez, Caesar’s such a political coward.

McLaughlin: Reads verbatim from the contract to the effect that the trucks are not supposed to LEAK bad liquids in places that smell, but they do, and what are we going to do about that?

Everyone: BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS. Thank you.

Gibson: Can’t fix it if you don’t give me details, Pat.

McLaughlin: Complains about garbage cans as stated in the EcoTech contract … mentions recycling, but it appears it is recycling the cans?

Gibson: Differentiates between city obligations and contract stipulations.

Benedetti: Just about the two dollars.

Gahan: But there’ll be a surplus?

Gibson: The 50,000 surplus is for the neighborhood cleanups that everyone wants – yes, it adds up to more, but not very much more.

Price: “One more point and I’ll shut up. “It’s a mute point.” We should be able to make money on garbage as a city, just like the private businesses make money from it. Put it back in-house.

Price now joins Erika in advocating taking EDIT money away from economic development and giving it outright to “people who are hurting – that’s what I say.”

Vote taken:

For: Caesar, Benedetti, Gonder, Messer, KZ
Against: Price, McLaughlin, Gahan, Coffey

It is approved. Who flipped? Gotta look that one up, but I wasn’t here when the 2nd reading took place. I had been removed from that one.

MISCELLANOUS ITEMS:
Nothing of consequence, so we stop. Knitting needles through the eyes.

40 comments:

Iamhoosier said...

"A guy from the audience asks if he may comment. Coffey says no, only the council president can..."

That "guy" was Billy Stewart. The head of the Council in Georgetown. The one who praised Coffey for getting everyone to sit down and work it out. The same Billy Stewart who, previously, had threatened the council with the possibility of Georgetown filing bankruptcy if NA didn't bend over. Then, when the Courier Journal runs a story on a possible BKR for Georgetown, can't figure out where a story like could come from. Says the CJ is irresponsible(may be, but not in this case).

Billy Stewart and Dan Coffey deserve each other.

Jeff Gillenwater said...

The ongoing Gahan hypcocrisy is exacerbated by the fact that the very first thing the sewer board asked for was for the COUNCIL to allow them to enforce the $450,000 payment agreement. The COUNCIL refused to even hear it, with Coffey insisting that it was the COUNCIL who should be meeting with Georgetown to hash out an agreement. They obviously haven't.

Now Gahan and others are claiming that it's the sewer board's failure that the contract enforcement didn't occur.

And, as usual, our newspaper doesn't question any of it.

Daniel S said...

Only thing I question is the amount of ear wax in your head. Never did I hear gahan blame the sewer board for anything. Maybe if you had driven to the meeting instead of riding a bike, you could of actually heard what was said instead of showing up two minutes before the end and acting like you know what happened.

Iamhoosier said...

Daniel,
What do you think Mr. Gahan was doing when questioning the 1.9 million and all of those figures. Wanting to know where the money went and who was footing it?

I think Gahan was grandstanding or being purposely obtuse but he was certainly imply that the sewer board was giving GT too good of a deal. Gahan was assigning blame.

Iamhoosier said...

"implying"

Daniel S said...

The key word sequence there is "I think".
You may be right, but someone show me when and where Gahan ever said the sewer board should waive the fee? The council president tabled it until the sides could get together, that's about it. I've been at basically every sewer and council meeting where this has been discussed and I really don't think anybody fully understands what's going on, or if the 2006 deal is legit.
And, as usual, the authors of this blog seem to know how to read minds on top of all their limitless skills.

Iamhoosier said...

Gahan thinks that the sewer board should NOT waive the fee. He was bitching that the sewer board was letting Georgetown of the hook for "some" amount of money and the New Albany ratepayers would have to make up the difference.

That's not "think", that's what Gahan was saying last night. What do you think he was saying?

Iamhoosier said...

Coffey says no Council member is confused. Follow up with him, then.

Per the Tribune, 9-16-09. Article authored by Daniel Suddeath.

"“There’s no council member confused over this,” Coffey said, adding the body would have to “reaffirm and ratify” a decision a previous council made concerning the jurisdiction of sewer districts. "

Daniel S said...

He was talking about the ordinance they voted on last night,not the long, detailed history of this entire ordeal.

Daniel S said...

You still haven't shown that Gahan ever said anything about waiving the fee in the past. I believe these two votes are the only times any action has been taken that would lead to the penalty being required, and he voted no twice. I don't see how that's hypocritical.

Iamhoosier said...

Is not the ordinance that they voted on last night the culmination of this long ordeal? Or could have been the culmination?

The New Albanian said...

Looks like I was mistaken. It wasn't Li'l Stevie on Cappuccino's knee.

Daniel S said...

Sure. I'm not here to defend them or Gtown. But these votes have been the only ones towards the end, and it looks like most on the council don't want Gtown to get off scott free.
The deciding vote hasn't been cast, so it's kind of hard to say who's thinking what.
Just like it could be said it's hypocritical to constantly bark about getting EDIT out of sewer funds, but then say the city should not consider charging the 450k because of some statement one of the councilmen made about the sewer board.
Roger, I think it's time for some new material. I haven't been here two years but I think I've already heard the who's on whose knee reference at least 10 times.

Jeff Gillenwater said...

No one here has said that the City shouldn't charge the $450K.

The New Albanian said...

Eternal truths are just that, Daniel. Assuming that truth is the objective, of course.

Iamhoosier said...

Daniel,
Several of "us" say **** Georgetown. That's fairly consistent, I believe.

I agree with Gahan not wanting to let them off so easy. I'm pretty sure that he was fawning over the Georgetown people back in May, though.

I keep finding reference to a 6-10-09 work session that was scheduled but can find no minutes and no Tribune mention. Anyone?

Daniel S said...

I hope Randy doesn't read this but I'm not sure how much truth I believe in any more.
I don't recall Gahan saying a word in May.

Jeff Gillenwater said...

For years, the council harangued the sewer utility and administration for not following through and collecting on overdue bills, fines, etc.

And then this new sewer board asked the council for the required approval to do just that: to collect on a sum owed them. And the council, including members who complained about the previous lack of collections, denied them the opportunity to do so.

Had they not, this conversation wouldn't even be taking place.

Denying the sewer board the ability to do exactly what the council had been asking them to do for years was pointed out as hypocritical then, as it is now.

When I asked Gahan about it directly, he told me that the sewer board was autonomous, as was referenced in the original post. When I pointed out the council refused to let the sewer board handle its own affairs and they were therefore not autonomous, he continued to insist that they are autonomous while simultaneously claiming that the council should maintain control over sewer utility functions. It was and is nonsense.

When the council denies a sewer board request, they say the sewer board isn't doing a good enough job to satisfy them and assert their authority over the process. When they're asked to make binding decisions for which they might be held accountable as a part of that process, they say it should be the sewer board's decision and the council shouldn't be involved.

That's why we keep going in circles.

Iamhoosier said...

Daniel,
I do have to grant that I don't remember Gahan specifically fawning over the GT folks. Practically the whole council was because they didn't want to be seen as the bad guys. I still believe that I remember Jeff saying something along the line that "we need to help these people". As stated, my memory could be faulty.

Even if my memory is incorrect, I think that I am still consistent. Even though I mostly agree with his current stance, I "believe" that he is being hypocritical. Isn't that called being fair?

Daniel S said...

I believe you are an elitist snob that tortures small mice....

I"M SO TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT SEWERS!!!!

The New Albanian said...

And I'm tired of alibis for non-achievers.

Jeff Gillenwater said...

As has been previously discussed, I continue to be baffled by why anyone would fight so hard to maintain power that they don't intend to use to accomplish anything.

Daniel S said...

"As has been previously discussed, I continue to be baffled by why anyone would fight so hard to maintain power that they don't intend to use to accomplish anything."

You talking about Rick Pitino or Tom Crean?
Cha-ching

Jeff Gillenwater said...

Make jokes all you want, D, but dishonest, irresponsible public officials who hold significant authority over our collective future are being enabled and encouraged on your watch. And they know so.

Daniel S said...

So a vote over what amounts to maybe on a good day, 3 percent of our total sewer system, is going to decide our future?
Maybe you haven't thought about it this way. Gtown has put 800k worth of pipe in the ground to improve the system. Should they be able to rip that out after they get off of our system, as there are developers from NA already waiting for it? The 450k is less than what the city would get over the five years, if I'm not mistaken.
Once again, somebody who probably does nothing in the way of buying ads or subscriptions to our paper to help us increase our newsroom size is trying to tell us we should be doing more. There are basically two reporters on staff dedicated strictly to NA. You look at that, and look at what we cover, and then tell me where else you get more bang for your buck?

B.W. Smith said...

As has been previously discussed, I continue to be baffled by why anyone would fight so hard to maintain power that they don't intend to use to accomplish anything.

Because they need the city council salary to get by? Sad, but true in at least two cases...guess which two.

The New Albanian said...

So glad you mentioned ads. For the first time in recorded history, I recently spoke with a Tribune sales rep who tried to speak my demographic language,

Better that than Dan Coffey, who oppose ordinances on the grounds of too much language - in other words, too many of them pesky words.

Daniel S said...

Tristan? He's pretty smart, a crapy softball player:) but a solid guy

Iamhoosier said...

Daniel,
You know it's more than just the deal with GT. You've covered enough to know...

I think the snipping is a little unfair from both sides. "Us" picking on you for not doing investigative reporting(vs JUST reporting)is unfair. That's a bit of an assumption on my part but I doubt the Tribune has the budget for much true investigative reporting. Right or wrong on the budget allocation--that's not your call--it's management's. On the other hand, you are a little too sensitive about criticisms of your workplace. Understandable but...

Daniel S said...

Na, the comments are about me personally so I have every right to defend it. What your friends want isn't inestigative journalism, they want me to write stuff that serves their cause.

Jeff Gillenwater said...

To be clear, I'm not asking for in-depth investigative reporting. I'm asking that, at a minimum, follow-up questions be asked seeking explanation when a public official makes unsubstantiated claims, particularly when those claims conflict with what the same paper and sometimes same reporter have already witnessed and/or reported.

If the official cannot provide a semi-rational, factual explanation to back up their statement(s), either a) don't publish it, thus not allowing the newspaper to be used as a drama-inducing disinformation tool or b) publish it along side facts that call the accuracy of the statement into question.

If officials knew that using baseless assertions and innuendo would lead to potentially embarrassing exposure in the news, they just might try focusing on the actual facts and issues at hand. If not, the public would be more able to understand their tactics for what they are and could vote accordingly.

That would be a good start.

As is, conflicting statements are often published in a he said/she said manner with little if any supporting information, leaving the public to play what is at best an inaccurate guessing game that does not increase their understanding of a given issue but rather encourages additional personal attacks and innunedo from the same officials.

I also struggle to understand an editorial policy that says that when public officials repeatedly break the rules laid out by law, it's not newsworthy.

Given that suggestions of any of the above typically lead to baseless allegations from one of the reporters in question, I'm not terribly hopeful for resolution any time soon.

Daniel S said...

I understand what you're saying, but let me give you an example. I had less than a hour to write the council story last night. I'm sure ppl said some bs, but there was no time, yet, to really discern everything. Doesn't mean I don't want what you want, but there are things out of my hands.
But to continue the tradition, your mother was a hampster and your father smelt of elderberries.

Bayernfan said...

Elderberries smell good...what a nice thing for you to say, Daniel!

Daniel S said...

Bayer weren't you hanging with ted last week at the market? I thought it was you but didn't want to look dumber than usual. Less than a year till the cup.

Bayernfan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bayernfan said...

Yeah, I actually work at the market and was attempting to keep Ted and David Barksdale in line.

B.W. Smith said...

I'm asking that, at a minimum, follow-up questions be asked seeking explanation when a public official makes unsubstantiated claims

I know radio and news writing are apples and oranges, but my wife and I were just discussing how the BBC reporters do a good job of this on the radio. They ask very tough follow-up questions, but they don't cross the line into being sensational. It's so odd compared to what we hear in the mainstream press USA that it catches your attention.

Daniel S said...

Good luck bayer, that dave is crazy

Iamhoosier said...

Daniel,
I'm curious, what is my friends' cause?

TedF said...

Is there another place in the country that talks about sh#t as much as New Albany? And how’d we get a Dave and Ted reference in this thread? We sure don’t talk sh#t…