The return of Blevinsian neutrality.

Council president John Gonder would like for you to know that in spite of what those pesky anonymous troglodytes say, he's not up the mayor's you know what.

Besides that, there's the perennial council problem with locating the information. It's never there when they need it, it's always being hidden from them, and when on occasion their stopped clocks strike the correct time, the information is ... is ... in code (gasp).

Today's Tribune asks: All the cards on the table for New Albany sewer rates?

If the will of the New Albany City Council coincides with its president, only one of the final two votes on a sewer rate increase will come Monday. Council President John Gonder still has some questions he’d like answered. “If there’s $1 million of excess fat in the operating budget of the sewer utility, why didn’t we know that in the very beginning,” he asked.

Maybe it was a conspiracy. Meanwhile, just as I predicted on Friday, Pat McLaughlin's transformation into Donnie Blevins is so utterly complete that he'll be offering a rote prayer to kick off Monday's council session.

A potential swing vote on a sewer rate increase, Councilman Pat McLaughlin maintained he’s undecided. “I’m just right now so neutral, there’s so many things to look at,” he said.

As you ponder the impact of neutrality sans information, let's turn to a council member who absolutely, positively knows how he'll be voting.

Councilman Steve Price is opposed to both options ... “This decision will have an unbelievable impact,” Price said. “It’s probably the biggest vote I’ve ever had to make.”

If it's the biggest vote the Babe Ruth of "no" votes has had to make, and if he already knows he'll vote "no", in reality, is it a big vote at all?

It's just another nay, isn't it? Price votes "no" the way that some folks say, "you know."

Except, he doesn't.