The politics of diversion: "Chief Bailey is playing a losing hand, but then, they're not really his cards."

Much ado about nothing, Jeffrey. Zilch, nada ... ничего.

New Albany police chief questions motivation for 911 dispatch merger, by Erin Walden (Let Them Eat Fake)

NEW ALBANY — The need for a joint city-county dispatch center in New Albany is disputed by the city's police chief.

Chief Todd Bailey called a news conference Friday, when he accused City Council President Al Knable of telling a falsehood to show a need for a unified dispatch. Bailey also said the push for joint dispatch is political.

In short, another round of made-for-somnolent-media bile and spittle.

Chief Bailey sadly pursued the same contrived attack line at last week's council meeting, hoisting Jeff Gahan's jockstrap like a maypole as the mayor beamed happily from the bunker's shadows, his increasingly nervous appointed minions trotting out to join forces with the remaining jellied Democratic spines on the city's legislative body to sing a rousing chorus of "Job Security Uber Alles."

In an interview following the news conference, Knable maintained there was a call made, but said he believed the error was on his end, not a result of the two dispatch centers. Knable said he did make a call, and turned over his phone records to the chief of police to prove it, but he used Siri to do so. As Knable explains it, he has the New Albany Police Department’s tip line saved in his phone under “911/NAPD,” so when he instructed Siri to call 911, the virtual phone assistant called the wrong line.

By the time he hung up from the tip line, he had assessed the situation and helped the young child, who had been scared and screaming “fire” and "help,” said Knable, adding at that point he realized it wasn’t an emergency. He said he did not make claims of an alarm sounding.

Knable contends Bailey's focus on the anecdote is a distraction from the bigger conversation, merging the two centers and “making sure the taxpayers have the safest, most-efficient system out there.”

“I’m looking to get the chief of police, sheriff, mayor and commissioners to the table,” Knable said.

The fact is that throughout this entire 9-1-1 call center non-discussion, Bailey's professional integrity hasn't ever been questioned, not even once.

Rather, certain Republicans, joined by some like-minded independents and even a Democrat or two, are petitioning for a discussion of costs and potential savings.

Is this also a political position? Yes, just as much as Gahan's benumbed, rote insistence that past county government fiscal turpitude -- a habit of suicide by starvation pioneered not by the GOP but by old-school Strom Thurmondesque pretend Democrats like Ted Heavrin and Larry McAllister -- somehow forms an eternal excuse for the mayor to erect straw men and gather municipal power into a veneer salesman's idea of an unbearably vapid cult of personality.

Another day and another display of petty, time-wasting theatrics by Team Gahan's resident DemoDisneyDixiecrats.

Is this really the best that local government has to offer?

Previously: The devil's in the framing, and it's public safety versus cold hard cash in the discussion about merging city and county dispatch centers.

The devil's in the framing, and it's public safety versus cold hard cash in the discussion about merging city and county dispatch centers.

Let's take a quick glance at the calendar.

January 1 in 2020 falls on a Wednesday, meaning that the first city council meeting will take place on Monday, January 6, by which time an electoral comet is likely to have metaphorically struck the local political landscape, scattering the fee-range Nashosaurs and Triceratops Adams, and suggesting that dispatch center unity in the sense suggested by Billy Stewart will be only a matter of scheduling.

I'm not a fan of uni-gov in the broader sense, although my ears remain attentively perched. But it's quite likely that while not a game-changing issue in itself, most ordinary folks sense the merit in the idea of merging this function.

It's also worth noting that the mayor is "waving the bloody shirt" with regard to county government's iniquity. The phrase derives from the decades following the American Civil War.

In the American election campaigns in the 19th century, "waving the bloody shirt" was a phrase used to ridicule opposing politicians who made emotional calls to avenge the blood of the northern soldiers that died in the Civil War.

Since taking office in 2012, the nominally Democratic Gahan often has justified decisions, perhaps most famously the parks department split, on the basis of county (read: Republican-controlled) government's impoverishment-impelled duplicity. In the e-mail reply quoted below, Gahan once again levels this charge, the veracity of which continues to diminish with the passage of time.

Power, folks. Whether the big time or the small pond, politics is about who has power -- and who gets the money deriving from it. The problem for Gahan and his clique is that in this instance, county Republicans have a solid, common-sense argument based on public safety -- which the mayor has answered by talking about money.

Framed in this way, that's an argument Gahan ultimately will lose, probably sooner rather than later.

Floyd County Commissioner favor merging dispatch centers, by Chris Morris (Hanson's Random Ephemera Generator)

Mayor Gahan, however, not a fan

... Floyd County Commissioner Bill Stewart said it's time for both dispatch centers to be merged into one. He said following the recent school shooting in Florida, seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

“Surely we can do that for Floyd County,” Stewart said. “For county police to listen to city calls, they have to change their radio. Can't we put politics aside and get together to have one call center? I propose we do it this year.”

It looked like the merger was going to happen in 2011, but the New Albany City Council defeated the measure 4-4 on final reading. Then-mayor Doug England supported the measure. Current Mayor Jeff Gahan, who was a member of the city council in 2011, voted against it according to a News and Tribune story.

... Gahan's stance as mayor has not changed.

"Given the recent interest regarding these issues at the Statehouse, and Floyd County leadership’s history of not paying their bills and reneging on inter-local agreements, we are not interested in entering into a messy political arrangement with the county," he said in an email response. "Our current model has proven successful in protecting the citizens of New Albany and has the full support of our public safety command staff."

Bravo: Commissioners, county council earmark future hospital sale proceeds for a destination not labeled Community Foundation.

Note the author's use of "clawed back," and join me in a resounding SMH.

Bill Hanson will be self-immolating soon, but will his own newspaper have reporters available to cover the bonfire?

Also see that these votes cut across party lines, and that Mark Seabrook for once found himself outvoted. It's the sort of thing to celebrate, if for no other reason than freshening the leadership gene pool.

Incoming commissioner Billy Stewart had this to say when I thanked him on Facebook: "I will always put our citizens first and hold ALL elected officials accountable for their actions. Political party doesn't matter, what's right does."

If you've been wondering why I've been drinking more coffee with Republicans than Democrats ... what Mr. Stewart said.

Ordinance affecting future Floyd Memorial Hospital proceeds repealed, by Chris Morris (Don't Come Around City Council No More)

Yearly payments will go into hospital fund

NEW ALBANY — The Floyd County Commissioners and Council passed Floyd County Ordinance 2017-3 Tuesday night in a joint meeting. The ordinance repeals three of the five sections in an ordinance passed last November, dealing with future proceeds from the sale of Floyd Memorial Hospital.

The $61 million to be paid over the next 10 years will now go into a line item termed "hospital fund" in the county budget, not to the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana as directed in the old ordinance. Where it winds up in the future is still to be decided.

However, the $70 million received from the sale of the hospital to Baptist Health at closing will be remain in the hands of the CFSI. If state legislation passes this year, which officials are hopeful it will, Floyd County will receive up to a 5 percent spend rate from the $70 million investment, but will not be able to spend the principal.

While the new ordinance does not specifically address the $70 million investment, a resolution will be written by Council attorney Steven Langdon to ensure the money will remain with the CFSI and will not be clawed back by the county.

What they're saying: As the GOP candidate for county commissioner, Billy Stewart just surprised the Hell right out of me.

In the race for Floyd County Commissioner (District 3, but we all vote) there'll be four candidates.

One of them is perennial contestant Tom Lenfert, who is running as an independent. At the moment, he has no identifiable web presence, and even if a web site materializes, it isn't likely to matter very much.

Previously, I've told you who I'm voting for in the battle to replace the incumbent Republican, Steve Bush.

I'll be voting for Dennis O. Roudenbush, the independent candidate for Floyd County 3rd District Commissioner.

Given the national mood, perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that while both independent candidates for commissioner seem willing to be known as such, I can find no record of affiliation on the web pages of either mainstream political party nominee.

One of them is Josh Williams, who is a Democrat. The other is Billy Stewart, a Republican. As soon as Williams posts something of substance, I'll try to afford him equal time. In the meantime, I saw something interesting on Stewart's Facebook page.

The text:

Floyd County will be receiving $136 million from the sale of Floyd Memorial Hospital.

Currently there are several plans being considered on how to spend and invest these monies. One proposal is to share some of the money with other local governments.

I'm in favor for the proposal to share some of the money with other local governments.

Under this proposal $20 million would be set aside for projects in the City of New Albany, $1 million for Georgetown and $250 thousand for Greenville.

This would not be direct payments to other local governments but a commitment to spend money on local projects that would benefit those communities.

Let me know your opinion on this proposal as it is your money we are talking about spending.

Are these "plans being considered" originating with Republicans or Democrats? It simply isn't normal for Republicans on the Hill to be this benevolent. As a helpful hint to Stewart and anyone else considering a CARE package of this magnitude, please consider bypassing the current occupant. We really don't need another water slide for the dog park.

Shifting to Stewart's web site, we find another indication that he's not reading from the usual county political script: Future Growth/Urban Sprawl.

As New Albany is the largest and best-equipped community for commercial growth, the County should be working with the City to help develop these areas. Whether it’s shopping and dining or industrial activities, New Albany has the pieces in place to grow wisely. New Albany success is also the County's.

Commercial growth has a very limited place in the county. Ten years ago, I moved my family to Floyd County. My wife and I wanted to live in an area that had good schools, a welcoming community and an environment conducive to raising children. We found that and much more in Floyd County. While growth can be good by bringing jobs and much needed taxes to the county, urban sprawl is not. We must strive to preserve these basic traits that make Floyd County such a wonderful place to live.

I'm a bit dizzy. There's a Republican from Georgetown advocating density for the city and an end to urban sprawl?

And he'd like to make $20 million available for the city's use?

Admittedly, I'm intrigued. Think about these two words, which Stewart might consider defining more specifically:

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.