Memo to Slick Jeffie and Tricky Dickey: "If the financial record is so great, why not just post the actual numbers?"

Mark Cassidy asked a very good question.

The Floyd Democrats say that the Floyd Republicans are lying about Gahan increasing New Albany’s long term debt load.

Instead of just saying “It ain’t so”, why don’t the Dems just publish the long term debt obligations when Gahan took office 8 years ago and the debt obligations now?

Huh?

Jeff Gillenwater wrote a very good answer:

If the financial record is so great, why not just post the actual numbers?

How much has the City’s annual budget increased since Gahan and a majority Democratic City Council took office?

How many tens of millions of dollars of additional long term debt has the City incurred during that tenure?

When will it be paid off and where is the money to do so coming from?

Where, on a scale that actually goes up to AAA, does the A+ financial rating actually fit?

It seems odd to accuse others of lying when you won’t provide any actual figures or evidence yourself. As local political leaders, you agree that all those numbers should be transparent to the public, right?

And, in fairness, any current office holder, candidate, or party supporter is welcome to provide those numbers to the public as well. I assume you all know them, because otherwise you wouldn’t be supporting the city’s current direction, right? I’d hate to think so many people were encouraging secrecy before an election.

We'd settle for "thinking" streets, but for those inclined to "rethink" them ... here's some reading.

Fine outcomes, all in a row.

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Rethinking Streets: An Evidence-Based Guide to 25 Complete Street Transformations (Planetizen)

"Rethinking Streets," a new report by the University of Oregon's Sustainable Cities Initiative, provides detailed information on 25 complete streets and streetscaping projects. It is available free in PDF and hard copy format.


It’s time to rethink the street.

For too long we’ve been building streets as though they have one function–to move cars quickly. The reality is that streets can to do more than just move cars. They can move people on foot, on bikes, on transit, without hurting vehicular throughput and safety. They can be more than a way to get somewhere else. Good streets are good places, too – public places where people meet, sit and socialize, conduct business, wander about, play, and more.

This new book uses evidence from completed street projects from around the United States in order to help communities imagine alternative futures for their streets. The book does not show hypothetical street re-designs, but actual examples from typical communities to show how they did what they did and see what resulted from the change.