Heated UP Clark County COURTHOUSE
UPDATE #4
GOliath learn HT his nemesis has volunteered as a community service to provide
COURTH HOUSE SECURITY for good old Clark County!! Here is Best Blogger
of Summer 2011 in Action!!!
UPDATE NO. 3 : A reliable source tells Goliath the County LOST and WAS DENIED
it's appeal in the TAX COURT
**********************************************************************
UPDATE NO.2. New Republican Mike Moore RIPS Republican and County Attorney Fifer:
This afternoon, Moore accused Greg Fifer of 'telling half truths' and 'playing political football with
peoples lives'. WOW. Isn't Greg Fifer one of the most respected guys on the block? See it over on
the CCC: http://clarkcountychatter.com/index.php?/topic/2532-law-suit-in-the-tax-court/page__pid__44107#entry44107
UPDATE!!!
*****************************************************
GOLIATH's SOLUTION:
PUt sign outside Courthouse as follows:
"PLEASE FRISK YOURSELF BEFORE ENTERING
SECURED AREA"
Financial crisis is making a circus as first signs of DISORDER appeared today. As all know, due to vast and heavy security threat politicians feel from public, the Clark Courthouse has had security for entrance.
Just in case you was thinking about going in a shooting people or something.
Today, due to the budget crisis, the sheriff pulled the guards OFF the courthouse doors and put them upstairs on the courts, reducing the number of guards in half. BINGO!!!! INstant savings!!!
That happened at noon. The sheriff reasoned that the ordinance establishing Security only directed protection of the courts! So we only need one on one end of the Courthouse.
Thereafter some scofflaw, exited the 'no exit' exit at the end of the courthouse and set off the alarm in the County office end of the building. But wait!!! There are no guards there and the alarm just buzzes for ..oh about half an hour!!!!!
By 1:30 the powers that be....now afraid of a heat crazed public driven mad by a buzzzing alarm somehow got the Sheriff to once again MOVE THE METAL DETECTORS BACK TO THE MAIN DOORS!!!
Meanwhile, the Council and Commissioners are proposing as follows:
1. All employees take an unpaid furlough one day out of ten working days.
2. Pay 3% into own PUF
3. An across the board pay cut of 10%
This MEANS, overall about a 23% PAY CUT!!!!
WOW!!!!!!
GOliath learn HT his nemesis has volunteered as a community service to provide
COURTH HOUSE SECURITY for good old Clark County!! Here is Best Blogger
UPDATE NO. 3 : A reliable source tells Goliath the County LOST and WAS DENIED
it's appeal in the TAX COURT
**********************************************************************
UPDATE NO.2. New Republican Mike Moore RIPS Republican and County Attorney Fifer:
This afternoon, Moore accused Greg Fifer of 'telling half truths' and 'playing political football with
peoples lives'. WOW. Isn't Greg Fifer one of the most respected guys on the block? See it over on
the CCC: http://clarkcountychatter.com/index.php?/topic/2532-law-suit-in-the-tax-court/page__pid__44107#entry44107
UPDATE!!!
*****************************************************
GOLIATH's SOLUTION:
PUt sign outside Courthouse as follows:
"PLEASE FRISK YOURSELF BEFORE ENTERING
SECURED AREA"
Financial crisis is making a circus as first signs of DISORDER appeared today. As all know, due to vast and heavy security threat politicians feel from public, the Clark Courthouse has had security for entrance.
Just in case you was thinking about going in a shooting people or something.
Today, due to the budget crisis, the sheriff pulled the guards OFF the courthouse doors and put them upstairs on the courts, reducing the number of guards in half. BINGO!!!! INstant savings!!!
That happened at noon. The sheriff reasoned that the ordinance establishing Security only directed protection of the courts! So we only need one on one end of the Courthouse.
Thereafter some scofflaw, exited the 'no exit' exit at the end of the courthouse and set off the alarm in the County office end of the building. But wait!!! There are no guards there and the alarm just buzzes for ..oh about half an hour!!!!!
By 1:30 the powers that be....now afraid of a heat crazed public driven mad by a buzzzing alarm somehow got the Sheriff to once again MOVE THE METAL DETECTORS BACK TO THE MAIN DOORS!!!
Meanwhile, the Council and Commissioners are proposing as follows:
1. All employees take an unpaid furlough one day out of ten working days.
2. Pay 3% into own PUF
3. An across the board pay cut of 10%
This MEANS, overall about a 23% PAY CUT!!!!
WOW!!!!!!
Comments
Now that I think about it he didn't even take a 23% cut in pay because he is now retired and living off of his Social Security and retirement. I think he only took about a 20% reduction in pay.
Brian Coffman
August 1st and they refused to act.
http://newsandtribune.com/local/x1406722994/Clark-County-payroll-pinched-Attorney-recommends-layoffs-for-all-Clark-County-employees-starting-next-week?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook
Guido
You sure this latest memo is not political posturing by a contract-paid spokesperson?
Yes, the budget problems of Jeffersonville and Clark County exist, but this stunt didn't help the situation in any way.
Let's all Keep it high and funny (if we can)
Yes, Anonymous,
the "public stewardship"
has been terribly mismanaged by many elected officials and appointed bureaucrats.
Facts are facts. There isn't enough money to continue the nationwide federal, state, and local spending binge. The public is "tapped out". The well has been drained.
It is over.
The fiscal mismanagement is appalling if not criminal.
The budget shortfalls
are not made up. They exist.
Too few dollars to cover the binge.
Many states, counties, and cities are making drastic cuts.
Some examples of what we face: Illinois layed off 17,000 teachers in the fall of 2010 ! More are going to announced this month.
Kansas City has reduced its police and fire by 20% and the teachers by 50%!
Detroit has reduced it's city payroll by almost 50% in three years and the schools are facing a $550,000,000 funding shortfall this year
which the state cannot now just "redistribute" state tax funds pay for them.
Detroit's class size will be over 60 students in the fall and their school bugets have been reduced by 50%.
Their police, fire, and EMS are downsized by about a third with more to come.
The entire public work force of Detroit has now been cut by almost 40%.
Entire blocks of the city have been abandoned and do not get services.
Guido
California's cities and counties are probably in the worst shape of all! Their spending and hiring has been totally unchecked.
Their severe downsizing is really starting. Even the California General Assembly Assembly leadership and Gov. Brown are recognizing it.
The pain will be severe until the amount of spending that is sustainable comes back into balance.
The losses in the property tax base and the other income streams, things in Indiana we call COIT, CAGIT, LOIT, as well as sales taxes reductions and user fees should have been monitored and anticipated. The loss of the 20% PTRC hurt and the future assessed evaluation of individual properties will decline across the board for at least five years more years. The statewide re-assessment
in Indiana that is supposed to "get more money"
will instead result in lowered assessments and less revenue.
The construction of new homes, businesses, and industry to "support more taxes" has slowed to a crawl.
The unsustainable burden on property owners has become
far too great and the "dependability of "real" estate taxes as an income tax stream" to support the excessive spending has far surpassed its limits.
The public officials and public employees power brokers didn't think that the process of continued growth would ever end.
They were not soundly trained in economics and business and did not anticipate the change in business patterns.
They did not have to meet expenses
yearly by being profitable to continue their governmental operations and expansion thereof. They just got "free money" from the taxpayer year after year and spent it.
The changes have caught the public sector workers very badly. It will take a long time to unwind the damage nationwide.
We are fortunate in Indiana as we only about fifteenth from the top in financial mismanagement and revenue/expenditure imbalances in relation to the entire fifty states.
Overall, Indiana's fiscal policies have been far less mismanaged than 35 other states!
The city of Jeffersonville and the Town of Clarksville are in a better fiscal position that the government for the County of Clark for the short run.
However, new projects may doom them. Jeffersonville, in particular, has been hiring FAR too many new employees because of various "guidelines" and will be facing real hardships in paying for their retirement "fringe benefits" in the future.
The Canal could bankrupt the city and require receivership and control by the state.
Remember, that Clark County government has already had its bond rating downgraded by the ratings services.
Clark County government now shares that distinction with Gary, Indiana!
Gary lost the steel mill business and industrial base and declined. They actually have a better excuse for their problems!
Guido
These simple realities are not a
reflection upon most people hired for a government, i.e. taxpayer supported job.
They just wanted a job. They now are seeing what the private sector has been going through.
They just survived a few years longer because their employer, the government, could tax and spend rather than have operate profitably to survive.
Again, this is just a harsh reality that is catching up with the public sector workers later than the private sector.
Nothing can be done as the income stream that is already far too burdensome on the taxpayer, is in decline and is not sustainable. Simple basic economics. A painful reality.
It is the "leadership" that should have known better.
They buckled under the past several decades and did not face nor make harsh nor wise choices with limited resources.
Now there are even less resources.
The approximately ten states that are in a very bad situation will suffer the most. All state governments but two face revenue tax deficits. The states cannot transfer taxes to the cities and counties to sustain their spending. The federal government must now not only severely reduce its excessive spending but will be able send far, far less tax revue back to the various state, county, and municipal governments.
Even with a lack of discipline
or real economic training,
the government leadership nationwide should have anticipated and planned much better.
Simply put, too much money is
being usurped from the taxpayer to support too many employees and projects.
The budget shortfalls exist nationwide because of a continued increase in spending that was not well thought out. There have been years of mismanagement and poor execution of public budgets.
Too many persons were being hired on public payrolls nationwide.
It was unrestrained.
Not only the "excessive yearly costs" were ignored, but the costs of retirement "fringe benefits" that would be necessary were not properly anticipated. These are now actually thought to be "entitlements" as well! The employee wanted a slice of the public pie. Public works projects were invented and implemented that could not be funded in the long run. These are just two examples of unsustainable "recurring expenses".
The "revenue streams" of money seized from the tax paying public are not adequate and cannot maintain the levels of expenditures that would be required for future costs.
States like California, New York, Illinois, New jersey, and Michigan are among the worst offenders. There are sixty-eight (^*) cities in the State of Michigan alone that may be required to be dissolved and have to be placed under the control of a receivership run by the state because the "leaders' didn't anticipate the potential tax burdens and costs of the policies they implemented.
They planned poorly, spent to lavishly, hired too many people, and have future "unfunded expenses via legacy costs that are not sustainable'.
It isn't PR.
It is a harsh reality.
Guido
Guido
Lame, but whatever.
I believe that Mayor Galigan and Mr. Fifer have alreaday started a process to assist the persons whom will be layed off.
The effort should be announced within two weeks.
Mayor Galligan, the Commissioners, and Mr. Fifer have a partial solution.
One of the big successes of the leadership in Clark County, via the state reps and senators going back the Rep. Wathen and Senator Plaskett has been the Clark Maritime Center, now called the Port of Indiana, the industrical area by the port, and the River Ridge Commerce Center.
Local officials have been very
supportive as well.
State Rep Steve Stemler, Mayor Galligan, and the commissioners have worked very deligently to provide the governmental assisatnce to help grow these assets and to provide more jobs.
Many of the jobs are manufacturing based and well paying.
Sources close to the government scene in Clark County have informed the GNB that a plan is underway to get many of the layed off public workers new jobs with the companies located in the River Ridge Commerce Center and port area.
That is "Mr. Guido" to you!
Intelligent.
Guido
keeps the GAW readers
better informed
and certainly entertained.
The GNB
does come up with the best!
I just read the recent posts
by Guido
and they are quite good!
Thank you "Mr. Guido" for all that you do!
Thank you for the attention to detail and information.
The GNB
was the first, I see, to break the employment plan of Mayor Galligan and Greg Fifer!
Lono (Curse of)
the truth....
by Guido. Yes, they are long, but very informative.
He teaches very well.
Even though the employment
and project funding problems
of county government
were not created by the government of the City of Jeffersonville,
it is very nice of
Mayor Galligan
to step up and help the county.
Leadership.
Draino
Sooo, are you referring to public officials like Governor Moonbeam in California, there Big G ?
Draino!
spent 'too' lavishly,
hired too many people,
and have future
"unfunded expenses"
via legacy costs
that are not sustainable.
It isn't PR.
It is a harsh reality."
Please excuse.
I admitted
an 'o'
from the 'too' .
Spent too lavishly.
Mr. Guido
It is time to make some employee cuts, and it will be painful. But, it is not unlike many, many other communities have already done, and certainly not unlike many private employers have already done.