A roundup of articles - Northwest Indiana July 14th

I know many of you are reading the same papers I am, so I'll try to include a couple links to articles you may have missed this morning:

Illiana Expressway report released, with a west leg only so far. This seems to have those in southern Porter County most against the tollway calmed, but what about those in southern Lake County?

The City of Valparaiso pools over $700,000 for sidewalk replacement. Here's a question, what is the city paying to install these sidewalks? In the past it was quite evident that concrete and construction companies were pillaging cities and towns by over-charging, with the construction labor market weak these prices should be even less now right?

Crown Point and Winfield are preparing for the new I-65 interchange, still no plans though in Porter County for the increase in traffic or growth?

Opinion piece calls for City of Gary officials to attend Local Government Academy, first problem there is no Local Government Academy anymore and secondly who is going to pay?

A report from the Young Republicans National Convention in Indianapolis over the weekend, with some disappointing election problems, and lots of comments about YR's. One of our authors here is the local YR chair, and I hope he'll be writing his own update for our readers soon.

More on City of Gary trash dispute, while trash continues to pile up and neither the city nor GSD is picking it up.

And from LaPorte County, where the assessing and auditing function are having even more problems than Porter County these days, this public notice which eerily suggests that the DLGF is having to do the job for the county officers:

Notice of Public Hearing

on Department of Local Government Finance’s Performance of Annual Adjustment for 2009 pay 2010 property taxes in LaPorte County

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (“Department”) has determined that LaPorte County has not made annual adjustments to assessed valuations required by 50 IAC 21 for 2009 pay 2010 property taxes. By law, when a county fails to make an annual adjustment to assessed valuations, the Department must perform that task for the county.

Pursuant to Indiana law, certified notice is hereby given that on Monday, July 20, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. (CDT), in Conference Room 2 of the LaPorte County Complex Annex Building, 809 State Street, La Porte, Indiana, the Department will hold a public hearing concerning its performance of the annual adjustment on real property.

Using data permitted by 50 IAC 21-12-1, the Department proposes to apply the following adjustment factors to assessed real property values in LaPorte County for 2009 pay 2010 property taxes:

Vacant Industrial 100%

Improved Industrial 101%

Vacant Commercial 100%

Improved Commercial 101%

Vacant Residential 100%

Improved Residential 97%

The hearing is open to the public. Anyone interested in participating in the public hearing is encouraged to attend and may speak or submit written statements expressing his concerns. Written comments may be submitted in advance to Brian E. Bailey, General Counsel, Department of Local Government Finance, Indiana Government Center North, 100 N. Senate Ave., Rm. N1058, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204.

Signed this 2nd day of July, 2009.

Timothy J. Rushenberg, Commissioner

Department of Local Government Finance

Gary Mayor suggests council needs to step up

We tend to cover Porter County more than the whole region, but for the rest of our Northwest Indiana readers the battle over trash pick up in the City of Gary has become quite the circus.

Last week the City Council voted against a contract to out-source trash pick-up. The problem is that the cities trash pick-up department was disbanded already and now no one is legally able to charge for trash pick up in Gary.

Mayor Clay is suggesting that it's time for the Gary city council to step up and say what it is they want. (via Times)

Hitching to a Broken Wagon: Portage’s Mayor Olga-Velasquez Plays Party over People.

Traditionally a libertarian position, local Democrats have historically opposed projects ranging from building hospitals (which would cost the County literally nothing) to an extension of the controversial South Shore Line. Porter County Democrats even oppose repairing roads for which hard-fought Federal funds lie dormant. They justify this agenda by proclaiming themselves representatives of the people in opposing all taxes, while squandering millions of local tax dollars wallowing in their own utter incompetence by failing to get tax bills out on time. What is troubling most recently is the subject of this article: Portage Mayor should work for Portage

As Mayor of Portage, a Third Class City in Indiana, Mayor Velasquez’s charge is to find solutions to problems within her City’s limits. Unfortunately, however, she is allowing the partisanship of the local Democrats to control her agenda both in and outside her City. As a voting member of the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC), Mayor Velasquez has an opportunity to work with other regional and community leaders to make a positive difference for Northwest Indiana. It appears, however, that she has chosen instead to give in to Bob Harper and the CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) agenda of her local party.

This is troubling for three (3) reasons. First, as alluded to above, a mayor’s job is to identify problems and provide solutions. Rarely should ideology enter into this equation. Rather, it entails the bricks and mortar of everyday life. One such problem Portage faces is the massive unemployment other communities such as Valparaiso are also dealing with. The ChicaGo Dash provides a much needed link to Chicago, the Region’s greatest economic engine in which many depend for daily transportation to and from work. Mayor Velasquez missed a major opportunity to provide daily transportation to Chicago for her residents. Instead of inquiring how to jump onboard and include the citizens of Portage in the ChicaGo Dash route, she instead chose to simply vote against it.

Second, with this vote Mayor Velasquez simply appeased Bob Harper and the anti-everything county Democrats. How can a mayor, with her unique understanding and advocacy of her city’s priorities, crumble to the intimidation Commissioner Harper is known for exerting and still provide for her City? To perform effectively, any mayor (or any legal advocate for that matter) must be prepared to stand up against any opposition in or outside of her party in order to preserve the maximum opportunity for the constituents that she represents. She failed as mayor here in allowing her party to dominate her decision.

Third, and most troubling, the ramifications of this decision will likely impinge upon opportunities for the City of Portage in the future. Voting down proposals made by other municipality-members of NIRPC will likely result in these municipalities voting down her own initiatives that could significantly benefit the residents of Portage.

Mayor Velasquez, your City has a well-established history of reaching across party lines to do what is right for your residents and to benefit the Region as a whole. I urge you not to continue down this path of partisanship and division—the very self-fulfilling prophesy that causes Indianapolis to look Northwest and laugh.

Surprise Sen. Bayh cares about property taxes

STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN JOHN CURLEY (Lake County)

ON SENATOR EVAN BAYH’S PROPERTY TAX PLAN



Senator Bayh can smell a tough re-election challenge coming. Just months after voting for President Obama’s massive stimulus bill that has yet to result in any measurable increase in jobs in the Hoosier State, Bayh is proposing to make a federal income tax deduction on property taxes permanent.



The timing of this recent push is intriguing considering the 2010 campaign is right around the corner. Residents of Lake County have long been hard hit by property tax increases and Senator Bayh has yet to support Governor Daniels’ wishes to make caps permanent. Instead of stumping around the state in a desperate push to up his re-election chances, Bayh should convince his fellow Democrats in the Indiana Legislature to allow an up-or-down vote on property tax legislation as soon they next convene. Even then it would be long overdue.

The Noose Tightens; Murtha/Visclosky Donor Charged With Kickbacks in Federal Court

The Murtha/Visclosky Corruption and Kickback Scandal has begun to draw blood, as the Gary Post-Tribune notes today:

PITTSBURGH -- The former chief executive for a defense contractor with ties to Reps. Pete Visclosky and John Murtha has been charged with taking about $200,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor.

Richard Ianieri, of Doylestown, Pa., was charged in a one-count criminal information filed Monday in Pittsburgh. He is accused of accepting two kickbacks of about $100,000 each from a subcontractor -- identified only as "K" -- while he was an officer of Coherent Systems International Corp.

Point of Order here: when the indictment refuses to directly identify the subcontractor, that means the subcontractor is cooperating with the authorities. When the CEO is only charged with a single count of the indictment -- that means he's cooperating too, and has cut a deal already.

Already looking bad for our boy Peter.

Ianieri donated at least $9,200 to Visclosky's campaign and political action committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. A spokesman for Visclosky's campaign didn't return calls for comment. Visclosky's offices were subpoenaed in May as part of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the defunct Virginia lobbying firm The PMA Group. The firm was one of the congressman's top campaign donors.

In an April 2006 news release, Murtha announced that Coherent and Kuchera Defense Systems were working "virtually as one company" on 14 contracts worth $30 million to develop high-tech military gear. At the time, both companies had offices in Windber, near Murtha's home base of Johnstown.

Kuchera, which has given ten of thousands of dollars to Murtha's campaign and political action committee, has been under scrutiny in recent months. The company, owned by brothers William and Ronald Kuchera, has received $14.7 million in Murtha earmarks in the past two years. It and another company, Kuchera Industries Inc., have received $53 million in federal contracts in this decade alone.

In January, FBI agents and Pentagon investigators raided Kuchera Defense Systems' offices.

Ianieri was president and chief executive officer of Coherent until it was sold to Fairfax, Va.-based Argon ST in August 2007, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ianieri was charged via a federal criminal information, which typically indicates that a defendant is cooperating with prosecutors.

Argon's CEO, Terry Collins, said in a statement that the company cannot comment on the criminal allegations because the actions happened before Argon purchased most of the assets of Coherent in August 2007. Though Ianieri continued working for Argon after the acquisition, he left that company in October, Collins said.

In April, the Navy suspended the Kucheras and their companies for "alleged fraud" including multiple instances of incorrect charges, along with allegations of defective pricing and ethical violations. Kuchera is appealing the suspension.

And we wish them the best of luck with that. Really. Although at the rate the tine men are falling around Murtha and Visclosky. you have to wonder which crooked Democrap will turn on the other one first.

Heh. Couldn't happen to nicer guys.

Previous Entries on The Visclosky corruption Scandal:

Visclosky Corruption Details Emerge; Continues to Refuse to Resign Committee Chairmanship

GOP Lawmaker Demands Visclosky Step Aside as Committee Chair

Democrap “Most Ethical Congress Ever” People Having Trouble Living Up To The Hype

More Democrat Corruption?: Visclosky Tied to Earmark Contributor FBI Raids; Murtha Connection Revealed

Northwest Indiana Moonbats Eat Their Own

Cross Posted At Alamo City Pundit

~Johnny~

Eyes on LaPorte County - are we next?

This week's portion of the story can be seen in the Times article today, where the state has threatened legal action against the new LaPorte County auditor.

Here's a little more of the story, and feel free to add details if you know them:

• Assessors, similar to Porter County, had a hard time keeping up using the new trending system. Thus the entire assessment was thrown out by a court and they are having to go back a few years and start over. In Porter County the assessment was not thrown out but more than 1,000 properties are in appeal.
  
• The auditor in Laporte County does not want to sign off on the assessments, perhaps believing that they are still quite wrong?
  
• Now the state is ordering the auditor to sign off on the assessments or be prosecuted. An interesting challenge to our obviously antiquated system of running county government.
  

This just points out again the strong need for reorganization of county government statewide. The three commissioners stand idly by, since it's not their job to assess or audit. The Treasurer watches from the sidelines since he/she just sends out checks. The auditor can't tell the assessor what to do, or vice versa. And the council has no legislative authority, all they can do is withhold funds from the other county offices.

My opinion, it's time to look at totally changing the way county government is organized in the State of Indiana. A proposal:

• Elect one county executive, who runs the county departments like a mayor runs a city.
• Expand the county council in number (would propose one councilman per township in Porter County plus an extra in any township with a Class 3 or higher city), and give them the same legislative authority that a city or town council holds. I think in Porter County this would result in 14 council members. The county administrator would act as tie breaker only. The council would internally elect their own council president as they do now.
  
• Those who feel that township government is the closest to the people, should appreciate that in essence each of those township trustees could run for this new council seat and stay close to the people. I have yet to talk to a trustee who is dying to perform poor relief for the rest of their lives.
  
• An interesting side note, this would give greater incentive to forming a City of Duneland combining Chesterton, Burns Harbor and Porter. They could pick up a council seat and expand the council to 15.
  
• Now here's a tough one, I would propose hiring not electing a county financial officer who would be responsible for assessments, auditing, bookeeping and payments. This would resemble the current system used by larger cities where the financial operations are conducted by an employee of the mayor.
  
• Move sheriff to appointed by the county administrator, I can't see why this should be political
• Eliminate township governments, rolling fire service to closest town or city (or districts), getting out of the cemetery and parks business, and elect a county trustee to provide poor relief from a central location in concert with other state and federal assistance programs. Electing the trustee should help those still concerned that budget problems could affect an appointed trustee. Although the funds would still have to be appropriated from the council, allowing some checks and balances.

Just a thought, and I'm sure from the commenting activity we've had this week, we'll get some vehement objection ... that's fine the debate is worthy and honorable.

A few things that have caught my eye that could make for good discussion...

I don't really have much as far as long articles or opinion pieces, but here a few things that have caught my eye that I think could get some good discussion going.

Sarah Palin: QUITTING?! WHAT?! Sarah, I liked your policies (not so much your stage presence, but that's a whole nother thing...) but to quite in the middle of your term as Governor? I'm sorry, but you might as well have tied a noose around the neck of your political career.

A second stimulus?! I don't even need to type out a long explanation. Let me put it this way: Harry Reid says its not a good idea. Mr. Lets Destroy the Housing Industry.

Michael Jackson is dead. He was more than likely a child molester, at the very least had strangers' children sleep in his bed with him, bleached his skin and had a white sperm donor as the father of his kids because he was (in my opinion) ashamed of his race, and named one of his children Blanket. Do we need to be putting this guy in such a positive light?

I've read several editorials in the Post-Tribune by are people talking bad about those of us with tattoos. What ever happened to "Don't judge a person by the color of his skin?" Full disclosure: I have a lot of tattoos, there fore I may be biased on this.

Al Franken was sworn in today. God help us.

Post Tribune editorial

Somehow I missed this editorial last week, and though much argument back and forth on the RDA and RTA here on this site recently, I was surprised at the intensity of the opinion. One interesting thought voiced by many of our readers has been a challenge to Valparaiso to offer a pick up in Portage.

Porter County Commissioner Bob Harper, who seems bent on stopping most progress in the county, has now turned to meddling with individual communities.

Not content to halt forward movement at the county level, he's been pushing the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission -- successfully so far -- to stop money for Valparaiso's ChicaGo bus service.

The money would pay for buses that run between Valparaiso and Chicago each day.

Harper's concern isn't about county money, since none of it will be used to pay for the buses. All of the money comes from federal and Valparaiso sources

But Harper has concocted a future scenario where county residents will have to pay a tax to support the system, something that hasn't happened and in all probability will never happen.

And while Harper meddles in Valparaiso:

* The county fails to get out tax bills on time, blaming the state.

* The county has to buy more software for auditing and tax bills, blaming the previous software system.

* The county has failed to spend $1 million secured by Rep. Peter Visclosky to fix County Road 100 South to make it safer for residents.

* The county has thus far failed to find a money manager for the proceeds of the sale of Porter hospital.

Somehow, Harper has time to worry about something that hasn't yet happened in Valparaiso while county government has a dismal record over the last several years.

What's next? Will he find a way for Portage to stop paving roads? Will he end any efforts in Chesterton to add electrical power?

Or will he stop meddling and do his job at the county?

Economic Bill of Rights

The TEA Party in Valpo on the 4th was a great event, and once again a good turn out and a fun time. I spoke, as some on here may know, at that TEA Party, and the video is on my site, www.mattersofopinion.net. During that speech I talk about an Economic Bill of Rights, and as promised, I will elaborate. This is right out of the book "Common Sense Economics" by James Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, and Dwight R. Lee.

a. No government shall use its regulatory powers to take private property, either partially or in its entirety, for public use without paying the owner the full market value of the property taken.

In recent years state and local governments in particular have used regulations to take or control private property without compensation, even though the property owner had violated the rights of no one. The courts have generally allowed them to do so as long as a legislative body deemed that the action was "in the public interest" or that the taking did not deny the owner all uses of his or her property. This is an open door to abuse that must be closed.

b. The rights of individuals to compete in a business or profession and/or buy and sell legally tradable goods and services at mutually acceptable terms shall not be infringed by Congress or any of the States.

The freedom of individuals to compete in business and engage in voluntary exchange activities is a cornerstone of both economic freedom and progress. Price controls, business and occupational entry restraints, laws restricting the exchange of goods and services across state boundaries, and other government regulations that restrain trade should be prohibited.

c. Congress shall not levy taxes or impose quotas on either imports or exports.

The U.S. Constitution already prohibits the imposition of these trade restraints on exports. This prohibition should also be extended to imports. The freedom to trade is a basic human right, just like freedom of speech and freedom of religion. There is no reason why Americans should no be permitted to buy from and sell to whomever will give them the best deal, even if the trading partner lives in another country.

d. A 3/4ths approval of both Houses of Congress shall be required for all expenditure programs of the federal government. At least 2/3rds approval of the legislative branches of state government shall be required for the approval of expenditures by state governnments.

Remember, if a project is really productive, there will always be a method of finance that will result in everyone gaining. Thus, the super majority provisions need not eliminate projects that truly increase wealth. They will, however, make it more difficult for special interests to use government as a tool for plunder. They will also help keep the spending activities of governments as the local level where competition among governments provides a stronger incentive to serve the interests of all citizens.

e. A 3/4ths approval of both Houses of Congress shall be required before the federal government is permitted to borrow any funds to finance a deficit in its annual budget.

This will reduce the inclination of Congress to spend beyond its means.

f. A 3/4ths approval of both Houses of Congress shall be required for the federal government to mandate any expenditures by either State governments or private business firms.

If this provision is no included, Congress will use mandated expenditures to escape the prior spending and borrowing limitations.

g. The function of the Federal Reserve System (FED) is to maintain the value of currency and establish a stable price level. If the price level either increases or decreases by more than four percent annually during two consecutive years, all Governors of the FED shall be required to submit their resignations.

This provision would make it clear what the FED is supposed to do. If the FED establishes monetary stability, it is doing its part to promote economic stability and progress.


Now, I'm not foolish enough to believe that this would actually be PASSED. But it should be, and if it could be, we wouldn't find ourselves in near the kind of messes we have been in economically, including today.