Mr. England what is your definition of a priority?
Why would you bring a resolution to our council for approval to spend $700,000 for police cars, Fire Department, Street Department equipment and other expenditures before you know the state of our City Budget?
$250,000 for 10 new Police cars
$300,000 for Fire Department
$150,000 for Street Department
This resolution needs to be reviewed by our Council. Why do you ask? Our River Boat Fund as of January 1, 2008 had $1,410,821.08. What expenditures have been made out of our River Boat Fund in 2008? What is the balance of our River Boat Fund today? If we use $700,000 what will we use if an emergency project is needed to be repaired.
Also, there is not a take home car policy as of today.
We had a conversation with Major Sharon Wright and she stated at this time NO OFFICER is contributing to the gas fund. Louisville has a take home car policy where Police Officers pay $60.00 a month plus gas.
Currently, New Albany police officers are allowed not only to do their grocery shopping, banking, pay bills but to also use our police cars to go to a second job at the expense of the taxpayers.
We don't know about you, "but no one pays" our gas for a second job!
Now, that gas is almost $4.00 a gallon, this is an issue that our council needs to look long and hard at before approving the use of River Boat Fund dollars for 10 new police cars. Also, maybe our police cars would last longer if they were not allowed outside of our city.
This week, Mr. Maylsz was interviewed in front of our Police Station by a local TV crew and they brought to his attention that one police officer driving from our police station to his home in Corydon cost taxpayers of New Albany $1,500 a year in gas. Mr. Maylsz stated he was not aware of that expense.
Well, Mr. Malysz you are being paid $85,000 a year to be aware of city operation!
How much longer can Malysz and England play dumb about these city expenses?
In fact:
Date: April 11, 2008
Gasoline paid January 1, 2008 through April 1, 2008
2008 Budget:
Police Department: $150,000 - used $61,805.00
Fire Department: $42,000 - used $20,862.12
Animal Shelter: $7,000 - used $2,722.85
Street Department: $46,000 - used $18,697.79
Parks Department: $15,000 - used $5,024.49
Code Enforcement Officer: - used $254.16 [paid out of city atty. budget]
Source: City Controller Report 4/11/08 ~Kay Garry
This report only covers 3 months. What happens when they use all the money allowed for the year 2008? Where are we going to get the additional funds needed for the rest of 2008?
This administration is blind siding "our inexperienced Council."
Politics is playing too big of a role with taxpayers dollars.
Our City Administration has refused to provide Council members a report of police cars, and addresses of officer for take home car. Any Council member who does not request a copy of this information should be removed from our city council if they vote for this $700,000 Resolution!
Indiana Law states:
A city official who recklessly issues bonds, certificate warrant for the payment of money in excess of an appropriation or who recklessly enters the city into an obligation beyond the amount of money appropriated for that official's department or under his or her authority commits a misdemeanor and becomes liable on his or her official bond to any person injured IC 36-4-8-13
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Mr. England, if you were a man of your word, you promised to put property taxes as your top priority.
If you continue to borrow and put us more in debt, this affects property taxes.
The reason HEA 1001 passed was to protect taxpayers from Administrations like yours!
What is a priority to citizens of New Albany?
Yes, we need our Fire Department, Police Department and vital services.
We also need to look at the big picture. Not one of your employees have stood up to our new "inexperienced" council and told them the whole truth.
* Tax abatements hurt our tax base
* TIFs affect our tax base and
* Bonds burden property taxpayers
What good is it to spend millions of dollars on streets and sidewalks when you have broken sewer pipes and stormwater drainage problems?
If you borrow $10,000,000 for 30 years to pave our streets the bond payment will be $1.8 million yearly. Take the yearly payment of $1.8 X 30 years = $54,000,000.
Is that a smart decision?
England's priority list needs to be:
* Lowering our Property Taxes
* Planning for Budget cuts
* Providing Vital Public Services with less
* 15th Street
* Beeler Street sewers - [McClain Lift Station]
* 9th Street alley - [there is raw sewage running down the alley]
* Broken sewer pipes
* Broken Stormwater drainage
Outstanding loans need to be paid first:
* Parking Garage TIF owes Edit Fund $3.2 million to repay loan
* $5.3 million General Fund owes Sewer Fund
If Mr. Maylsz wants to continue expanding TIF areas, let's just go on and TIF the entire city. If you are going to continue to hand Tax Abatements out, give all us homeowners a Tax Abatement.
March 18 and March 19, 2008 there was 14 over flows reported to IDEM and the EPA about our city.
What does that tell you Mr. England?
Do you still think sewers are not a problem or a priority? EPA thinks so...
How are we going to pay these fines?
We are $1.6 million in the red in our General Fund, and how do you plan to fix it.
By adding more debt?
Freedom Of Speech would like to ask the city council to take time and do your homework and look at all the facts before you commit our tax dollars. Our city's reserves have been "greatly depleted already." People don't like surprises when you have to come back and raise taxes to cover this and that.
Ask yourself one final question:
Why do we need to keep paying for outside consultants to tell us what's wrong with our city? Just look around or drive down any street in New Albany!
Indiana Code 6-1.1-18-4 states: the proper officers of a political subdivision shall appropriate funds in such a manner that the expenditures for a year do not exceed it's budget for that year."
