It is easy to make your local politicians do your will. Do not ever forget that fact. The People of our city proved it in 2007, when together, we overturned the city council and put a new mayor in charge.
A terrifying decision will soon rest in the hands of the Indianapolis City Councilors. They will have to decide whether or not to increase a combination of hotel, beverage, and car rental taxes to fill the unending deep and secretive black hole of our money known as the CIB (Capital Improvement Board). The CIB funds and operates the stadiums, the city's convention arm, the Arts Council and lots of other quasi government/private endeavors without oversight or audit whatsoever by elected officials.
Mayor Ballard promised us no new taxes and he promised us transparency of all of the city's money, yet he purposely blocked every effort made by a few prudent city councilors who suggested an audit the CIB. Sadly, Mayor Ballard follows the lead by Barnes and Thornburg attorneys Joe Loftus and Bob Grand who control the CIB and are the legal representatives of the Pacers instead of The People who made his election possible. The mayor broke a solemn promise made to the tax activists to make all of the city's money trails transparent.
In the fall of 2008, city councilor at-large, Ed Coleman, started to try to open the records of the CIB and he was punished by the Marion County GOP for doing so. After months of trying, and subsequent punishment by party insiders, he officially joined the Marion County Libertarian Party.
The men that now control our mayor, for their own financial interests, want you to believe that our professional sports teams will leave Indianapolis. They also want you to believe that our "66,000 hospitality workers" will no longer have jobs.
This is a lie. There is no city in America in this economy that can afford to take on a new professional sports team.
Further it is certain that our hospitality workers will be laid off when convention planners do not book Indianapolis because we are a landlocked city with the highest hotel tax in the country! Our convention business is not tied to the Colts or the Pacers.
Keep in mind, we get the Super Bowl no matter what happens, even if the Colts pick up and move again like they did when they left Baltimore for Indy.
Our city councilors need reassurance of the fact that The People's power supersedes any political fallout risked at the hand of corrupt party insiders and the two law firms that get most of the city's business.
Our city councilors win only when they do what is best for the future our city's children will inherit.Right now our city councilors need political cover that only We The People can give them. They literally stand between us and more taxation to these millionaires, billionaires and thieves.
Now is the time for us to empower our city councilors and take control of our local government. Our city councilors need to hear from us and know that We The People have their backs, as long as they say NO.
The blind funding and tax increases to feed the CIB beast has been going on a very long time with no public oversight. Consequently, no one seems to know for sure what the real numbers are. We are led down one rosy path of promised prosperity after another only to find out that we were mislead down a path of thorns and unending debt at the hands of the city's multi-millionaire sports team owners.
We are at a turning point, a fork in the path of our city. Do we continue to blindly throw money at our CIB and trust the politicians who are controlled by the boys at the top of the game, or do we TOGETHER stand up to end it?
We have the power, for it was given to us each long ago when this country was authored and the rules were set up to empower the individual to control our government. All we have to do is claim the power that is already ours.
Our city councilors are scared right now because it is been put on them to do what even the state legislature could not figure out how to fix. They are in difficult political waters that you can make easy for them to navigate simply by reminding them that YOU have their back if they make the sensible decision to vote against any further tax increases to fund the CIB until we see details from a forensic audit.
All you have to do in the next day is email every councilor from the email links below and tell them, "The People have your back if you oppose tax increases for a CIB bailout."
Time is of the essence. Write your letters now and make sure our city councilors know you have their back, because this time, their party doesn't.
WHO IS MY INDIANAPOLIS CITY COUNCILOR?
Feel free to email all of them at the addy's below:
pbateman@indygov.org
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Indianapolis City Council decides Bailout vs. Forensic Audit of the CIB
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3 comments:
Citizens need to register acknowledgment of the first contract (Constitutional Oath) which in no way points toward public funding of ENTERTAINMENT. We're not, "one or more" regulations, fees or tax percentages away from "greatness," that's the other direction.
councillors,lets audit the cib. in full and detail,who gets free sporting tickets,food and all the free stuff.what are the salaries of each member and who is related to whom..research all the unknown for the taxpayers and get this information out to the taxpayers,so we know exactly what we are paying for and to whom,lets go forward now before the next election 2011.just the facts,sir
indpls councillors,what a terrible vote on reappointing the safety director,frank straub,look at the killings in indy ,now at the state fairgrounds,where next,churches,and grocery stores,post offices...come on indy can do better,we need leadership and someone to do the job..
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