NASH: Standing in the way of annexation

JEFFERSONVILLE — For the last several years the city of New Albany has had trouble making ends meet. Due to the current state of the economy and restrictions that are in place based on decisions by the state legislature, the budget has been stretched very thin. It has become increasingly harder to balance the city’s budget without raising any additional taxes. It is hard to understand why a member of the New Albany City Council would stand in the way of increasing our city’s revenue.

Mayor Doug England and his administration have come up with a plan to add nearly $700,000 to the city coffers by annexing 219 acres which consist of mostly commercial property near the Interstate 265 interchange on Charlestown Road. Why in the world would anyone stand in the way of this?

Last week Mayor England called a special meeting to have the council vote on a resolution to approve a fiscal plan for annexation. This meeting was called with short notice and only five members of the council were able to attend. The resolution had to be approved by a majority of the full council. That meant a unanimous vote by those that were present. Councilman Dan Coffey knowing a no vote would virtually kill the measure, refused to vote for the resolution at that meeting.

Mr. Coffey at the initial meeting did not admit that he was against the annexation plan. His only complaint was with the limited timeframe of two days to review the material before making his decision. The mayor was then forced to call another meeting in order to have the resolution approved with enough time to have it completed by the end of the year.

It needs to be pointed out that this was not an actual vote to approve annexation. This was a vote to approve a fiscal plan that essentially got the ball rolling on the annexation proposal. There is still a six-month process that must take place before annexation occurs. Public hearings, three votes on the resolution and a remonstrance period all need to take place before the process is finalized.

Mr. Price came to the second meeting prepared to ask several questions that showed his concern about the annexation plan. He referred to department heads who stated they would be able to absorb the new area without any additional funds needed. He wondered how they could come to the budget hearings telling how tight their budgets are, and the next week say they have plenty of money to cover this new area.

His concerns were addressed by the administration. They stated that the adding of residential property would indeed push the limits of the fire and police departments but adding mostly commercial property would not tax them as much. Fellow councilman, Jack Messer, who serves as a New Albany police officer, concurred. He pointed out that the department already assists on some runs in the area in question. If Mr. Price still did not agree with the fire and police chief’s assessment of the plan, at least if they were wrong they would have the extra revenue if they needed it in the future.

Mr. Price also asked a question that has been raised on a couple of local blogs. If the city sees a net gain of $700,000 will the county lose that money? First, this shows a complete lack of knowledge of how the layers of government work. Second, it is not Steve Price’s job to worry about the county’s well being. Mr. Price’s job is to insure the city is in sound financial position. His only concern should be how this benefits New Albany citizens.

I felt that Mr. Malysz answered Mr. Price’s questions thoroughly. Mr. Price seemed to understand the answers and even nodded in agreement with them. In the end he still abstained when it came to voting for the fiscal plan.

While there were five council members that were unable to make the first meeting and two were absent from the second meeting, there was also another noticeable person absent from both meetings. Mayor England who had called both meetings did not attend either.

He sent Deputy Mayor Carl Malysz in his place who was able to explain the annexation process and answer any questions that the public or council members had. When council members expressed their dismay for his absence the deputy mayor only stated that he will pass those concerns along to the mayor.

If the mayor would like for the city council to take this plan seriously I think it is important that he at least show up. Even if he turns it over to Mr. Malysz to explain and to answer questions, I believe his attendance is warranted.

Annexing the area of the Charlestown Road business corridor has been on the radar for a very long time. Anyone that did not know this was the next step is either delusional or lying or both. It appears that the plan as it looks right now seems to be a win-win for the city. If it turns out that it is not as good as it looks then there is plenty of time to vote against it. Now is not the time for grandstanding or stonewalling just to prove a point.

FLOYD COUNTY — England responds to Clere story

I am writing in response to Daniel Suddeath's article in the Tuesday March 23, 2010, edition of The Tribune entitled “City Ready to seal the deal?”

This is the third time in as many months that State Representative Ed Clere has taken it upon himself to announce the conclusion of important negotiations between the City of New Albany and State of Indiana. While I understand that Mr. Clere seeks kudos and political points as he is heads into his campaign to seek re-election to a second term as our State Representative, I think it is inappropriate for him to be the spokesman of City of New Albany business without coordinating with my office.

In late December 2009, Lt. Governor Becky Skillman visited New Albany to announce the award of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant for the S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood. The details of that event were conveyed to my office at the eleventh hour via an e-mail from Ed Clere. Mr. Clere did not confer with City Hall. We had to scramble to appropriately welcome the Lt. Governor.

More recently, Mr. Clere announced that he brokered a deal with the Indiana State Revolving Loan Fund for sanitary sewer bonds, stating that it would slash the City’s proposed rate increase in half to 35 percent. After reading the fine print, however, it was obvious to everyone that the rate would not be cut in half. In fact, it would only be decreased to 64 percent once the full increase kicked in, and the deliberations of the Common Council continue.

But Mr. Clere's premature announcement of the Ind. 111 relinquishment tops them all. This deal has not been consummated, although I believe we now have a “meeting of the minds” with Mr. Zier of InDOT. Moreover, Mr. Clere's premature “leak” to the press now jeopardizes this deal, as he has caused confusion among the Common Council members and others, like Mr. Clere, who have not been party to all of the details of the negotiations.

Mr. Clere certainly deserves recognition for the role he plays as “ombudsman” in city-state negotiations. However, he should be careful about what he says and when he says it.

At the appropriate time, in conjunction with InDOT, the England Administration will release details of the Ind. 111 relinquishment agreement and how it will benefit the citizens of New Albany. In the mean time, maybe Mr. Clere can persuade the State of Indiana to provide some stimulus grant funding to fix New Albany’s sewers. $3.5 million dollars like he got Georgetown would be a great start!

— Douglas B. England
Mayor of New Albany

Craig wrote:

Hwy 111 is a state highway. It's proper for a state Rep. to be involved in the negotiations.

Why would Rep. Clere announce a deal unless someone at either the Mayor's office or InDOT told him there's a deal.

Did the Mayor strike a deal and change his mind? We have seen behavior like that before.

Did the Mayor say there was a deal to plan this 'gotcha moment' for Clere?

nares wrote:

It's obvious that england feels like his turf has been stepped on. why is this man the mayor? didn't he create enough of a mess the first time around. can't we find someone to run the city that actually knows what he's doing?

Roger A. Baylor wrote:

'Gotcha moment' or not, the Hwy 111 negotiation is important because if and when it is completed, the city assumes responsibility for maintenance and upkeep. This means it will be England's (and his successors), not Clere's (and his successors), job. Hence the obvious imperative of being on the same page.

wow wrote:

Does Mr. Clere want to be mayor of New Albany? If not, then he should coordinate with the mayor's office. Instead of trying to one-up (and undermine) the mayor, Mr. Clere should be cooperating with him...for the good of the people, not for the good of his political career.

alive & well in New Albany says... wrote:

Looks like Clere had another gotcha moment on England. If England was doing his job and trying to help our citizens and stop trying to take Clere's credit, just maybe he (England) might be believeable put he's not. The only thing England knows is how to over spend and raise fees. Let's remember how England likes to mislead our council and just maybe if he had less illegal meetings at Studio's maybe the citizens might know what's really going on and the deals being cut.

Frank wrote:

I wish the mayor would work with Mr. Clere instead of taking cheap pot shots at him.