The City Council Meeting 9-15-08

For all those who fought yet another tax increase: thanks. I realize that there may be some cutbacks in the Police department, but apparently they've been able to do the job with fewer people before. This increase was going to affect everyone in the county, not just Elwood.

Thanks to everyone for keeping the discussion civil.

Thanks especially to Debbie Brown for asking the tough questions.

Awesome! Thank you!

For some reason people think ten bucks a year is alot of money! The tax would of went for public safety which is the police and fire depts. What people dont understand is that when they turned this tax money away they have just created more of a burden on themselves. Now with out this money the police dept will more than likely start charging everybody that calls them or is arrested a sur charge fee and other fees will soon follow. The fire dept will probably start charging for ambulance runs which is free now, and more than likely start charging everytime the fire trucks roll which incluses CO2 runs. trash fires, wreacks, ect. Now just because the tax was to be used on public saftey only dosent mean that the other depts in the city would not of got anything. If the city would of got $360,000 for public safety that amount would of been able to be taken out of the public saftey budget that was already in the budget. That amount could of saved the trash guys jobs and adverted their layoffs. Now since they wont get that money the city is going to have a company come in and pick trash up. Guess who will be picking up that $50 a month tab.....You guessed it THE CITIZENS!!! So everybody hurry out and pat yourselves on the back for saving yourselves $10!!! And while your at it go ahead and vote MY MAN MITCH to another four years in office in november!!!! Because the property tax relif he gave you is going to turn around a bite you right in the A** come next year when you will be paying for all of these new charges. Was the $300 or so he saved you in property taxes worth it? Get smart people....oh wait that wont happen

I agree that the COIT would have been a good idea. Like the above poster said, that money could have gone towards Public Safety which in turn would have freed up a little bit of money from their budgets to save other city jobs, but noooooo, we must not have another tax, even though it was going to be "two ricker pops a week". Come on people. Think think think! Now we're facing layoffs and a budget shortfall. Any other bright ideas to save the city? it's no wonder out city is falling into disrepair, because PEOPLE DON'T CARE ENOUGH TO SAVE THE CITY! The citizens of this City have no idea how lucky they are to have free garbage pickup and a free ambulance service! Even the small town I came from (600 people) charged for those services, along with all fire calls. Open your eyes people, we're losing here!
~Jake

I wonder how the 3 council members that voted it down can sleep at night, knowing they are soley responsible for causing several families in the entire county major hardships once these layoffs start. Those of you that are excited that the tax was knocked down...well, I hope you are all as equally excited when you have to start paying for an ambulance, trash pick up, etc. The COIT was a great way to help the city out. You people always come on here saying that you want a change and want things to get better, and when something comes up that could help, it gets knocked down. I loved the comment made about the tax being like 2 Ricker Pops a week, we all know everyone in Elwood can afford that!

Wake up people! I for one would have been happy to pay my $1.94 a week to keep the services we have. Give it time, you will all be on here in a few months complaining that you have to pay for services that were once free. When that time comes, please be sure to go ahead and once again thank Debbie, Matt and Jack for that as well!

YOU KNOW WITH THE PRICE OF FUEL SKY HIGH, THE CITY MIGHT BE ABLE TO SAVE QUIET A BIT OF MONEY BY NOT USING FIRETRUCKS OR AMBULANCES FOR FASTFOOD RUNS. JUST A THOUGHT...THAT SEEMS LIKE WASTEFUL SPENDING TO ME.

The People were right. The government has to start living within its means just like the rest of us do. Sure, We all would like a bigger police force to keep people safer but the bottom line is we can't afford it! These people who are on fixed incomes here are really struggling as it is. They can't just pass increases anytime they want to make their income higher. They have a budget they have to follow or they don't eat. Sorry but I think the same goes for the government. Its the governments overspending now that is making things so expensive for people to live. I myself congratulate Debbie, Matt and Jack for standing up and voting the way the people wanted. It was a refreshing change to say the least. Sorry but the government isn't doing anything to protect my job so why should I give up my Rickers pop to help protect theirs? I really don't think its right to put the citizens down for not wanting to pay more taxes. This town needs Jobs, Not more taxes!
Yes, Walmarts low low prices have really made things better for this country hasn't it? See what happens when the people don't pay attention!

Al Jordan

I totally agree, they can definitely cut down on "wasteful spending" by not allowing the fire department members to drive their equipment to oh...say Subway for their dinner. Also be sure that they don't speed on their way back to the fire station to get their equipment when they pass a burning house, a person having a medical problem, or a car wreck while in their personal vehicle and on duty. All because the taxpayers don't want the firefighters to eat while on their 24 hours shifts. GET REAL PEOPLE! Just face it, the COIT tax being voted down is going to result in MORE complaints in the long run and the only people to blame are those that voted it down. Public Safety WILL be affected by this decision and those that wanted it voted down will be the first ones in line to b***h and moan when the police or firefighters don't get to their emergencies in a timely manner. Yes, the state has taken money away from us, BUT we as a community need to come together and figure out a way to fund our necessary evils i.e.: public safety. The COIT tax was one way for us to fund them, but we all know the result of our illustrious council's vote. I for one can't wait until some of these members come up for election again!

Caller: I need an amublance
Dispatch: What is your emergency?
Caller: My boyfriend passed out. He's not waking up. We were snorting oxy and...
Dispatch: Does he have a prescription for this medication?
Caller: No, he got it from a friend.
Dispatch: I am sorry, we cannot process your request for help without a valid form of payment.
Caller: What?
Dispatch: Illegal use of prescription drugs constitutes prepayment for our emergency services.
Caller: Just send the ambulance
Dispatch: I cannot send help without prepayment. You see your city council didn't want the COIT tax, so now we've delveloped a way to fund our department.
Caller: He's dying!
Dispatch: He is? Oh, that's a shame. Now let's see. Drug use $500 plus two EMT's at $10 hr each so $20 hr, 1 oral airway at $34, 1 suction tip at $45 , 2 pair of latex glove at $4 pair, now if he is sucessfully revived he's probably going to vomit, so we will add on for the blanket and sheet to be cleaned at $75, plus the hospital grade cleaner for the interior of the ambulance. Oh yes, we also will need to replace the electrodes and charge you for the use of the heart monitor at $250 per hour. Okay, so how do you want to pay? Visa? Mastercard? Debit?
Caller: But I thought I was only going to pay about $10 a year
Dispatch: Nope, snooze you lose on that one honey.
Caller: Okay , so what's my total?
Dispatch: Well, your charge for us to dispatch is $932 - but since this is an illegal activity and act of ignorance we must charge you double.
Caller: I don't have any money.
Dispatch: In that case you qualify for community repayment plan.
Caller: What's that?
Dispatch: Is he still breathing?
Caller: I think so.
Dispatch: Community repayment plan is a way for you to repay the city for saving his life. You will be required to perform 1 community service hour for every dollar in costs you incur.
Caller: Community service? What do I have to do?
Dispatch: First you'll clean the ambulance, then you'll wash the EMTs uniforms, then you'll refill the ambulance gas tank, then....
Caller: umm- nevermind he's stopped breathing
Dispatch: Okay, well would like me to call the morgue? Our standard rate is $5 a minute per call
Caller: click.....

I would agree with your disgust concerning the comments from the guest earlier. The Fire dept personnel are on 24 hour shifts so to complain about the city vehicle useage is not fair.

I would dissagree though with the tax comments above. As said earlier this morning we all, including the Elwood Admn, has a duty to live within their means (budget). I see that Anderson rejected COIT today also so there more rejection other than the Elwood City Council in the county. More importantly....it's the publics responsibility to elect the best officials possible. The elected officials have an obligation to follow their budget AND fund the neccessary evils such as public safety. The administration must be accountable.

One more thing: I'll say it again as I have for the last month. Maybe in the next city meeting the admn can provide the public with their plan to improve the economic woes of the city i.e. ATTRACTING NEW BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY TO THE CITY......A PLAN TO PROVIDE MORE JOBS.....I'm sure the budget problems could be avoided or at least lessened if these issues were being addressed.

The City Council members were elected to vote for the people they represent. I commend them for doing that. They didn't cave to the pressure I'm sure they felt from other sources. The folks in their districts owe them a Thank You.

I wonder how many of the people that voted the tax down smoke, get ricker pops etc. You see, spending that money doesnt seem to burden your pockets, or cut into your budget.

Do you realize how many jobs will be CUT and how many of your fellow citizens are now going to be UNemployed?! There are no jobs in this town and therefore wont be any reason for them to stay. This could mean MORE foreclosures, or empty and abandoned homes which in turn will only lower YOUR property value! Why would any new and exciting businesses want to come to a city that is BROKE and the citizens living here are as well?! Is Elwood going to become a ghost town?! Have people looked at the future?! Do you realize what this money was for? I am by no means a rich person, but my god I would have gladly paid the tax to save our budget or to save the jobs of OUR OWN EMPLOYEES!

Oh I know, going to Subway is such a long distance because Elwood is so big that I can understand why you are concerned about the Fire depts getting their dinner with the high gas prices. Yes that is a little bit of sarcasm for such a hideous comment! These Fireman save your LIVES and risk theirs to save YOUR HOMES when they are burning! But thats ok, youll see how important they are and how much you miss them coming to your house when you or a loved one is SICK and you cant pay the 300.00 fee they will NOW be charging! Even refusals will still be CHARGED! So again pat your idiotic selves on the back! Hope in a year or so you will SEE what a horrible decision this was!!!!!!

KATE
A VERY CONCERNED CITIZEN

After analyzing the situation I would have to agree that the city must make some additional cuts before it requests more funding from the citizens of Elwood. Efficiency is what can make or break a company and like many of us have said before; this city must be run like a big business. If this city is not run efficiently as possible then the city like most businesses will fail.
Would a business exist without customers? No. The cities customers are businesses. This is the department of the local administration that has constantly failed since Jason Hester left office. Someone that is educated in Economic Development or Marketing needs to fill this position. The current Economic Developer has not accomplished what has been expected of such a position. Going to meetings and conferences are great, however, they do not mean a thing with out productivity using the tools taught at the respective meetings.
Now for the budget issue that are facing the local government. Individuals must recognize that the city does not consist of the mayor’s office, fire department, and police department. There are additional areas of the government budget that can make changes. There is the clerk-treasurers office, judicial department, building commissioner, dog pound, sanitation, planning/zoning (ED), street department, and parks & recreation. All of these departments can make additional cuts before jobs must be lost.
Here are some questions to ponder. Is the government run efficiently? Are all employees working to their full potential from top to bottom? Has the local government over employed decreasing efficiency? Are all employees working honest hours increasing worth to the local government and the citizens?
Just like in any businesses employees must work for their job. If an employee is under performing then they are terminated from the payroll. Everyone from top to bottom must be held to a high performance standard no matter the position.

Mitch Danials master plan for this whole property tax deal was to make local governments smaller. It's working. We can only spend what we can afford like any business. If you can't afford the people you have the lay offs will happen.

It is time for this city to look at making part of the fire department volunteer. They could make a few police shifts volunteer as well.

It is also time to go to private trash pick-up.

No one wants to say the truth because no one wants to hurt anyones feelings, but this town cannot afford a full time fire department. It's the simple truth.

Whether working in the private or public sector everyone must be accountable for the jobs they are responsible for. The city did not just realize that they are broke, or, that they have budget shortfalls. For cryin out loud, the pool has been closed all year as an example. The projected 2009 shortfall has been made public for some time now so to put the economic woes on a single tax increase rejection is not fair or correct. The people spoke through their representatives in the vote which is the American way.

The negative energy spent right now in the COIT comments could possibly be redirected to how the city can run more efficiently as mentioned above. It could also be aimed towards the responsible parties that have failed to not only recruit additional industry but to retain what Elwood has had, and lost in recent years. We can all go this way or go that way in our accusations but there's one thing that is certain: More industry brings in more tax revenues, creates jobs and could, depending on the industry recruited, keep more of the resident's money in town creating even more tax revenue. It is in my opinion the #1 priority facing the city. When this is accomplished you will see things start to move in the right direction. Demand that this be done, demand that the city update you on it's progress and demand that the person(s) responsible for this be held accountable.

Why is there such concern over city jobs. I don't recall so much attention to all the other jobs being lost in this town and there are more to come. It happens!!

Running a Government entity like a big business isn't a great idea. Full disclosure. I get paid with tax dollars myself but I'm not a city employee. With that said, whatever they pay the fire fighters is not enough. As a previous post indicated, they save your lives and your home and your pets lives. They are responsive and we are fortunate to have a full time Dep't.

Governments job is to provide services. We want them to be efficient and I can't speak for local Government but I can say that in my line of work there are plenty of innefficiencies. On the other hand, every time we take a job that is performed by a government employee and farm it out to a contractor the service gets worse. Not better. Reason? There is now a profit motive in the equation. Any additional efficiency provided by farming out services to contractors are offset by slower and less effective services because the contractor keeps cutting corners to maximize profits.

Another post mentioned the decrease in property taxes and the whole my man Mitch thing. My 2 cents. I don't like property taxes because you never really own your property. You rent from the Gov't. Don't pay your bill and you lose your place. I am not opposed to payingy taxes, I just wish they would divert property tax into a different tax not tied to our real estate.

The last point from me is that whenever you get a tax break you have to remember that the government must make up that loss of revenue in one way or another. When the fed gives the rich folks a big break they do two things. Issue bonds (Borrow from China) and reduce the amount of taxes returned to the state. This puts the state in a bind and they turn around and tax you to make up for it or they reduce funding to Counties and Cities. Counties and Cities feel the pain and turn around and raise taxes and/or make layoffs.

How many services are you willing to pay more for? The public has every right and, in fact, a duty to demand accountability from those in charge of spending their tax dollars but don't expect to keep getting lower taxes without the expectation that the services you receive will diminsh.

We take many Government services for granted in this Country. When you really think about it, what we get for our money isn't so bad. Tax codes make it a drag to sort it all out but after all the deductions we could be far worse off than we are.

Pay now or pay later.

Why would running the local government like a business not work? Just like a company has the obligation to do what is right for its investors, a local government must do what is right for the citizens, the individuals who have invested in this community. Protection agencies, fire and police, should not be cut. What I suggested is that the other sectors of the government be analyzed more in depth for budget cuts. I agree for insurance and safety purposes the respective protection agencies should be left intact.
For the tax cut I only suggested that the local government analyze the budget more closely before they pass on the cost to the citizens of Elwood. I realize that tax breaks ultimately shift responsibility from one aspect to another; however the local government must do what is best for the citizens and more carefully analyze the current budget situation.
I am not suggesting that we outsource aspects of the local government. I just simply believe that everyone should be held accountable to their productivity. Just like in any business, if an employee is not performing to a certain standard they are fired. This should be the case with the city government. Individuals must be held accountable. I don’t know about everyone else, but I would want my tax dollars spent wisely and efficiently.

Running a business is like running a government. The budget line items might be different as in a plumbing company compared to a retail clothing business but the end results, or lack thereof, are the same.
The word profit vs. surplus is just semantics re: business or Gov. It's no different.

Governments job is to provide services, indeed, and can either lose money (budget shortfall) or gain a surplus (profit), again, it's semantics. No disrespect, but, part of the problem with Government and the services that they provide is that they usually pay no attention to costs savings when doing that particular service themselves. It's just not in the blood....I too have worked for the Government. So, when they farm that service out and see that the contractor is profit driven, they lose their breath. In essence though, the Gov employee pays no attention to wasting money to perform that service vs. the contractor who pays allot of attention to wasting money which creates more profit.......again, surplus vs. profit - budget shortfall vs. loss = semantics.

Recruit business now and reap the rewards later.

Not trying to make an enemy here but I am assuming you are a city employee because they seem to be the only ones upset about the fact the bill didn't pass. Last night at the meeting one of the council members sat in the back and grumbled under the breath at several citizens that talked. I am not going to say the persons name but those people you were belittling are probably some of the same people that voted for you so you really should show them a little more respect.

Next, The fact that People smoke or drink Rickers pop is their own business. Its their money to spend anyway they want to without feeling guilty because you might lose your job. No one likes to get laid off but it happens a lot these days and nobody cares till it happens to them. All I saw at the council meeting was scare tactics. Plain and simple. If you don't pass this you will all be sorry. Well, The people didn't buy it. Get over it. You folks are just gonna have to live within your means just like we do. If you get laid off, You can always call my wife at the temp service. Maybe she can get you a job. I speak for myself, and many others I'm sure when I say that I am not an idiot and don't appreciate being called one just because I don't have any interest in saving your jobs. I have enough of my own problems. You want to pay the tax? go ahead, no ones stopping you. Just don't make the people that do not want to or that cannot afford it pay as well. As far as the city charging for an ambulance gos. They should be charging. A lot of that could be insurance generated income so I don't understand why they haven't been doing it already. They also claimed that police could be laid off. Again, Not True. According to their contract. Dispatchers and other personal are the first to be laid off. The officers are the last.

So again, I congratulate Debbie, Matt and Jack for standing up and voting the way the people wanted.

Al Jordan

Once again, How is it Alex, Tipton and other small towns all around us can make their budgets work and not Elwood? It's easy to spend money that is not yours. Pretty much how this Adm. fixes anything , more tax. Kinda like all the people here on government programs and HUD, gimme gimme gimme. It is time for them to earn their money. Go out and find other sources income for the city, Like a factory or two. City earns more ,people earn a paycheck and so on and so on. Not, well lets just raise taxes again. People have had enough Trim the payroll. Half the city employees are stealing a paycheck anyway.Cut some salaries. The citizens of Elwood deserve better than what they are getting.They sure aren't getting their money's worth now!

Al, you say that the police can't be laid off due to the contract, but if you lay off dispatchers who's going to take the emergency calls? Who's going to dispatch Pipe Creek, Duck Creek, and Elwood Fire Departments along with EPD? It was explored a while back how to combine Elwood Dispatch with the Madison County Dispatch and Madison County would not do it without charging the city of Elwood in order to hire more dispatchers. In addition, who will be at the department to take care of reports, gun permits, and walk in complaints? I'm not saying this because I'm a city employee, because I no longer work for the city full time and rarely work part time. I'm more concerned for public safety at this time due to the increasing crime rate in Elwood. The former police chief that spoke at the meeting has NO CLUE of the value the police department has to this city these days. it's amazing that he thinks he knows all about the crime rate, but I bet if you stick him out on the street working afternoon shift or a friday or saturday night I bet he would call for backup in a heartbeat! We need more officers, we need quality officers. That's all there is to it. I don't think they were using scare tactics necessarily at the meeting, they were simply stating facts. If layoffs occur, services will fail to do the job they were put in place for. Not only police, fire, EMS, but look at the condition of our streets. My hometown, which is actually a non-incorporated village, has better paved streets and a drainage system than the city of Elwood. Someone else mentioned that the police department should make "volunteer shifts". Just a little tid-bit of info, the city took away the funding for the police reserves. How are you going to insure police reserves when there's no money? I agree, I don't want to pay more taxes, but SAFETY FIRST PEOPLE!

The current administration has had too many chances to improve this town. When is change going to happen? Surely they know of the inefficiencies in the local government. If a college student can recognize the problems this community faces, why can’t the administration? Perhaps they are ignoring the problems.

To the guest that posted the future 911 transcript, thank you, I have read that comment over and over and I laugh more each time. That is by far the most hilarious comment I have ever read on this site! Props to you for coming up with that!

andss - please don't take this the wrong way, you are entitled to your opinion and I respect that. To be quite honest, majority of the time I agree with you. However, a few of your comments really got under my skin and I will explain why.

1. "The people spoke through their representatives in the vote which is the American way." - My council member is one that voted this down. My family and others in my district were in favor of the tax!
2. "The City Council members were elected to vote for the people they represent." - You are 100% correct; they were elected to be our voice. Therefore, when something as serious as this comes up, these council members should hold meetings with the districts they represent in order to get a feel of what their citizens want. You can't say they were the voice of their citizens if they don't do anything to find out what their citizens want! We have a local paper and this site, there is no reason why they could not have posted a meeting date for their district and invited the citizens they represent to come discuss this. Some of us work out of town, get home late and have young children, we should not have to try and track them down of an evening, we have evening schedules just as I am sure they do. Had a meeting been posted, we could have planned to attend and discuss it.
3. "The folks in their districts owe them a Thank You." No, I don't owe them a THANK YOU!

Qualified people across the board are needed for Elwood to see any improvements. It seemed not to matter in the last few elections when everyone took on the “god ole’ boy” mentality while voting. One solution, pay higher wages to more qualified individuals. If more qualified individuals take on a job they can complete the work of two or three under performing individuals. Qualified or “good ole’ boy”?

It is a fact that the City Admn has known about the budget problems for quite some time now. If they really put all their stock on Public Safety funding in the proposed tax hike then shame on them even more. It's just another point to make. In their planning how did they expect to pay for the $370k if COIT was rejected?? Budgets require planning ahead and looking at a foggy crystal ball.

There are some folks that are posting that feel that the tax rejection is all of a sudden causing the current problems. I also feel that scare tactics were used. It happens in politics every day. And now all of a sudden, because of $370k that they never had to begin with the earth is going to fall off its axis! Scare tactics 101.

I don't feel that the problems are just starting. I've known for a while that the city was facing a budget crunch, but I DO feel that the COIT would have helped the budget problems significantly. To stargazer0128, DITTO to your post. The council members ARE there to serve the people, so why not hold meetings in each of the districts to get the input of the community members? I think all too often the council votes the way THEY want to vote w/o the citizens in mind. This does not apply to all of them, just those members that think they better than everyone else in town.

So what if people want to buy cigarettes or ricker pops? It's their money to do with how they see fit. Maybe they have budgeted their money just for those cigarettes and ricker pops. Why should they give them up to save someone else's job?

While Subway may not be that far away, it does take gas to get there. You would think since the city is broke they would try to save anywhere they can, this should include saving gas when they can. The fire department does have a kitchen.

I have doing my job for 17 years. I see what happens when contractors are awarded contracts to perform Gov't work. Here's what they do. They enter an agreement that leaves them with NO accountability or liability. They will enter a long term contract like 10 years and they will break down the costs such that the first 5 years are a bargain and the real screwing comes at the end of the contract. This way the current administration can look like the hero knowing that the future budget will be strained but that by then it will be somebody else' problem.

I fault the Government for that. They allow contractors to make all these stipulations and caveats so that the contractor will be guaranteed a fat profit at our expense with none of the liability that the government must still account for.

Some services performed by the Government ARE inherently governmental. Sure, they can farm out the window washing and certain administrative tasks but when it comes to public safety the buck has to stop with the government. We have left the gray area of allowing minimal functions to be farmed out and have now allowed vital safety functions to be farmed out. The result is that safety is risked at the expense of a savings now and a big bill later.

Semantics that you mention don't tell the whole story of the differences between the function of business and the function of government. They both have budgets to operate within and certain other likenesses but the comparison ends there. Government CAN learn from business but that does not necessarily mean that business can or should take over performing the inherent functions of Government.

Believe me, I have lived this reality and the tax payer frequently does not gain by doing it.

Andss, I too mean no disrespect. Just giving my 2 cents. We agree on other things quite often it seems.

I'm refreshed to see that people are engaging in this discussion. I don't have enough information to argue one side or the other on this local issue but I'm learning. My forte is political science at the national level.

Quite honestly I assume that the people were represented through their Council reps. I assume that because of the obvious pressure they probably endured from other Council members and the administration to vote for the tax. But I was not there, in those specific districts, to know for sure.

I still though stand by my posts and I know for sure that if the ED dept was doing their job we would not be having this conversation and if we were it would under different circumstances.

We at least have a mutual respect for each others opinions.

The city can lay off several employees before getting close to the Police or fire department. One of the cities in California I lived in found it cheaper to actually rent an outside police force from another city instead of have there own. If layoffs occur, Life will go on and I'm sure we will manage just fine. As far as safety first people. I have lived in Elwood for over 10 years now and I can honestly say that I feel pretty safe in this town compared to someplace like Indy. I would like to see the proof that crime has gone up here. I know complaints have but actual crime. Of course when you think about it, every time they write a new law, it creates a whole new type of criminal which adds to the statistics of crime. Hard times out there are making more people criminals who if had a job would not normally have been a criminal. If they have No jobs, then they sell drugs or steal to pay the bills. Its one of the unfortunate side effects of a bad economy. That's one of the reasons I don't shop at Walmart. :) We don't need more police and more prisons, we need jobs!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Most of the people your throwing in jail these days don't belong there especially for the amount of time your giving them. The drug laws have gotten so out of hand that research is showing that police raids create more violence and are actually worse for society than the drug users themselves. Then the judicial system gets a hold of them and they get locked into a system that costs money for one program after another and set up probation programs that most of them cant pass so they can add more probation fees and yet more programs and fines. More people these days are worried just as much or more about the police as they are the drug user. Do you know how many drug raids go terribly bad in this country every day? Hell right here in this town for that matter. Around the country, Innocent people being shot and killed trying to protect themselves because they had the wrong house? Sorry Jake but I'm not impressed at all with the war on drugs. The argument that drug use is worse these days is pretty much bull. Drugs were everywhere when I was a kid but you didn't go to jail for years and be treated like a criminal the rest of your life for it. Most usually just grew out of it.
But then the government got involved and look what happened. The laws got tougher so Drug prices soared making it much more profitable to sell the stuff. We started spending a fortune yearly housing them in prison, police started seizing peoples money and vehicles and other assets even when no drugs were found and guess what? After all these years it hasn't changed squat! People still use drugs just as much as they ever did. Life was a lot safer and cheaper for everyone when we didn't have this war on drugs. Sorry Jake but I just don't see the need for more policemen here in Elwood. Maybe some places, but not here. We just can't afford it.

Al Jordan

Amen about that Wal-mart remark. They are solely responsible for sending many jobs to China. They are union busters. A large percetabge of their employees get federal and state assistance because they don't pay them worth a damn for such a large corporation. They are nothing but bad. People think it helps them live better. Short term gain in exchange for long term ramififications that nobody wants to think about.

Seems like we need to weed out a few of what we have. They act so superior then we find out they are the drug addicys, they are the ones drinking and driving, they are the ones stealing. Wasn;t that long ago they tried to cover up 3 EPD's best went to the strip club in Kokomo and drove back to the station drunk.One was sent home as it was his shift. on and on it goes and WE are the criminals? I'ved asked before how many cars do we own? How much upkeep? Do we lease any? How much does it cost us for all those pretty decals most of we do not need? It started years ago this town thought it was Carmel. Lived way beyound it's means.Spent a ton of $ foolishly. Now its time to pay the piper. There is a nice Golf course south , but no one buys a lot and builds. There are waiting list in Hamilton Co. I live at and am a member of the #1 course in Indiana. I left my home town because of the harassment wanted more for my kids.But I still love my hometown and want it to prosper like it used to when I was young even though I won't come back now I know how much better it can be. I live on the stick 4 bedrooms 6 full baths beautiful grounds sold for 1.2 mill. Thats what can happen in the real world. Around here Elwood is a bad joke. My neighbor is an upscale developer went to the Elwood Adm. about developing along Hwy37, Told me nothing but fools running the town , it's too bad because it sits perfectly on intersecting hwy's close to both 31,65 and 69. If it had a little leadership it could be a boomtown. Thats what he said to me about my Hometown. Some on here say we are to far away . Think about it a small factory shipping goods across are nation to retailer, A few miles more to freeway is nothing. Too many of you think too small or have never left the County or something. Elwood can prosper if it had leadership that can see the big picture.

Jake works for the police dept. and stargazers "friend" is a fireman. And the only reason they are complaining about this tax is they want us to pay thier salary's. Well sorry Jake and Stargazer but I'm all tapped out. Why don't you tell us more about how no one will anwser when you call 911.

Stargazer DOES NOT have a "Friend" that is a fireman...not sure where you get your info, but get your facts straight before you post anything about my personal life! I have a "family member" that is a fireman, but regardless, I am in favor of this tax, I am sorry if you are all tapped out. But I was perfectly fine with paying my $1.94 to help out.

unless you live in another adjoining county the COIT would NOT have been paying my salary, it would have been more money out of my pocket just like everyone else. Again, I would have been in favor of it no matter what when you look at the benefits compared to the negative aspects.

I just read in another thread that Elwood has one of the highest tax rates in all of Central Indiana (according to Wikipedia) but yet some people are complaining that COIT didn't get passed. Go figure.