News in the town from the recent council meeting.
The east sanitary interceptor is coming along well and should be done by late spring. More good news on that front is that the bids and work have come in under budget so the state has allowed us to build a northbound spur off of it to the edge of U.S.40. The money for the project, if you remember, has come from the stimulus and state grants so they have some say in the extra funds.
This does come at a rather perfect time since the town was informed that the apartments on 40 just east of 700w (Eastway apts) has been cited. There are a lot of apartments there and they are all on a large septic system which is failing. With this north bound pipe going to 40 they can tap in to our system and provide for a large increase in customer base as well as a sizable tap in fee. As we know, our sanitary system and treatment plant are below capacity and adding customers is the best way to keep monthly charges in check.
We have also gotten word that the state has more stimulus money that could not find a home since it needs to be spent on shovel ready project. We have been given additional money for the Pennsy trail. We had federal dollars to cover all but about a mill and we had a state grant for that portion which required a 20% match. Now we have the fed money to pay for the whole thing with no match and the state has allowed us to still use the grant money as long as it stays in the same type project which will now allow us to work on the buckcreek trail portion. This is huge because now having the ability to take trails from our district all the way to town (dairy queen, marsh, meijer) will come to fruition sooner. Still a couple of years away but not the 5 or so we figured it would take.
We also passed a resolution to allow the town to by the property on welland that sits kind of between the cumberland baptist church and the cumberland christian church. It has been appraised at over 100k and they are selling it to the town for 40k and using the rest as a tax/gift write off I believe. Thank you goes out to the owners. The town is not sure what our use of it will be just yet. Maybe part of the park system or if development comes in and wants to build there we will have the control over what type.
I can not stress enough how glad I am things like these are going our way. In meetings I have attended we are told that the best way for a community to move forward in this economy now and when it turns more postive is the have "quality of life ammenities" and we are moving that way at the perfect time.
There is a new restaurant that will be going in to the pizza hut building and a new convenience store going in next to that in the old village pantry store.
Washington street construction will begin as soon as the wather breaks so be ready for that and I believe it should be completed by fall.
We will have the farmers market again this year which will bring people into our town. The market master we have had is steping backa bit but she has done such a good job that our market is used by town around the state as a model. Thanks to Marcella Champion of her work over the years.
If you have any issues just call or email.
Joe Siefker
Councilman dist. 5
Friday, February 5, 2010
D.C.
Well, the latest report from europe is that although those countries have been in the same recession as we have, they have a new problem. A good number of them are about to default on loans due to the inability to repay debt from years of massive spending. They are, in my opinion, socialist countries that spend, spend, spend feeling it is the job of big government to control everything and just tax the citizens to pay for it.
Well they are taxed about as much as they can be and the unemployment rates are above their traditional level of 10-12%. Now they have so much debt from being on spending sprees that they may not be able to pay it off which will of course collapse their economies and since everyone and everything on the planet is connected we will feel the shock waves as well.
But, not to fear. Our president has been on a mission to spend more than all of europe combined with his BIG government, BIG spending inititives. We are already so far in debt that our grandchildren will not be able to pay it off. Of course he has his team trying to tell us that they will spend now and cut back later to get the deficit (1.6trillion in the new budget) and the national debt down. When has the federal government ever been able to control itself. They set themselves up for obligations they can not meet.
I will say it again here as I have said before. Our unempoyment rate is going to stay above 10% into the distant future and spending by washington, if left unopposed, will continue to increase each and every year. It is a world economy and America is now locked in with the rest of the world where unemployment is routinely above 10%.
We have had to have the latest everything at the cheapest price and wonder why there are no jobs when we demand high pay. How much do you expect to make an hour building $99 dvd players. So it gets outsourced to asia.
Toyota has spent so much time and money convincing americans that they are the best and now we find that they too are capable of cutting corners with total disregard for customers safety. A lot of americans have spent the last 10-20 years carrying the japanese flag and now see how upset they all are now. They could have very likely put all american auto companies out of business and think what thing would be like right now if that would have happened.
Think about it.
Well they are taxed about as much as they can be and the unemployment rates are above their traditional level of 10-12%. Now they have so much debt from being on spending sprees that they may not be able to pay it off which will of course collapse their economies and since everyone and everything on the planet is connected we will feel the shock waves as well.
But, not to fear. Our president has been on a mission to spend more than all of europe combined with his BIG government, BIG spending inititives. We are already so far in debt that our grandchildren will not be able to pay it off. Of course he has his team trying to tell us that they will spend now and cut back later to get the deficit (1.6trillion in the new budget) and the national debt down. When has the federal government ever been able to control itself. They set themselves up for obligations they can not meet.
I will say it again here as I have said before. Our unempoyment rate is going to stay above 10% into the distant future and spending by washington, if left unopposed, will continue to increase each and every year. It is a world economy and America is now locked in with the rest of the world where unemployment is routinely above 10%.
We have had to have the latest everything at the cheapest price and wonder why there are no jobs when we demand high pay. How much do you expect to make an hour building $99 dvd players. So it gets outsourced to asia.
Toyota has spent so much time and money convincing americans that they are the best and now we find that they too are capable of cutting corners with total disregard for customers safety. A lot of americans have spent the last 10-20 years carrying the japanese flag and now see how upset they all are now. They could have very likely put all american auto companies out of business and think what thing would be like right now if that would have happened.
Think about it.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The economy
I guess my big beef is that we (americans) did this to ourselves. We constantly have to have the next big thing and at the cheapest price. Since we do not work in the sector of industry that make the product we could care less if it puts someone out of a job, "it's not me", until we realize now that them being out of work leaves them no money to spend in our sector. So we had to pay the feds to take care of the others. Fewer and fewer left working have to pay to take care of more and more jobless. We can't blame business for making things cheaper somewhere else so we can buy it cheaper here. Now we keep asking the Feds to do more and spend more. They do not have money of thier own they take it from us, now or in the future.
town news 1/20/10
Well all,
Not much new news from the town right now. We had the insurance carrier for town employee insurance plan raise the rates by 40% this year which was way more than expected so the town manager has been working with the employees and the carrier to work out some options and we believe we have it taken care of with out costing the town to much more money.
We have had some memebers of boards and councils for the town looking to step down and now would be a great time to get involved with our community. We have a lot going on and it is a good time to be a part of it all. That is what makes our state attractive is citizens being involved and helping to shape our cities and towns. If you are interested you can let me know or call the town manager, Jeff Sheridan, for more info.
The town has been offered the opportunity to purchas some land for a VERY reasonable price and we have decided to go ahead with it. We may use it for a future park or can sell it for development but by owning it we have more control over what is built there. It has been on the radar of a couple of subsidized housing developers so we can now prevent those kinds of uses.
If I did not put it in the last note. I am now the vice president of the town council and on tuesday I was elected secretary of the executive board for the Hancock County Economic Developement Council which I have been on the regular board for 2 years now.
We had a guest speaker who works for a site selection firm and when they are going through a selection process for companies looking to expand in the mid west, Indiana continually comes in at one of the top 2 spots so that is good news for us and our state. Indiana is also better off economically that the surrounding states. I also think Cumberland is set up in a great position as far as local economics goes. The west and north side of indy are built out far enough that companies are really starting to look at the east side and Hancock county in particular and with the recent work we have going on in Cumberland we should really get noticed. The speaker gave some ideas for town and counties to do to get themselves noticed by corporate america and they include and good web site, infrastructure, interstate access, value of life aspects (parks, trails, utilities,etc) all of which we just happen to be completing right now. I am very excited about the future here and with being part of the HEDC we get more noticed by county officials as well.
The washington street, pensy trail, east sewer interceptor should all be finished in 2010.
Hurray for us. That's about all for now. I will be putting out business cards with my contacts on it in your mailboxes soon so everyone will know how to get a hold of me.
Thanks
Joe Siefker
Town councilman dist 5
Not much new news from the town right now. We had the insurance carrier for town employee insurance plan raise the rates by 40% this year which was way more than expected so the town manager has been working with the employees and the carrier to work out some options and we believe we have it taken care of with out costing the town to much more money.
We have had some memebers of boards and councils for the town looking to step down and now would be a great time to get involved with our community. We have a lot going on and it is a good time to be a part of it all. That is what makes our state attractive is citizens being involved and helping to shape our cities and towns. If you are interested you can let me know or call the town manager, Jeff Sheridan, for more info.
The town has been offered the opportunity to purchas some land for a VERY reasonable price and we have decided to go ahead with it. We may use it for a future park or can sell it for development but by owning it we have more control over what is built there. It has been on the radar of a couple of subsidized housing developers so we can now prevent those kinds of uses.
If I did not put it in the last note. I am now the vice president of the town council and on tuesday I was elected secretary of the executive board for the Hancock County Economic Developement Council which I have been on the regular board for 2 years now.
We had a guest speaker who works for a site selection firm and when they are going through a selection process for companies looking to expand in the mid west, Indiana continually comes in at one of the top 2 spots so that is good news for us and our state. Indiana is also better off economically that the surrounding states. I also think Cumberland is set up in a great position as far as local economics goes. The west and north side of indy are built out far enough that companies are really starting to look at the east side and Hancock county in particular and with the recent work we have going on in Cumberland we should really get noticed. The speaker gave some ideas for town and counties to do to get themselves noticed by corporate america and they include and good web site, infrastructure, interstate access, value of life aspects (parks, trails, utilities,etc) all of which we just happen to be completing right now. I am very excited about the future here and with being part of the HEDC we get more noticed by county officials as well.
The washington street, pensy trail, east sewer interceptor should all be finished in 2010.
Hurray for us. That's about all for now. I will be putting out business cards with my contacts on it in your mailboxes soon so everyone will know how to get a hold of me.
Thanks
Joe Siefker
Town councilman dist 5
Thursday, January 21, 2010
We are learning!
Well the voters of Massachusetts have spoken and regardless of the Left saying it was a knee jerk reaction, I feel it is more of a reaction to jerks in D.C. The president and his minions have continuously said that Bush made the mess that they have to clean up. They spent 12 months convincing and brain washing Americans into believing that. The fact is that Democrats controlled the house and senate since 2006 NOT 2008 and there is not a chance that Bush could have signed anything into law that the liberals had not sent him.
They did such a good job of imposing fear on Americans that a majority elected a man and a group of control freaks who have spent 12 months intruding into every aspect of our lives and spending more money that our future generations could possibly repay. The proof of this is given by the example of the tea party groups and the example of how the mainstream media cowers to the president by not acknowledging those groups and their gatherings.
I already feel sorry for our children and grandchildren when the bill for this spending shows up in the mail, because it will be hard to turn it around now.
Look at the record of how healthcare reform got to where it is. Mr. Reid had to pay off other senators to get the votes he needed. Mr. Barney Frank, when asked, said flat out that there is no way that all or even a few of the senators had the time to read and understand the bill before they voted on it. Can you believe that? He basically said that he was willing to vote for it because his party said to. There’s a responsible elected official for you.
To me government should concern its self with providing infrastructure, fostering economic growth, protecting its citizens via local police and emergency services up to nation military, control its boarders and protecting citizens from harmful products.
As citizens we need to take some responsibility for ourselves as well and stop asking the government to get involved every time we have a disagreement with corporate America. We have more power than we realize we just need to take the time to get involved and get organized. We should have done something to pull the reins on the mortgage lending practices that helped get us in this mess in the first place. We need to stop trying to see how little we can pay for product because everyone knows that products made in other countries cost less because those citizens are paid less. Running to the Wal-Mart’s of the world to save a buck ends up costing us more because they put Americans out of work. The buck we saved then has to go to the government to provide for the unemployed so in the end we really save nothing.
Be proud of your work and be proud of your neighbors work buy purchasing products made here by you and your fellow Americans. If we act responsible and take responsibility the ship will stay afloat with out big brother intervening. We are suffering from a lack of pride and a lack of loyalty.
Joe
They did such a good job of imposing fear on Americans that a majority elected a man and a group of control freaks who have spent 12 months intruding into every aspect of our lives and spending more money that our future generations could possibly repay. The proof of this is given by the example of the tea party groups and the example of how the mainstream media cowers to the president by not acknowledging those groups and their gatherings.
I already feel sorry for our children and grandchildren when the bill for this spending shows up in the mail, because it will be hard to turn it around now.
Look at the record of how healthcare reform got to where it is. Mr. Reid had to pay off other senators to get the votes he needed. Mr. Barney Frank, when asked, said flat out that there is no way that all or even a few of the senators had the time to read and understand the bill before they voted on it. Can you believe that? He basically said that he was willing to vote for it because his party said to. There’s a responsible elected official for you.
To me government should concern its self with providing infrastructure, fostering economic growth, protecting its citizens via local police and emergency services up to nation military, control its boarders and protecting citizens from harmful products.
As citizens we need to take some responsibility for ourselves as well and stop asking the government to get involved every time we have a disagreement with corporate America. We have more power than we realize we just need to take the time to get involved and get organized. We should have done something to pull the reins on the mortgage lending practices that helped get us in this mess in the first place. We need to stop trying to see how little we can pay for product because everyone knows that products made in other countries cost less because those citizens are paid less. Running to the Wal-Mart’s of the world to save a buck ends up costing us more because they put Americans out of work. The buck we saved then has to go to the government to provide for the unemployed so in the end we really save nothing.
Be proud of your work and be proud of your neighbors work buy purchasing products made here by you and your fellow Americans. If we act responsible and take responsibility the ship will stay afloat with out big brother intervening. We are suffering from a lack of pride and a lack of loyalty.
Joe
Friday, January 8, 2010
council mtg 1/6/2010
Town news 1/8/2010
At the town council meeting on Jan 6th Don Engerer was voted in as president and I was voted in a vice president.
We had a presentation from Mat Klein director of Indianapolis water. They are currently in the process of asking the Indiana utility regulatory commission for another rate increase. They had an emergency one this summer of 10% and are now asking for an additional 35% which if approved will take effect by summers end.
The issue, as he states it is that most utilities have about 15% of their debt in variable rate bonds and that IWWD had almost 60% when he took over in March of 2009. Then with the economic situation being what it is, the bonds were adjusted by the holders to a shorter payoff and a higher rate which meant that they could in no way make the payments. He has since gotten all of the debt into fixed rates.
He stated that they are about, if I got this right, 918 million in debt with more federal mandates coming in and the need to build safety and backup supply methods has forced them to ask for this increase. Most residents will see about $8-10 dollars a month more on their water bill. This will not change the sewer bills or rates. Those are set by the town and I am still trying to get them down.
He also discussed the water conservation ordinance that Marion county put into effect this year. The town being in two counties is looking at a similar ordinance but it would really only effect the Hancock county side since the Marion ordinance would take precedent. It basically says that during drought times the mayor of Indianapolis can declare a water emergency which would restrict water of lawns, washing of cars at home, filling of pools, etc. until the all clear is given. The reason for the ordinance is that the water company, at times of drought, can not keep up with normal demand forcing them to spend more to bring in backup or over work their equipment.
I think residents in my district do a fairly good job of conserving already so I do not anticipate this being much of an issue.
We also passed the ordinance for the Fire contract that I negotiated with Buck Creek fire department. We recently paid 180 thousand for 2008 and 190 thousand for 2009. They had asked a couple of years ago to have us pay 250 thousand but I felt that was to much of an increase. It would have meant that the Cumberland portion of Buck Creek township would be paying about 1/3 of their budget but we only have about 25% of the number of homes. I also feel that we have an economy of scale on our side as we are a big portion or their budget in one contract. We were also given the option of giving up fire coverage by the town and allowing the township to bill directly on our tax bills. I did not feel that was a viable option at this time as it would have meant our property tax bills going up with no control over how much.
The agreement we reached is that we would increase or payments by 10 thousand each of the next 2 years to finish out the contract then we can evaluate what we can do from there. This would put us at 210 thousand by 2011. Compared to 250 thousand a year that they were asking for we saved 150 thousand over the three year contract.
Winter is here so everyone stay warm and safe and let us know of any issues or concerns.
Joe Siefker
Town councilman dist 5
At the town council meeting on Jan 6th Don Engerer was voted in as president and I was voted in a vice president.
We had a presentation from Mat Klein director of Indianapolis water. They are currently in the process of asking the Indiana utility regulatory commission for another rate increase. They had an emergency one this summer of 10% and are now asking for an additional 35% which if approved will take effect by summers end.
The issue, as he states it is that most utilities have about 15% of their debt in variable rate bonds and that IWWD had almost 60% when he took over in March of 2009. Then with the economic situation being what it is, the bonds were adjusted by the holders to a shorter payoff and a higher rate which meant that they could in no way make the payments. He has since gotten all of the debt into fixed rates.
He stated that they are about, if I got this right, 918 million in debt with more federal mandates coming in and the need to build safety and backup supply methods has forced them to ask for this increase. Most residents will see about $8-10 dollars a month more on their water bill. This will not change the sewer bills or rates. Those are set by the town and I am still trying to get them down.
He also discussed the water conservation ordinance that Marion county put into effect this year. The town being in two counties is looking at a similar ordinance but it would really only effect the Hancock county side since the Marion ordinance would take precedent. It basically says that during drought times the mayor of Indianapolis can declare a water emergency which would restrict water of lawns, washing of cars at home, filling of pools, etc. until the all clear is given. The reason for the ordinance is that the water company, at times of drought, can not keep up with normal demand forcing them to spend more to bring in backup or over work their equipment.
I think residents in my district do a fairly good job of conserving already so I do not anticipate this being much of an issue.
We also passed the ordinance for the Fire contract that I negotiated with Buck Creek fire department. We recently paid 180 thousand for 2008 and 190 thousand for 2009. They had asked a couple of years ago to have us pay 250 thousand but I felt that was to much of an increase. It would have meant that the Cumberland portion of Buck Creek township would be paying about 1/3 of their budget but we only have about 25% of the number of homes. I also feel that we have an economy of scale on our side as we are a big portion or their budget in one contract. We were also given the option of giving up fire coverage by the town and allowing the township to bill directly on our tax bills. I did not feel that was a viable option at this time as it would have meant our property tax bills going up with no control over how much.
The agreement we reached is that we would increase or payments by 10 thousand each of the next 2 years to finish out the contract then we can evaluate what we can do from there. This would put us at 210 thousand by 2011. Compared to 250 thousand a year that they were asking for we saved 150 thousand over the three year contract.
Winter is here so everyone stay warm and safe and let us know of any issues or concerns.
Joe Siefker
Town councilman dist 5
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
town news 12/16
Hello all.
Merry Christmas.
At the recent town council meeting (12/15/09) during councilor comments I addressed a couple of issues.
The first being the Washington street project. I travel the section in Cumberland twice daily and have seen little if any work being done between the bridge and meijer but the barrels remain. I expressed my displeasure for the slow work at past meetings and reiterated that as well. I also pointed out my concern for what the barrels will do once the snow flies and plowing becomes needed. The safety of the residents and visitors, I feel, would be in jeopardy with these remaining over the winter months and asked that the town "require" them to be removed post haste. I was then informed by the town manager that in meeting call he had that very day, INDOT said they would be removed and the lanes marked by the end of this week (12/18). That will mean the road will be open, with the exception of the bridge, until spring. There may be a day here or there that utility crews will be working to move lines.
The next issue I talked about is the continuing sanitary sewer billing of the 4 unit minimum regardless of how much water we use. I have learned that the sanitary sewer board has tabled the issue until they can form a committee and get a consultant to review the issue and its effects on the sewer budget. I really expressed my displeasure at this. 1. there are already to many layers of government for a town this size. 2. the sewer board should BE the committee and should not need to pass the issue on. 3. a consultant will cost the tax payers money when the board should be able to figure out the cost difference themselves. 4. I then gave a very easy to understand math lesson on what the difference would make. (ex: we charge 4.25 per unit ((100 cu/ft)) and a minumum of 4 units regardless of usage. So each month residents are charge $17.00 even when they are in florida. If we had 100 homes using no water for 1 month that is $1700.00. If they are gone for 6 months a year that is $10,200 in lost revenue. I then stated that the sanitary sewer utility annual budget is 3.2million, that is 3/100 of a percent of the budget and I doubted that anyone can prove that the utility is at risk of financial failure from loosing 3/100 of a percent of its budget. It took me about 2 minutes to show what a consultant will charge the town thousands for. Councilor Engerer replied by saying that if they stay hooked up to our sewer system we should charge them weather they have water flowing out or not.
I can not stand the idea of charging for something someone is not using. That also is the reason why I pushed so hard for us to get some stimulus money since cumberland will be asked to pay back our share, we might as well get to spend our share here.
We also passed a few ordinances dealing with panhandlers near roads and convicted criminals in town parks. These are both similar to ones passed by Indianapolis and other towns in the state. They have been upheld by the state courts and found to be acceptable. We also approved money for the purchase of a video recording system for police reports, interviews and depositions that can be sent down town for transcribing into courts rather that having to pay officers extra time to manually deliver them.
Also check out the new town website. It is at the same address as before. http://www.town.cumberland.in.us/
Have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year
Joe Siefker
Merry Christmas.
At the recent town council meeting (12/15/09) during councilor comments I addressed a couple of issues.
The first being the Washington street project. I travel the section in Cumberland twice daily and have seen little if any work being done between the bridge and meijer but the barrels remain. I expressed my displeasure for the slow work at past meetings and reiterated that as well. I also pointed out my concern for what the barrels will do once the snow flies and plowing becomes needed. The safety of the residents and visitors, I feel, would be in jeopardy with these remaining over the winter months and asked that the town "require" them to be removed post haste. I was then informed by the town manager that in meeting call he had that very day, INDOT said they would be removed and the lanes marked by the end of this week (12/18). That will mean the road will be open, with the exception of the bridge, until spring. There may be a day here or there that utility crews will be working to move lines.
The next issue I talked about is the continuing sanitary sewer billing of the 4 unit minimum regardless of how much water we use. I have learned that the sanitary sewer board has tabled the issue until they can form a committee and get a consultant to review the issue and its effects on the sewer budget. I really expressed my displeasure at this. 1. there are already to many layers of government for a town this size. 2. the sewer board should BE the committee and should not need to pass the issue on. 3. a consultant will cost the tax payers money when the board should be able to figure out the cost difference themselves. 4. I then gave a very easy to understand math lesson on what the difference would make. (ex: we charge 4.25 per unit ((100 cu/ft)) and a minumum of 4 units regardless of usage. So each month residents are charge $17.00 even when they are in florida. If we had 100 homes using no water for 1 month that is $1700.00. If they are gone for 6 months a year that is $10,200 in lost revenue. I then stated that the sanitary sewer utility annual budget is 3.2million, that is 3/100 of a percent of the budget and I doubted that anyone can prove that the utility is at risk of financial failure from loosing 3/100 of a percent of its budget. It took me about 2 minutes to show what a consultant will charge the town thousands for. Councilor Engerer replied by saying that if they stay hooked up to our sewer system we should charge them weather they have water flowing out or not.
I can not stand the idea of charging for something someone is not using. That also is the reason why I pushed so hard for us to get some stimulus money since cumberland will be asked to pay back our share, we might as well get to spend our share here.
We also passed a few ordinances dealing with panhandlers near roads and convicted criminals in town parks. These are both similar to ones passed by Indianapolis and other towns in the state. They have been upheld by the state courts and found to be acceptable. We also approved money for the purchase of a video recording system for police reports, interviews and depositions that can be sent down town for transcribing into courts rather that having to pay officers extra time to manually deliver them.
Also check out the new town website. It is at the same address as before. http://www.town.cumberland.in.us/
Have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year
Joe Siefker
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