Writing in today's Indianapolis Star Andrew Clark reports:
A petition aiming to stop Carmel from buying an antique carousel is gaining steam online.
Tim Hannon, a longtime resident, started the petition Thursday and will send it to the Carmel City Council. It had almost 150 signatures by midday Monday.
Hannon told IndyStar he is concerned about Carmel using taxpayer money to pay for the carousel. He suggested the City Council look for companies or individuals who would want to donate money toward the carousel and perhaps receive a plaque in exchange.
He also opposes the city taking out bonds to pay for luring a luxury hotel. He said if the free market doesn't support a luxury hotel, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard should seek a midrange quality hotel.
"These projects in particular just seem unnecessary, given the readily available alternatives," Hannon said.
The carousel and hotel are part of two bond packages the Carmel City Council will likely vote on in August.
Carmel City Councilor Ron Carter said an agreement for the city to purchase the carousel is in place, contingent upon the council voting to pass the bonds. It would likely be installed in the Arts & Design District, Midtown or City Center.
We have been curious about what Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard thinks of Tim Hannon's petition. Andrew Clark was kind enough to think of that as well. Our good friend Clark writes:
Brainard, who has seen the petition, responded in an email: "It is always good to listen to criticism but still apply judgment based on years of study, planning and experience." Brainard also said 4 percent of Carmel's debt is paid by residential property taxes and that the city's credit ratings are very high.
Carmel City Councilor Ron Carter put in his two cents as well:
Carter said the complaints that have been raised against the carousel remind him of the complaints that were raised when Carmel was building its City Hall in the 1980s.
"As you go through the history of the community, there have been bold moves by not just the mayor, but by the City Council, and the mayor and Council in combination," Carter said. "I look at this as another situation of that nature."
You can see the petition on change.org.
Well Mayor Brainard and Councilor Carter nice to see that you think taking other people's money to finance your personal tastes in buildings is a "bold move"!
We want to share with all of you, but especially with Jim Brainard and Ron Carter a response to them from the Indy Republican mailbag:
"Mayor Brainard & Carmel City Council are not representing the whole of Carmel in the wasteful spending of the taxpayer's money.
Why not finance this carousel out of your own pocket, Mr. Mayor?
Well? What do you have to say Mayor Brainard? Why don't you finance the carousel out of your own pocket? Our readers would love to hear your response?
Andrew Clark's tweet about his story was hilarious:
ReplyDeletehttps://mobile.twitter.com/Clarky_Tweets/status/892100931713740803
I don't think we will win, but this is probably a "line in the sand" for Carmel's residents. (Well, I live in Home Place, so c'est la vie ... for now!)
Thanks for covering as well. Eric Morris
As much as I salute Tim Hannon for his efforts to hold accountable an entrenched political class which enjoys perks, payola, and privileges the voters who put them in office will never enjoy, I say, “Good luck, Carmelites.” Taxpayers just north of Indy will again find out exactly what Circle City taxpayers learned: City Councilors are utterly useless when asked (sometimes even begged) by voters to stop a free-wheeling mayor in his megalomaniacal drive to "create" what he wants, when he wants, wherever he wants, and however he wants.
ReplyDeletePoint in case? The absolutely useless Indianapolis City County Councilors who steadfastly refused to take effective and genuinely meaningful steps to stop a mayor whose drive to award wealthy cronies with such lunacies [no matter how many illegalities must be employed] as Blue Indy, ROC, Vision Fleet, parking garage giveaways, bicycle lanes, urban bicycle rental stations, (to name just a few). When you contact your Councilors all you will get are lies and deflections; I know because that is exactly what I received from Republicans and Democrats alike.
No matter what Indianapolis City County Councilors told me or promised me and their constituents about how they were against corrupt deals made by a mayor without the best financial interests of the taxpayers in mind, IT’S ALL STILL THERE. It is little wonder Indy Councilors today do not want to talk about what is “all still there”, what they refused to stop, but that they have the ceaseless energy and commitment when it comes to their campaigns to raise their Council salaries.
Why Carmel, like Indianapolis, has a City Council is just beyond anyone who can critically think. These Councils do not represent “the people” unless “the people” are defined as carousel vendors, French billionaires, or favored engineering-constructions firms (to cite just a few), Indianapolis and Carmel Councils prove time and again they are nothing more than rubber stamps for corrupt mayors. Indianapolis councilors proved to me more than one time they are career self-opportunists who are happy to remain asleep at the wheel unless, of course, it comes to their desire to increase their Council salaries or better their political positions by switching political party allegiances. Carmel City Councilors are no different from their impotent brethren to the south.
With all that being stated, perhaps the people are waking up and realizing how foolish it is to place trust in a Councilor system that does not truly represent the public’s best interests. Would it not be sublime if Mr. Hannon’s petition is the beginning of the end for career political class mayors and councilors?
Is Carmel City Councilor Ron Carter related to Indianapolis City County Councilor Jeff Miller? They both speak out of each side of their faces and can hypocritically wiggle out of the crux of an issue by pretending they represent their constituencies instead of their special interests.
ReplyDeleteI am unsure if the following comment was received by IR and I am therefore reworking and resubmitting the comment:
ReplyDeleteI just received an email from Carmelites working to stop the lunatic proposed spending on the carousel and the illogical request for funding of a luxe hotel with no organic business or economic reason other than long time Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard wants it.
{Attorney Jim Brainard, first elevated to the Carmel Indiana mayoral chair in 1996 and who has been in office for almost a quarter of a century, might be described as the Emperor Mayor for Life; many younger Carmelites have never had a Republican mayoral primary winner to vote for as mayor in the November elections other than Mr. Brainard. And whenever citizens do rise to run political campaigns to challenge the career political class status quo, even those who are Republican, Mr. Brainard terms them "fringe candidates".)
This latest imbroglio and taxpayer outcry is not the first time Mayor Brainard has had to fight opposing public sentiment work hard to force through his building and spending agendas he brings before his very compliant City Council team.
The email from Carmelites fighting the Mayor Brainard-Ron Carter spending schemes says, "It now appears the Carmel Redevelopment Commission has started its own petition in favor of the carousel. Apparently they're a little concerned about the pushback." I did go to the Change.org URL links in the email [presumably for the carousel/hotel spending proponents' petition] but found a Change.org banner informing me "This petition isn't available. Either the URL is incorrect, it violated our Community Guidelines, or the starter removed it."
When citizens begin to pushback at the best laid plans of crony politicians, you can bet the wagons are going to be drawn in a circle to protect the special political interests.
Further, I believe it is important to discern how Carmel Council member Ron Carter camouflages his support for outrageous, indefensible spending as a "bold move" of a civic leader- a duplicity that can only be described as the height of both madness and deception. Mr. Carter implies he knows more than do the Carmelites who recognize a pig in a poke when they see one. Deception is inherently in a politician's DNA- especially when it comes to the DNA of City Councilors whom the voters eventually realize are most often sadly out of sync with the citizens' best interests the Councilors are supposed to support and protect.
Yes, the proponents of the projects have started a counter-petition. It not surprisingly has the support of Carmel government workers or their family members, Carmel appointed Board members, and people who have more directly benefited from these types of projects in the past.
ReplyDeleteWill we win? Probably not. Will this point be the point, if we lose, that a viable long-term opposition coalesces? Hopefully, but probably not. Honestly, the easiest win for the City Council is to stop these now, which would foreclose any possibility of a viable long-term opposition to develop, but they probably bet that even if they vote yes they know long-term it is hard to fight city Hall.
"The purpose of government is for those who run it to plunder those who do not." Hopefully this proves the exception to Thomas DiLorenzo's maxim.
Or will Carmel continue down the primrose path of turning into exactly what ironically many people have escaped, TIF-addicted Indy?
We had honest City Councilors in Carmel. They were outspent. This is how the Mayor stacks the deck with his hand picked City Councilors. He gets his pledge of loyalty in exchange for campaign contributions. Brainard donated $29,000 toward Jeff Worrells campaign, $28,000 for Carter and Rider, $23,000 for Finkam and $22,000 for Councilor Kimball's chest. 4 seats and 4 wins and he controls a 7 member council. All together Brainard donated $156,855 to his hand selected candidates.
ReplyDeleteThey turned down his request for a raise. They also know he won't be Mayor forever and that in district races a couple of hundred votes make a difference. Quite possibly a few of them will look at these petitions as an indication of political futures. We'll see how this goes.
DeleteCarmel apparently now has the most loyal politicians money can buy.
DeleteGet government out of funding these items, the local mayor thinks he is
ReplyDeletetown's dictator along with his hand picked town council. Not mayor's job to
get involved in private enterprise. Too damn many expensive roundabouts
also. We are being called "Circle Jerk City".
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Banking sector warns of 1930s-style crisis after no-deal Brexit:
ReplyDelete'Social and economic catastrophe'. Still want Brexit?
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