A Citizen's Guide to Indiana

The Evansville Courier Press has an article about an informational meeting wherein INDOT director of long-range planning, John Weaver, said that the $2.1 billion deficit that has led INDOT to reassess its projects does not include I-69. I-69 comes with its own $2.1 billion price tag. (So, in reality, INDOT seems to have a $4.2 billion deficit.) Weaver said that if funding mechanisms can be found for I-69, he would want to begin construction sometime before the year 2015.

Well, o.k., the Indy Star doesn’t mention Masson’s Blog specifically (or even obliquely), but surely this influential page played its part. O.k. enough with the delusions of grandeur. In any case, the Star has an editorial entitled Sorry, Speaker, but branches must close. The paper sides with the Governor and BMV commissioner Silverman and against Speaker Bosma in the BMV branch closing issue, reasoning that weighing the political fallout is not a rational way to determine which BMV branches should close and which should remain open.

In the political argument between Indiana’s Republican governor and the Republican speaker of the House, it’s the state’s chief executive who wins based on logic, consistency and the desire to promote better government efficiency over partisan concerns.

Speaker Brian Bosma recently jotted a note to Gov. Mitch Daniels asking for a delay in closing BMV license branches because “we are running into a political buzz saw, the consequences of which are difficult to predict.”

The governor rightly said no.

Though, I have to say, I take a bit of issue with the Star editorial board’s characterization of citizen complaints over closing of their BMV branches as “chirping.” That’s far too dismissive of their concerns for my tastes. I think disgruntled citizens have legitimate grievances. But, at the end of the day, you can’t make everyone happy and rational considerations over the amount of business handled by a given branch and the proximity to other branches will outweigh the desire of particular Hoosiers to keep their branches open. By way of disclosure, I am unaware of any branches in either my residential or my work community being slated for closure. So, perhaps it’s easy for me to take the “rational” view since it’s not my ox being gored.

The Governor’s hand-picked inspector general has cleared the Governor of wrongdoing in an ethics charge.

State Inspector General David Thomas says a complaint by Democrats that Gov. Mitch Daniels violated ethics rules by taking RV1 to a political fundraiser is hogwash.

The Democrats call that a whitewash.

Thomas — appointed by Daniels to be the state’s first inspector general investigating ethics violations and corruption in state government — said Monday that the governor broke no ethics rules by parking the 34-foot recreational vehicle outside a July 19 fundraiser for Rep. Troy Woodruff, R-Vincennes.

(I’ve gotta give the Indy Star’s Mary Beth Schneider a big round of applause for the hogwash/whitewash juxtaposition.)

Taking Down Words has some thoughts about the Inspector General’s Ruling, saying it was unsurprising but also inartfully done.

The jist of this story is that the RV was initially donated to the Governor, prompting questions about whether the donation was an excessive gift. Governor Daniels said it was a donation to the State and not to him, so it was acceptable. That’s fine, but it places limitations on how the property can be used. In that capacity, the RV can be used for official functions of the Governor but not for political functions. In this case, the RV was apparently used to transport the Governor to Troy “DST-Dead Man Walking” Woodruff’s fund raiser, and was also apparently used as a display piece at the fundraiser. There is some question as to whether anybody got to go on a tour of the RV at the fundraiser.

I discussed the matter a bit in a prior post. As I mentioned then, I couldn’t work up any outrage over the matter. It’s all fairly technical and small potatoes. But, given Gov. Daniels penchant for casting stones about ethics during his campaign, he should be careful about having any glass in his house (whether it’s the Governor’s mansion, a house in a posh northside suburb, or an RV). A prior Star article mentioned Deputy Inspector Jeff Gill’s preliminary assessment:

Deputy Inspector General Jeff Gill — speaking before the Democratic Party asked for the investigation — was asked in general whether a state office or vehicle could be used for political fundraising. While stressing he was not giving an official opinion, Gill said no.

“Unless it’s permitted by a general written agency policy, it looks to me like it would be prohibited,” Gill said.

The official investigation concluded, “Our investigation shows the RV was not in any way connected with a partisan event, other than as a means of transport for the governor.”

This despite the Evansville Courier Press’s July 20, 2005 report that some people attending the $25-per-family fish fry benefiting Woodruff’s campaign also toured the RV. Today, the Courier Press stands by its prior reporting:

Thomas interviewed Daniels’ security escort, a team of Indiana State Police officers, who said no one except the governor’s staff entered the RV. Eric Holcomb, an employee of the governor’s office who attended the fundraiser, said the RV was parked 100 yards from the fish fry. Holcomb didn’t see anyone enter the RV, but if someone did, “it probably would have been a spontaneous and unplanned occurrence as has happened in the past,” Thomas wrote. Invitations to the fundraiser did not mention tours of RV1, Thomas said. Whitson reported that Rob and Kathy Southwood took their twin 6-year-old daughters, Hannah and Heidi, inside the RV. Thomas did not mention the family by name but said his office contacted a family “revealed in the article” who said Whitson’s report was false. “With our focus on whether the RV was used to obtain political donations in alleged violation of an ethics rule, the evidence did not even show that members of the public entered the RV for any purpose,” Thomas wrote. Courier & Press Executive Editor J. Bruce Baumann supported Whitson’s account of the fundraiser. “We stand behind our reporter as she personally observed ordinary citizens entering and leaving RV1, and therefore we stand behind her story,” he said.

So, o.k., maybe I can gin up a bit of outrage for this investigation if not the initial violation itself. The IG interviewed the Governor’s security escort, an employee of the Governor’s office, and possibly the family mentioned in the article (quite possibly loyal partisans if they’re attending a Woodruff fundraiser) without interviewing the reporter — a presumably disinterested witness to the violations — and without putting anybody under oath. Looks like a whitewash of a relatively trivial violation to me.

In my ongoing effort to bore you into submission, I thought I’d pass along that INDOT is announcing that they are trying out a moveable barrier wall on a construction project on I-65 north of Indianapolis. This will theoretically allow the workers to adjust the lanes to accommodate traffic flows. (Why do I envision the technology either not being used very often or snarling up traffic even worse while the wall is being adjusted?)

The FWJG’s ongoing series on changes to state government under Gov. Daniels focuses on the Dept. of Local Gov’t Finance. Melissa Henson was an internal promotion to the position of commissioner. The office watches over local officials to make sure they stay within the bounds of law in local property tax increases and budget changes. The department’s most significant change, increased vigilance in oversight of school construction, has been directed by Gov. Daniels.

Next, Henson hopes a committee will begin work shortly on a statewide common property tax management system, using software to link auditors, treasurers and assessing officials with the department to communicate better and enter data more consistently.

According to the Legislative Services Agency – which had to compile data from every county for a reassessment study – there are 17 different auditor computer systems in the state and 14 different assessor computer systems. One county even submitted data by hand on paper.

Joel Silverman, BMV commissar, is taking a note from casino design. The BMV has adopted a rule removing all clocks from customers’ views. “This will help alleviate additional stress from customers who are constantly watching the clock.” That’s what the text of the rule says. Silverman went out of his way, apparently, to take a shot at his employees.

The reason for the rule, Silverman said, is “the tendency of government employees to be clock-watchers.”

He doesn’t want employees to be ready to go home, he said, just as 10 customers come in the door at 5 p.m.

Maybe he’s just trying to avoid any DST/time zone issues. Call me crazy, but I think the bulk of clock-watching customers are going to have their own watch. For that matter, clock-watching employees will probably want a watch that matches their spiffy new Silverman-mandated attire (khakis with a dark blue suit.)

While I tend to like Mr. Silverman’s autocratic ways when it comes to dealing with the legislature, it seems he is similarly heavy handed when it comes to dealing with his employees. Maybe not, I only have the newspaper articles I’ve read to go by. Maybe he’s a Prince when the reporters aren’t around.

(The reason I tend to approve of his approach to BMV branch cuts is that the legislature is simply not going to eliminate unnecessary branches in a rational manner. Left to the legislature, either nothing will get done or the branches will get reduced according to the political clout of their representatives. Therefore, Mr. Silverman’s approach makes sense, provided he’s even-handedly applying criteria that are well considered.)

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District wants St. Joseph County to pursue a move to central time. Apparently South Bend is the eastern terminus of the rail system that serves the Region which is closely aligned with Chicago.