Shelby County Democrats

Minutes from 10/21/09: Approved as written

Guest introductions: Michael Adkins, Hancock County Chair; Tom McKenna, candidate for Secretary of State; Jeff Harris, supporter of Pete Buttigieg for State Treasurer

Bean Supper report: Income was $183.00. Thanks to Tom Harding for donating his time and supplies for the supper.

Team Leader Reports:

1. Community Outreach – Bob Williams: All are welcome to attend a community outreach team meeting on December 8th, 7:30 p.m. at Bob Williams’ house. They will work on the 2010 calendar and golf outing preparations. Noell will send this information out via email along with the golf outing flyer.
2. Membership – Cheryl Etherton: The team is trying to expand the “Democrats and Friends” email list. Contact Cheryl (ivanwood@comcast.net) or Noell Krughoff (nkrughoff@gmail.com) with names and/or emails of people who would like to be informed about Democratic Party activities. Evelyn Smith volunteered to help on the membership team.
3. Young Democrats – Carrie Ridgeway: No report
4. Fundraising – Phil Brown: No report
5. Education & Outreach – Kate Smith: No report.

Upcoming Events: Michael Adkins invited everyone to the Hancock County Democrat Club meeting on December 3rd, 7:00 p.m. at the Ponderosa Steakhouse in Greenfield. People who wish to eat before the meeting should be there by 6:30. Dr. Hannah, Democrat candidate for the 5th Congressional District will speak.

Speakers:

* Tom McKenna, candidate for Secretary of State, gave an overview of the office duties. Among other things the Secretary of State is Indiana’s Chief Election Officer and serves as the Chairman of the Recount Commission. 2010 is a redistricting year and decisions made will have lasting impact that set the stage for elections involving mayors in 2011 and the Governor and U.S. President in 2012. Mr. McKenna urged people to run for Democratic Party Convention delegate by getting on the Primary ballot in 2010. He will announce his candidacy statewide the first week in December.
* Jeff Harris spoke on behalf of Pete Buttigieg (said Butti-judge). Mr. Buttigieg (“Pete”) is challenging the current Republican Treasurer, Richard Murdock, because he has made numerous bad decisions, such as investing heavily in junk bonds and battling the restructure of Chrysler. Pete has extensive education and experience in the field of economics. For more information go to www.peteforindiana.com. He hopes to attend one of our meetings in person sometime in the future.

Local issues:

* There is concern that the Shelbyville City Council plans to hire more police officers even though the City has a sizeable budget shortfall. Shelbyville residents are urged to contact City Council members to discuss the issue and express their concerns.
* Mayor Scott Furgeson is still not happy with the jail agreement.
* Val Phares, Democratic City Councilman, will be invited to speak at the next meeting about criteria for awarding tax abatements. Bob Williams reminded people that tax abatements are valuable for attracting business to the community. Tom Harding believes that many tax abatements don’t create the jobs that businesses promise when they ask for abatement. Some businesses have received multiple tax abatements in the same year and cut jobs anyway. People want to know if there is a “claw back” provision in such cases.
* Phil Stieneker spoke about the Gibault boy and girl youth homes in Shelbyville. Currently there are nine boys and five girls in these local homes. At the December Democrat meeting we will collect money and other donations for a Gibault Home Christmas box. To learn more about the homes and what donations they could use go to www.gibault.org and click on the Shelbyville location.

National issues:

* Contact Senator Bayh to vote “YES” for health care reform. Contact info is: bayh.senate.gov or 202-224-5623.

Next meeting – December 16, 7:00 PM, 125 W Washington St, Shelbyville

* Speaker – Amy Haaker, Shelbyville Mainstreet Director
* Bring donations for the Gibault Home Christmas box – food items and money are needed. Go to the Gibault website listed above for more ideas.

Minutes from 9/16/09: Approved as written

JJ Dinner report:: 68 people came to the dinner. We cleared about $600 ($552 from the raffle). Senator Vi Simpson and Vop Osili, candidate for Secretary of State, spoke. The food provided by TBonz and the location at the Eagle’s Lodge both worked out well. We should follow up with people who ordered tickets but didn’t attend.

Team Leader Reports:

1. Community Outreach – Bob Williams: They are working on a community calendar for next year. They will have a Golf Outing at Bear Chase in May 2010. Tell Bob if you know about events to include on the calendar, can help with the golf outing or would like to serve on the community outreach team.
2. Membership – Cheryl Etherton: Tell Cheryl if you’d like to help on this team.
3. Young Democrats – Carrie Ridgeway: No report
4. Fundraising – Phil Brown: No report
5. Education & Outreach – Kate Smith: Introduced Katrina Hall and Lee Sakellarides who presented information about the property tax situation in Shelby County.

* Katrina gave a historical overview of why property tax bills have been consistently late in recent years. Essentially it’s a result of long-term mismanagement in both the County Assessor and Auditor offices compounded by new assessments that were ordered by the State.

* For her research Lee interviewed the local library, the Treasurer’s office and the Assessor’s office. Late tax bills cause delayed disbursement of funds to agencies such as the library. That means fewer books, magazines, and other services that we taxpayers will never receive. Late taxes force some government organizations, like schools, to borrow money to keep functioning, so taxpayers have the added interest burden. Some workers in both the Treasure and Assessor offices don’t seem to fully understand the reasons for and the impact of late tax bills.
* Tom Winterrowd stressed that understanding the problem doesn’t solve it. Democrats must field knowledgeable candidates for these county offices.
* Noell will create a list of skills/knowledge that the Assessor, Auditor, Treasurer and Clerk should have so we can identify suitable candidates.

Upcoming Events: Ham & Bean Supper, Saturday, November 7, 4:30 to 6:30 PM, $4 for adults, $2 children 6-11, under 5 free. People signed up to make pies.

A petition for Evan Bayh to be on the ballot was available for people to sign.

Next meeting is Nov. 18: Tom McKenna, candidate for Secretary of State, has been invited to speak.