AN EDITORIAL By John Estridge
Luke Combs, in what may be the best, most sincere lyrics ever written for the iconic song, “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” set the stage for Brookville Town Council President Curtis Ward with part of one line:
“Politicians lie.”
It was as if Combs and his two co-writers knew Curtis personally.
Congratulations Brookville taxpayers. One of Curtis’ truth-stretching exercises concerning the purchase of Pig in a Poke Golf Course and the Zimmer Building, the latter for no particular obvious reason but I am sure there is an economic one for one or more of the council members, is the amount of bonds needed for the purchases. It is now almost double the amount Curtis promised just one meeting ago. He said $1.2 million at the Aug. 24 meeting.
The resolution read at the September 14 meeting shows the bond amount is now $2.2 million.
That is key because it means we have to pay back more of our money through the bonding scenario. And that amount is put directly on the tax levy.
During the August 24 meeting, resident Derrike Kolb, who was a town clerk/treasurer candidate in the last election and a former first deputy in the county’s auditor office, closely questioned Curtis concerning the funding for all of Curtis’ schemes to spend taxpayers’ money for seemingly his own betterment.
For people just tuning in: Curtis purchased nine lots adjacent to the Pig in a Poke Golf Course July 7. He started his campaign to purchase the golf course RIGHT NOW at the August 10 meeting. And the golf course purchase agreement was signed two weeks later on August 24.
Derrike and Curtis’ question-and-answer session is pretty simple for me to reconstruct because I transcribed that part of the August 24 meeting for my series of the Aug. 24 meeting transcriptions. The one caveat to the transcription is the rate of Curtis’ speech. I believe he purposefully talks so fast so people cannot understand him. He would not slow down his reading of the resolution to sell bonds at the Sept. 14 meeting even when asked to slow down. It’s a play off the old axiom: What we don’t know CAN really hurt us.
From the August 24 meeting:
Derrike Kolb: “What is the approximate timetable for the town’s process for obtaining a bond on behalf of the taxpayers for the purchase of the golf course i.e. seeking of bond counsel, public hearings?”
Curtis Ward: “So, this has been a three-year process. We started this before any of this. We actually have (sounds like “solidified draft in place”) so we could close out the bond at the end of the year as long as we started by the first meeting of September. Aggressive timeframe however it still was doable even though (sounds like “first time (something unintelligible”) back in 2019, Baker Tilly proposed – I’m sorry Umbaugh – (something like “hold a hearing for us” and then something more unintelligible) we would like to engage them again since they are doing the feasibility plan for the Town of Brookville annexation so we have (unintelligible). And to get it done in the next two months. And to set it for 10 years.”
Derrike Kolb: “So, are you planning on purchasing this before you have the actual funds from the bond?”
Curtis Ward: “We could do … maybe, it depends on the type of bond. You could bond (something) note. The ideal scenario is we pay off one bond by the end of the year, which is doable.”
Derrike Kolb: “How much of a tax increase is there going to be with buying properties for $1.6 to $1.8 million i.e $1.1 to $1.2 million for the golf course, $600,000 for the Zimmer property and $50,000 for the old INDOT property, and what’s the financial impact for the people who live in the town of that put you in?”
Curtis Ward: “The taxes, it’s a complicated question because one, your assumption is we are going to borrow through a bond for all three properties, which is an assumption, probably not accurate.” (I put that line in bold just now because that is important). “The $50,000 will be INDOT (old INDOT property at Ninth and Mill streets for an apparent parking lot) would likely come from other sources that we already have. The $600,000” (Zimmer property) “to secure that property comes from the PPP” (Public Private Process) “process, which we used on the pool, and it will not raise the tax rate. It is not attached to a levy. The only thing we will be looking at through a levy at this point in time is if we approve purchase the golf course,” (Again, my emphasis) “we need to approve the use of the bond by the first of September that will be the only thing attached to the levy.”
Derrike Kolb: “Which would be about $1.1 or $1.2 (million)?”
Curtis Ward: “We would purchase the project for $1 (million). The financial cost of that based on the 2018 total that they did for us was $175,000 bond issue cost for $1.2 (million). That would have about an 11 percent increase on your tax rate. Actually, you having been an auditor, being the deputy auditor, that does not necessarily result in higher taxes for everyone. So, to put it like that is misleading in my opinion.”
Back to me and the EDITORIAL: Notice the irony in his last sentence: “So, to put it like that is misleading in my opinion.”
OK we have another example of irony out of the way.
Now the pertinent facts other than the irony of that last sentence are Curtis, remember his lips were moving, said “The $600,000 to secure that property comes from the PPP process, which we used on the pool, and it will not raise the tax rate. It is not attached to a levy.”
No, that is now not the case. It may have not been the case when he made that statement or it already was not. Who knows with Curtis and his four hypnotized minions.
Curtis, and his lips were moving on Sept. 14 also, said that is no longer the case. Instead, the $600,000 has been added to the bond. So, that makes the bond $1.6 million. We have $600,000 still out there. There is a cost for the bond but at $1 million that, according to Curtis, was expected to be $200,000. Of course, that could be another misrepresentation of truth.
An aside here: If anyone knows of an instance where Curtis has spoken the verifiable truth, please let me know. It seems that would be like seeing the proverbial unicorn or a successful Cincinnati Reds season, whichever may be the rarer at this point.
For this editorial, I consulted with a friend who has knowledge of this sort of scenario. He believes the money still out there is either to put on the remodeling of the Zimmer building or to purchase or fix something needed immediately at Pig in a Poke Golf Course. He was at the Sept. 14 meeting but saw the two men being rudely treated and ignored when they asked Curtis to slow down his reading of the resolution and how Carla Hacker was so poorly treated for just asking questions. All of her questions about everything were dismissed unanswered by King Curtis and her questions concerning the golf course were dismissed because the golf course had not been on the Sept. 14 meeting agenda even though there was the resolution for the $2.2 million bond to purchase said golf course, so my friend, too, was leery.
Now, the PPP process is complicated, and I do not have a complicated mind so I struggle.
I do know this: with the PPP, the bidding process is circumvented. Usually, with construction projects, the government entity takes bids and awards the bid of the company with the lowest cost. While King Curtis, at the Sept. 14 meeting, said the PPP will actually save money when compared to the bidding process, I do not believe it. Are you shocked by that?
With Curtis, there is a reason for everything and the reasoning on anything, to this point, has not been to save taxpayer money.
Through my reading of bonding statute, there has to be a public hearing before the bond ordinance can be approved by town council. People have to attend council meetings and speak up. I know it is a terrible environment and council members and the Brookville Police Chief treat the public in a hostile fashion, but buck up and show up. Be ready to take unfair and hostile treatment by council members and the police chief. Hopefully, they won’t kill you. And you know the saying “what doesn’t kill you, makes …”
Near the end of the Sept. 14 meeting, BTC member Chuck Campbell spoke up. This is unusual for any of the minions to hazard a spoken word. And as you will see, King Curtis, did not allow Chuck to speak for very long.
A person in the crowd told Chuck he was really disappointed in Chuck being a Curtis follower because he had thought more of Chuck prior to Chuck being elected.
This was Chuck’s response:
“What you guys have to realize is everyone sitting up here are town residents. We live here. We pay the same tax. We’re not going to screw ourselves over.”
At that point everyone was speaking over everyone else. It sounded like Chuck was trying to say people are accusing him of buying the golf course and everything else to personally enrich himself. People from the audience were shouting back they did not say Chuck, but they did say Curtis. Remember, the meeting and all the other meetings have been out of control since about Jan. 1.
“We have children. We have grandchildren we have to worry about,” Chuck continued. “We’re not going to throw them under the bus. The same as we don’t want to throw you under the bus, and we don’t want to.”
At that point, Curtis, the king, cut off Chuck. Apparently, Chuck making comments was off script.
“All right guys,” King Curtis said. “We’re not going to talk about the golf course tonight.”
Set the Kool-Aid down Chuck and back away from the pitcher. If you can, think about it. You bought a golf course for us, the vast majority of taxpayers do not want. However, the fact remains not only does Curtis have nine empty lots adjacent to the golf course, you have one empty lot.
That golf course is truly a Pig in a Poke because we know nothing of the finances and you do not either. We have no idea how much this is going to cost the taxpayers annually and you don’t either.
You, using our tax money, purchased the Zimmer building for no particular purpose. I would hazard to guess very few Brookville taxpayers want to own the Zimmer Building.
We were told the Zimmer Building was going to be a town hall because we really needed a town hall at that moment although we really did not need a town hall at that moment. And, apparently, we do not need a town hall currently because the Zimmer building is not going to be a town hall. Now, we are told we need a new police station although no one has ever mentioned needing a new police station, especially since the present police station was greatly remodeled not too long ago.
We are now looking at purchasing a new ambulance, and paying people to run it. That cost is really unknown. And Chuck, always – seemingly mindlessly – you vote for anything Curtis wants. He wants to put in a trail and a bridge from the town park to near one of his rich buddies’ motel. Price tag – just $3 million or so. And how much would you guess the real cost will be when you have to run a sewer line up Snob Hill to service all of those new citizens who also won’t be allowed to have a say in the operation of their “un-adopted” town. And that cost is the proverbial tip of the infrastructure iceberg so to speak.
Now, do you really believe the statements you made at the Sept. 14 meeting?
We, the taxpayers do not. We, the taxpayers, are all being thrown under that proverbial bus because of you and your four compatriots and nobody else.