An Editorial by John Estridge
This is something I promised myself and a good friend of mine I would never do again: Write an editorial about the Brookville Town Council.
Being concerned by the – I’m grasping for the right adjective here – ludicrous, insane, puzzling, inexplicable, dastardly, unbelievable – actions by our Brookville Town Council members and most notably the maker of the Kool-Aid the other members are apparently addicted to, president Curtis Ward, I have again put my old, thin fingers to the keyboard.
And the Kool-Aid: really is this any different than Indiana native Jim Jones and Jonestown? (Younger people may want to Google that and hold onto your collective hats or whatever you’re inclined to hold onto). The other members, less the apparent defection of one former disciple, dutifully follow Curtis without a question asked, much like those now deceased people in Jonestown.
The only difference is those of us who are not drinking the Kool-Aid are the ones getting hurt this time.
Things are going so well in the Brookville government and for the Brookville taxpayers that the BTC wants to double down on everything. At a jury-rigged special meeting – as all BTC meetings are jury-rigged – town council changed the rules so Ward could vote electronically – he was in Florida – and then voted to put it on the ballot for November that we will have two new members on town council, swelling the number to seven.
Why?
They – well Ward, the others are so stoned on the Kool-Aid they have no voice – said council members were too busy and needed help.
Oh my. Really?
The real reason is power is slipping out of Ward’s grasp. With the election of two new members vehemently opposed to Ward’s ham-fisted rule and the surprise defection of another present member, Ward will be in the minority come Jan. 1, 2023.
There is so much to discuss here I don’t know which to do first. Let’s go with the Indiana Code Ward and his other new minion, town/county and Rushville attorney Grant Reeves, are hanging their collective hats on: 36-5-2-4.2
I will put it in its entirety at the end of this if anyone wants to read through the entire thing. Indiana Codes give me a headache, as the legislators want them to do so people will not read them. However, the gist of it is this will be put on the ballot, and if the voters agree and tell BTC: We want two more puppets – I mean members – then Ward can appoint them immediately after the election, meaning he will have a majority the day after the election and again on Jan. 1, 2023.
The simple answer to this is we, Brookville residents and taxpayers, have to go and vote in the November election. We must vote NO to this arrogance. We must tell Ward no more. We cannot afford it. Not only have our tax dollars been spent willy nilly, but also Brookville is now the laughing stock of the state and the Tri-State area.
Let’s look at some of the things that have occurred while Ward and his puppets have been in power:
- Pig in a Poke Golf Course. I could write two non-fiction books on this alone. Ward and his puppets pushed through the purchase of a failing, rough, unmaintained golf course by we, the taxpayers, for $1 million. The whole time the purchase was ongoing and even now, Ward and his puppets have refused to open the books and let us see what we bought and continue to pay hand over fist for. Thus, its new sobriquet. Oh, Ward happened to purchase lots adjacent to the golf course prior to the taxpayers’ purchase, and the value of his lots went up with the golf course staying open. It will go up more if we have annexation of Snob Knob, where the golf course is located. And when that happens, and it will if Ward maintains control, our new, much, much higher sewer and water rates will make living in New York City a more economically feasible option. And the condition of the course was terrible and has gotten only worse even though we, the taxpayers, have apparently poured more money into it after the purchase. We may never know how much of our money we are losing until we can get people inside town government who will tell us the truth. And with this new money going after bad, my golfer friends laugh about the conditions, saying renting a golf cart is stupid because people have to walk most of the way for fear of wrecking the golf carts on the non-existent paths. Haspin Acres has smoother paths. And there is the rough area, which are called greens at Pig in a Poke. Also, sand traps do not contain sand. I could go on, but there are so many more terrible, disgusting things going on.
- Zimmer Building. As I have said before, I am glad Gretchen and Daryl were able to sell their building and property in the Valley, but I did not want to buy it. Had it been the only place my taxpayer money was going, I would have considered it, but put it on top of the Pig in a Poke purchase, annexation and the other tax money spending plans Ward and his business buddies have and well, this is not a good purchase. And now we have the revelation: Curtis and his brother’s construction firm got a no-bid contract to do the renovations on the building. In what world is this kosher? Oh, in Wardsville, it apparently is kosher. Let us not forget the construction was shut down by the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office because no one secured building permits. That puts great faith in both Ward and the shadow company Ward personally chose that is ostensibly in charge of the building project. Try to ask the face of that shadow business questions, it is harder than being able to speak one’s mind in Ward’s BTC meeting world.
- Before I get to the new rules concerning the people who should really make the decisions in Brookville, the taxpayers, being unable to voice their opinions at council meetings, let’s discuss the new ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: The Brookville Police Department. OMG times 2,000. The same friend I promised not to write anymore editorials about BTC I have also promised not to say: “Nothing that happens in this town will ever shock me again.” That is because it continues to shock me. When I think I have seen the worst, the bar plummets as fast as an untethered elevator to hell. May I say OMG again. Can I get a WTH, and its bad teenage friend WT Fbomb. Just because some of the people in the Brookville Police Department did not want one young man to run for Ward’s Brookville Town Council, they drummed up charges, including very serious sexual charges – not just rumors and innuendos of such things, but actual arresting charges printed in the local yokel – just to keep him from running. Has this entire town defected to Russia or China? This is totalitarianism at its most extreme. Google totalitarianism and a photo of Stalin comes up. He is thought to have killed tens of millions of people. He made Hitler look like Mother Teresa. And that is seemingly where the actions of some of the Brookville Police Department seem to be going. We are still waiting on the transcript, but the revelations made by a Brookville Police Officer on the witness stand during a Suppression Hearing made the Franklin County Prosecutor seek an Indiana State Police investigation. The officer said the orders for this action came from his superiors. How far up does this go? Well, if the ISP does its sworn job, which I hope they do this time, then we will find out. And before one of Curtis’ lackeys say, “That was the police department and not town council,” let me remind people of former president Harry S. Truman. Truman, a combat veteran of World War I, had a sign on his White House desk and honestly lived by the saying “The Buck Stops Here.” When Fox News came to town to reveal all these terrible, awful things concerning the Brookville Police Department, after all the revelations, the camera went to the Welcome to Brookville signs we taxpayers purchased when people, including taxpayers, really thought Brookville was a nice place.
- Look back at my totalitarianism rant. Another way for totalitarianism to work is to not let people express their opinions. And Lord knows Curtis and his zombie buds do not want that. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people with working brains even outside the Brookville city limits do not agree with Curtis’ actions, which seem to be “How can I enrich Curtis and his family members, friends, people who watch his pets more today?” People cannot talk about just about anything. Read Catch-22 sometime and one can grasp the logic behind Curtis’ muzzling rules. I could go on ad nauseum about this because in most government entity meetings in the entire Whitewater Valley, not just Franklin County, people can express their opinions freely to their elected officials. However, I am tired, both physically and spiritually. Curtis and his buds wear me out.
There are more things I can rant about, like everyone associated with Curtis getting state grants, the $3 million plus bridge at the town park to one of Curtis’ bud’s business, and much, much more, but I won’t. What I’ve already ranted about will not change things, which is the main reason I promised myself and my friend not to do this again. But God willing, you will read more of these between now and Tuesday, Nov. 8, the date of our 2022 election.
Like the president’s speech in the movie Independence Day when the aliens look like they will wipe out the entire human race, “We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight.”
Nor will I.
The Indiana Code:
36-5-2-4.2
This section applies to the alteration of the number of members of a legislative body.
(b) The legislative body may adopt a resolution to submit a public question on the number of legislative body members to the voters of the town. The resolution must state the following:
(1) The proposed number of legislative body members, which must be at least three (3) and not more than seven (7).
(2) The date of the general, municipal, or special election at which the public question will appear on the ballot.
(3) That the following question will be placed on the ballot in the form provided by IC 3-10-9-4:
“Shall the number of town council members be increased (or decreased, if applicable) from ___________ (insert the current number of members provided for) to _________ (insert the number of members proposed in the resolution)?”.
(c) IC 3 applies to an election conducted under subsection (b). If the county election board will conduct the election at which the public question will be submitted, the question must be certified to the board under IC 3-10-9-3.
(d) If a majority of the votes cast on the question under subsection (b) are in the negative, the legislative body may not adopt a resolution under subsection (b) for at least one (1) year following the date the prior resolution was adopted.
(e) If a majority of votes cast on the question under subsection (b) are in the affirmative, the legislative body shall adopt an ordinance at its next regular meeting following the election altering the number of legislative body members to the number specified in the public question. The legislative body may also alter existing districts and establish new districts in the manner prescribed by IC 36-5-1-10.1. An ordinance adopted under this subsection becomes effective January 1 following its adoption.
(f) If the number of legislative body members is increased, the legislative body shall fill any resulting vacancy under IC 3-13-9-4. The legislative body may fill the vacancy before the ordinance described in subsection (e) takes effect. However, a town legislative body member appointed under this subsection does not assume office until the beginning of the term specified in section 3 of this chapter.
applies to the alteration of the number of members of a legislative body.
(b) The legislative body may adopt a resolution to submit a public question on the number of legislative body members to the voters of the town. The resolution must state the following:
(1) The proposed number of legislative body members, which must be at least three (3) and not more than seven (7).
(2) The date of the general, municipal, or special election at which the public question will appear on the ballot.
(3) That the following question will be placed on the ballot in the form provided by IC 3-10-9-4:
“Shall the number of town council members be increased (or decreased, if applicable) from ___________ (insert the current number of members provided for) to _________ (insert the number of members proposed in the resolution)?”.
(c) IC 3 applies to an election conducted under subsection (b). If the county election board will conduct the election at which the public question will be submitted, the question must be certified to the board under IC 3-10-9-3.
(d) If a majority of the votes cast on the question under subsection (b) are in the negative, the legislative body may not adopt a resolution under subsection (b) for at least one (1) year following the date the prior resolution was adopted.
(e) If a majority of votes cast on the question under subsection (b) are in the affirmative, the legislative body shall adopt an ordinance at its next regular meeting following the election altering the number of legislative body members to the number specified in the public question. The legislative body may also alter existing districts and establish new districts in the manner prescribed by IC 36-5-1-10.1. An ordinance adopted under this subsection becomes effective January 1 following its adoption.
(f) If the number of legislative body members is increased, the legislative body shall fill any resulting vacancy under IC 3-13-9-4. The legislative body may fill the vacancy before the ordinance described in subsection (e) takes effect. However, a town legislative body member appointed under this subsection does not assume office until the beginning of the term specified in section 3 of this chapter.
