Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, Mayor Ballard

This Indianapolis Observer remains astonished at the politically obtuse Indianapolis Mayor. Prime example today? The ballooning payoff planned for the Pacers.

As Paul K. Ogden notes in his blog today: "Having [Paul] Okeson represent the public against the Pacers is a little like putting John Dillinger in charge of counting the money in the the bank vault then wondering why stacks of cash are missing. Okeson, a former Mayor Ballard Chief of Staff who went from that job to one with city contractor Keystone Construction, has made it clear from the beginning that his role on the board is to find some way of getting the billionaire Simons family $15 million more of our tax money...strike that, it's up to $18 milion now."

Gary Welsh, over at his blog, agrees that Okeson should resign for his myriad conflicts of interest.

Let's see: closing six library branches saves $2.2 million a year. So, that one-time payoff to the Simons equals almost eight years of keeping those branches open. Way to go, Ballard!