About: John B. Kalb
- kalb@fortwaynepolitics.com
- Profile
- Born in Minnesota in 1935. Grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, western suburb of Cleveland. Family moved to Fort Wayne in 1949 as I started in high school. Grad of North Side, 1953, the General Electric Apprentice School as a toolmaker, BSEE from Purdue in 1961. Have lived in Fort Wayne since 1949 except years at West Lafayette at Purdue and two years in upper New York state with G.E. on engineering training program. Went into sales engineering in 1968 and sold for the R.L.Guimont Co., Inc.(machine tool components and inspection equipment) for 39 years, retiring in July of 2007. Active in my parrish, Emmanuel Lutheran on Jefferson Blvd., have sung in church choirs for over 65 years (tenor). Married Judith Holloway in 1969 - we have four children, Mike, Carrie, Mary, and Katrina; eight grandkids; our cat, Venus (who really believes she owns the place) and three grand-dogs. Big Purdue Baseball, Football and Basketball fan; hope to live to see Purdue men win a final four (maybe 2009!!!) Active in Engineering Societies - Fort Wayne Engineer's Club, American Society for Quality and Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Educational Foundation International Scholarship Committee; the Northeast Indiana Engineer's Week Committee; Indiana Future City Competition Steering Committee.
Posts by John B. Kalb:
Sylvester’s Complaint
6/17/08 @ 8:59 pm
At the meeting of the Allen County Election Board this afternoon was a veryeasy-going discussion about Mike’s complaint. The three-member board unamimously agreed that the credit-card non-report was a violation. They also, unanimously agreed that, since the party filed a corrected revised report, that they did not need to take any further action.
Attendees were asked to identify themselves and ask any questions or make any statements. Some in attendance did so, with all questions answered and one disagreement recognized.
The summary statement by the three members was, “we are a complaint-driven board - not a policy-setting group”.
Filed Under Local Politics | 14 Comments
Pat Roller’s Excuses
6/17/08 @ 8:47 pm
Pat Roller’s “Command Performance” as City Council tonight was the normal Pat saying, “I did everything right, if you don’t believe me, just ask me!
She tried to convince the council that the decision to enter into the “legal” but probably “not ethical” contract without consultation with incoming Mayor Henry(in 4 days)with HPG was hers alone, with no prompting from King Richard. Her personel reason for entering into this contract was because ”our state governor gave us a $14 million hole in our 2008 city budget”. Her excuse for not involving the incoming mayor was that Henry was too busy to bother him with such a small item as a three(or is it four) year contract , spending “only” $285,000 and then at only $95,000 per year - with the first payment due before January 1, 2008!
The “deliverables” were questioned - no one produced the “secret” page 2 to the contract - and these were described as “training of city employees”. At no time was this training ever identified as to what was being covered. The only reference was to Graham Richard’s 4 day Leadership Development Roundtables involving nearly 300 City employees.
After the meeting, I talked with Kate Love-Jacobson and Bryan Casey about the training. Kate informed me that HPG DOES NOT DO “Lean Six Sigma training for the city - that is done by Total Quality Management, another private organization with close ties to King Richard. If that is so, JUST WHAT IS HPG DOING TO EARN the $95,000 per year? Bryan and Kate indicated in the meeting that they will be furnishing the council with a list of the “delivered” items have been since late December, 2007.
I can hardly wait to see what this “gobble-de-gook” consists of!
Filed Under Local Politics | 13 Comments
A GOP State Delegate wants to save gas
5/29/08 @ 9:12 pm
Any delegate who is driving to Indy on Monday AM - returning on Monday afternoon or evening who would like a fellow delegate to buy the gasoline, please contact me. I would rather ride than drive. Just reply to this post or e-mail me at john.kalb@verizon.net. Thanks John B. Kalb
Filed Under State Politics | 1 Comment
Our local Politicians & Manufacturing
5/29/08 @ 4:03 pm
There is no indication that anyone in our present city or county government has been saying anything of merit about manufacturing and/or technology. If they happen to mention either, it’s only to view them as money trees to be shaken and used, not activities to be understood or considered especially valuable.
The facts remain —
Manufacturing is still 12% of the US economy and 10% of the jobs in America are in this sector.
Manufacturing accounts for over two-thirds of our nations exports and that makes the USA the world’s top manufacturing exporter. (largely due to aircraft manufacturers like Boeing, et al)
In the midwest, especially in Northeastern Indiana, we have almost 50% of our jobs in manufacturing and technology. So shouldn’t we see more discussion and action on retaining and building these kinds of jobs rather than trying to attract the jobs that fall into the “liberal arts” category?
Somehow, our politicians have got to understand that technology and manufacturing MUST be valued, sought and respected, not treated as as mere implements manipulated by “nerds”!
Our biggest, most valuable asset is our trained manufacturing and technological workforce and that should be our MAJOR sales point - not the tax abatements and TIF funding “mickey -mouse” - everyone can (and does) offer these. Let’s use our unique abilities to sell our area for expansion and not rely on downtown ballpark gimmicks!
Our loss of Don Schmidt (who admitted to being included in the “nerds” of our time) on our city common council left a hole which I believe has been plugged by the likes of Karen Goldner (who may not admit it, but is thinking like a “nerd” in her deliberations).
With a nod to Brian Hogan, editor of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, April, 2008 issue for the idea for this post.
Filed Under Featured, Local Politics | 6 Comments
Allen Co. Council Meeting this AM (& into PM)
5/15/08 @ 1:10 pm
Along with Kevin Knuth, I also attended this meeting. As Kevin reported, our County Commissioners TOLD the people that were hired to do the capability study NOT to use any property tax abatements in their TIF analysis. It was never really answered, but Cal Miller’s questions on this centered on “did you use any tax-incentive items in your study”. I got the feeling that they could not answer this because they do not know what is “buried” in the IMPLAN software program that they used to come up with the “study”. Either that, or they don’t have a clue as to what they are “selling”. I tend to want to believe the former, they seemed like knowledgeable people, one a grad of Ball State and another of Purdue.
The meeting was recessed at 12:45 PM with the realization that the “experts” needed to go back and re-look at the tax abatement effect on their software generated study. Also, our three commissioners said that people that had been asked to testify in favor of the project had already left the building. (Just for information, the council has planned to accept comments from both those in favor as well as those opposed.
Our three commissioners stated (all three, individually!) that the deadline on submission of this project to the referendum proscribed by the state lawmakers in the short session, WAS NOT the reason for the “hurry-up” to get this done. But, they then went on to say that for some reason a decision on if the referendum process applied and if it could start, could only be decided “after the bond counsul had been hired”. This statement was met with disbelief by the council. More will be coming on this, I’m sure.
My take, based on the questions asked by council members, is that Paul Moss, Cal Miller, Darrin Vogt, and Roy Buskirk will not be voting in favor of this $50 million project. I also believe that the three lady council members will probably be voting in favor.
Filed Under Featured, Local Politics | 4 Comments
Here it comes
5/8/08 @ 4:20 pm
See Leininger’s article in todays News-Sentinel in re The Harrison:
Remember our comments last February (Recently orgainized LLC, “B.S. Fort Wayne-1″)
1) The sale of the condos may not happen as the rosy predictions - and then what?
2) The developer may not be able to get the necessary financing to enable building the retail and the condos - and then what?
3) Didn’t we go through this with another developer (Kennedy?) on MidTowne Crossing - and what happened? Who bailed out who that time?
4) With the retail and condos not happening, who is going to loan White Lodging the millions needed to build the hotel? Guess who - IT’S ME AND YOU - ANOTHER BIG BOND ISSUE ( buried in a stinking “lease-” financing scheme to avoid breaking the Indiana Constitutional ban on indebtedness and run by an APPOINTED local commission)
5) Remember the Downtown Hilton - First owners went “belly-up” and the facility was “saved” by Lincoln Life. Does anyone believe that Lincoln gives a rap for Fort Wayne in 2008? IT ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN!
6) AND THE CITY OF FORT WAYNE GUARANTED WHITE LODGING A 16% PROFIT FOR 20 YEARS! Here IT Comes, Fort Wayne.
7) And look at what is happening at Southtown Centre with the Police & Fire academy - HEY, Fort Wayne IS ON THE MOVE - to total bankruptcy. You say no? Remember, Mr. Richards and Mr. Peters talked Ms. Musgrave at the Local Financing group into allowing the use of our property levy to back the lease/bond in case something like this happened!
Filed Under Local Politics | 2 Comments
Spring Has Sprung
4/23/08 @ 4:31 pm
Some kudos to whoever is responsible (is it City Parks & Recreation?) for the Flowering Bradford Pear trees between Hamilton Park and Wells Street along Spring Street! Both sides lined with just gorgeous white blossoms!
Also, the median on Main Street from Clay Street & west - just covered with white and yellow jonquils - as a kid I called them “telephone flowers” because they resembled the mouthpiece on our crank-style telephone.
Many thanks for making my day “spring-ie”!!
Jeff Pruitt: Here you go John. I went ahead and took a photo of one of these trees on my way home from work…
Pear Tree Along Spring St
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Republicrate or Rhino?
4/21/08 @ 10:07 am
Saturday’s local page of the News-Sentinel had a column by Kevin Leininger titled ” No such thing as ‘free’ money. Applause to County Councilman Cal Miller’s vote on the “$100,000 sidewalk for 15 or 16 students” vote. But did you catch Councilman Nelson Peters comment on this item? This from a self-professed conservative Republican lawmaker and I quote, ” The money would just have gone somewhere else, probably far away”. This is a BIG government excuse for an action - in no way a conservative response! Since to be elected in Allen County almost requires you to profess being in the Republican party, we get people like this that are so far from the historic Republican principles that it makes you wonder. This is the same guy that traveled to Indianapolis with our previous Democratic mayor to pitch the greatness of tearing down a 14 year old Memorial Stadium that had just been paid off with the BIG government push to build a monument to public ownership, but giving a private, Atlanta-based corporation total control of the facility. Leininger’s final five paragraphs cover what is wrong with these so-called “earmarks” - AND PIGS MAY BE FLYING SOON IN ALLEN COUNTY!
Filed Under Local Politics | 4 Comments
Corporate Welfare – Fort Wayne Style
2/28/08 @ 1:38 am
For retail business, including pubs, bars and restaurants, the false conception that “new” jobs are being created falls flat. Most, if not all, of these jobs end up to be “transfers” not “new”.
- And when a project like Harrison Square is using property tax abatements as incentives toward the transfer of retail establishments from “existing” to the “new” area, it gets even stranger –
Jefferson Pointe is a successful retail entity that is generating about $2 million per year in property tax revenue – but it’s through the TIF funding process. Since it and Harrison Square are now linked in an extended Economic Development Area, the payments toward debt retirement at HS will be coming largely through this TIF fund. So the property taxes being paid by successful retail properties at Jefferson Pointe are being used to build a facility so that it can compete with them for the retail customer’s dollars. In addition, these successful commercial entities and all other property taxpayers in the city will be paying higher taxes to replace those that are being abated on the new retail space. What a double crock!!!
Filed Under City Council, Featured | 26 Comments
Reducing City Costs
2/18/08 @ 3:26 pm
Per our city administration,”We can’t cut costs except by laying off policemen and/or firemen”. This is a political cop-out - to scare citizens into believing it.
How about reducing some of the less-important city jobs? Like:
1) Do we really need a Deputy Mayor and his office staff?
2) Do we really need 57 people in our Community Development Office? $2,750,678 in salary and benefits and how many $100’s of million did this one office drop on our city in future property tax obligations in the last year! Just the property taxes from Jefferson Pointe in 2008 that were diverted via TIF nonsense could have added $ 1,800,000 plus the $6,000,000 that was in this TIF before $4, 000,000 of it was spent to illegally buy properties in the Harrison Square area, or a total of $7,800,000 to city income - but no, “we are not going to let those funds be used for anything as mundane as funding our city operating costs !!”
So that “pitttance” of diverted property taxes from Jefferson Pointe could have funded the entire shortfall that our mayor and our controller are predicting will result from the state actions and the council’s previously passed budget “hold”! “But no, we will just threaten our citizens with a reduction in public safety personnel - that will shut them up!”
3) Do we need 44 people in Transportation Administration and Transportation Engineering? Dave Ross is filling both the City Engineering and the Transportation Engineering head posts at present - can’t some of these jobs be combined?
4) Savings should result in the planned merger of City Land Use Management and Zoning Department with Allen County Planning Services when and if this ever happens.
Looking at just Wages and Benefits, per the approved 2008 city budget, the total is $110,969,668. Of this $81,159,259 is for Public Safety, leaving $29,810,668 in the rest. If cuts are necessary, how about cutting both categories by the same percentage - if cut required is $4,500,000, then take $1,208,851 from “other” and the $3,291,149 from Public Safety.
