Fort Wayne Mayor Refuses To Provide Financial Data To Council

Fellow blogger and Ft. Wayne City Councilor Mitch Harper made a reasonable request of Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry to provide the city council with monthly financial statements to help it make intelligent spending decisions. When the Mayor refused to provide the requested information, Harper authored an ordinance requiring the Mayor to furnish the council with the information, which the council approved earlier this year. The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette's Political Notebook column notes the continued failure of Mayor Henry to furnish the council with financial statements despite the passage of Harper's ordinance:

At first, the administration ignored his requests, prompting him to have the council pass an ordinance this year requiring such statements. To date, the administration has yet to comply. Harper on Tuesday again attacked the administration for failing to provide the data, which he said is common for any non-profit or neighborhood organization to receive at every meeting. For the first time, however, Harper wasn’t alone in his complaints.

Councilman John Shoaff, D-at large, told the administration he agrees with Harper that the reports should be delivered as required by law. Councilman Tom Smith, R-1st, said the failure to provide the reports was “the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen the administration deal with.”

“I’m glad I’m not the controller,” he said.

Rebecca Karcher, spokeswoman for Mayor Tom Henry, said a report for March should be provided to the council this week and the April report will follow May 21. She said it took the controller time to create the reports, prompting the delay.

Hey, at least the Fort Wayne City Council is asking for information. The Indianapolis City-County Council doesn't even seem interested in asking for information on the Capital Improvement Board's finances despite revelations the CIB has been running deficits for at least a decade.