Mayor Dennis Tyler
214 – Let them eat cake
Here in Delaware County, we have a nickname for a branch of Democrats. It’s called 214. What is 214? Where is it? What does it mean?
To begin we need to go back decades when Muncie was a small and thriving metropolis labeled as Middletown. A typical American city with not so typical politics. Smack dab in the middle of government buildings, attorney offices, and an infamous jail sits the headquarters of the local Democrat party. 214 N. Walnut.
It seems there was always some type a bruhaha around election time and every day is election time down at 214 N. Walnut. Even when it isn’t an election year.
Take for example the 2003 mayoral race. The former Democrat chair of the party stepped down to run for mayor. Although all candidates were promised a level playing field one candidate complained because his campaign signs continued to fall off the windows of 214 N.Walnut. Most likely due to generic scotch tape. The candidate, his mother and his campaign manager went to headquarters and gathered up his campaign paraphernalia. He ran independently from headquarters and won, but the ex-Dem chair lost in the general election by less than 500 votes.
Never a dull moment.
2008 is the year it began to heat-up. Judicial candidates were asked to donate to party headquarters. They refused to “pay to play” and were shunned. Party rules were updated, candidates distanced themselves from headquarters, poll books found in the trash. The newspaper reported threatening telephone calls, cold shoulders, nasty letters and destruction of property. It looked as if Democrat Headquarters was going to implode.
One lone citizen penned an essay “Fahrenheit 214” and published it on the political forum of the newspaper. It created quite a firestorm, pardon the pun. Out of this came the name “214” and it encompassed any Democrat who aligned themselves with party leadership.
214 is far more than the address of the Democrat Headquarters, it’s a mindset. In other words, you don’t need to be sitting in the backroom of headquarters to have the mind and heart of a 214er. Some Democrats will vehemently say “I am a Democrat, but I’m not a 214 Democrat.” They think of it only as a place. Never once considering their actions and thoughts fit the very definition of 214.
We’ve had decades of corruption, infighting, election issues, malfeasance. Today in Middletown, USA it makes all the past decades look like a walk in the park. As they raked in the dough on the backs of the people, you can almost hear “Let them eat cake.”
The Hampton Distraction-Saturday Ramblings
As of this writing, we have 52 days until the swearing-in of Muncie’s new mayor, Dan Ridenour. Dan’s win will usher in a complete change for the Muncie City administration. Yet, the big news is should Hampton be removed? Of course, he should step down of his own volition. Or the council should exercise their legal obligation and remove him. Doubt either will happen.
Why do we think Hampton is a non-starter? First, and foremost we still have Mayor Dennis Tyler in office. He’s not leaving the city in the best of shape. Sadly, he will do as much damage as possible. His true colors are showing for all to see. If he loved the city as much as he claimed, his desire would be for the city’s well-being. We have nine city council members who could vote anything in or out. Seven of those members won’t be returning in 2020. Jerry Disman and Brad Polk will be the veteran members.
Hampton is a minor distraction amongst the major issues facing this city.
Some of the items on the agenda is an independent audit of the city. Additionally, we have accounts running in the red and millions of dollars in debt. Time doesn’t permit all of the issues facing our city to be listed.
Not to mention getting major positions filled as well as the support staff for each department. Below is a list we compiled – not necessarily in order of importance.
- Muncie Parks Superintendent
- Fire Chief
- Police Chief
- Community Development Director
- Superintendent Board of Public Works
- City Controller
- Prairie Creek Superintendent
- Building commissioner
- Human Resource Director
- Redevelopment Director
- Law firm
- Animal Shelter Director
- Board of Public Works
- Channel 60 Director
- Various board appointments
- Support staff
Despite the fact, the Democrat Headquarters broke Indianan State law by appointing Hampton in the first place, this is just 214 DHQ doing what they have always done. So, let’s get him out of that position. And for sure, let’s watch how the council votes and the actions of the outgoing mayor.
You see after Hampton is gone he will soon be forgotten. Sticking with us for some time is the effects and cost of corruption. John should gracefully and with dignity remove himself. So should Tyler exhibit the same when he leaves office, However, whether it be winning or defeat, grace and dignity have never been their strengths.
The Rant…
This is going to be a rant. A full-fledged rant. Most of it centers around the state of the city and how we feel about a city-run EMS and even an elected official or two. It may be all over the map, who knows? Let’s begin.
In 2015 Mayor Tyler decided to repair Fire Station 1 on Jackson & Madison. Two bids were submitted. S.A. Boyce for $98,700 and Mayor Tyler and Muncie Board of Public Works favorite company Walls and Ceilings came in at $99,000. The bid went to Boyce. The cost was $100,000 and the city taxpayers and grant money paid the bill.
In 2017, Mayor Tyler decided to reopen the station for use. Everyone applauded his decision. The neighborhood and downtown could now be fully protected. Mayor Sharon McShurley had closed the station due to budget constraints, fireman lay-offs and the building wasn’t structurally sound. Closing the station created quite a firestorm and Nora Powell led the charge. We were all going to die.
So for $180,000, Tyler was able to open the station for business once again. In the November 2, 2017 article “Fire Trucks to move downtown again”, Chief Eddie Bell was quoted as saying this will cut down response time and would be good for downtown and the Courtyard hotel.
Not so fast, Jack.
At the August 5, 2019 city council meeting during Chief Bell and Councilperson Moore’s not so friendly dialog, Chief Bell spilled the beans. Firestation 1 has not been a working station. It never opened as a fully staffed, fully functioning firefighting station. The reason per Bell was the city didn’t have the money to staff it. WHAT? This station is just sitting there just as it did in 2009?
Chief Bell, Mayor Tyler and likely the chair of the Finance Committee, Councilperson Nora Powell had to know the station was just sitting there looking pretty.
The non-staffed station didn’t appear to upset Powell as it did in 2009. She is fond of the current mayor. But it did matter to her when it closed. You would find her at city meetings badgering the previous mayor on such things as LOIT and the SAFER Grant. Powell would show up, with several laid-off firemen disrupting Chat with the Mayor meetings. The June ’09 meeting became so contentious it ended 90 minutes early. You see, Powell accused McShurley of not being transparent about raising income taxes. However, McShurley had authored a guest column that same month stating she was not inclined to raise income taxes. I’m sure that Powell read the column. (Larry Riley and Nick Werner both penned articles on the meeting.)
Common Thoughts = Double Trouble
At the May 2019 council meeting, a citizen, Audie Barber, asked a simple question. “Where are the finance committee meeting minutes?” Cool as a cucumber Council person Powell stared at Barber. After the meeting, she was escorted to her car by two MPD officers. The police report stated Powell was visibly shaken after seeing Barber in the parking lot. So what upset her? Did she receive texts, emails, phone calls from Barber that led her to believe he was a danger to her? Did she file a report he was harassing her? However, her step-son, a police officer, did run an illegal check on Barber.
What goes around comes around.
Here’s the breakdown. We have a fire station where tax dollars were allocated to make it fully functional, The kicker is, there was no money to man it. A council member feeling threatened by the same actions she employed as a citizen. Drama.
- Lame-duck Mayor who is pursuing a city-based EMS. Guaranteed to provide fewer services and end some county jobs. (Based upon his history as mayor.)
- A mayor who was handed $8 million earmarked for MFD once the SAFER grant ended. Gone.
- 2015 he passed a 43% income tax to fund MFD when he had the money once.
- Prairie Creek once self-sustaining running in the negative.
- A building commissioner funneling monies to his companies with the blessing of Mayor Tyler.
- City properties are overgrown with no money to mow.
- Breaking ordinances like the Wheel Tax ordinance. Submitting paving plans months after the deadline (as written).
Here’s a forgotten fact. In 2009 the Delaware County government became majority Democrat and immediately went to war with the Republican mayor. If it wasn’t the restructuring of the 911 board, making it a political football, it was the county working to take over animal control. And on and on it went.
When the city finally got their treasured Democrat mayor, he immediately handed over 911 monies to the county. Although, Tyler claimed there was nothing he could do about 911 since McShurley signed the ordinance in December 2011 and he took office January 1, 2012. This was just not true. He should know since he was a State Representative for six years. One person does not a bill make. Both the county commissioners and the county council signed off on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2012, and City Council called a special meeting on that Friday. They signed off, too. 16 elected officials all Democrats except for three or possibly four Republicans and he couldn’t do anything?
He planned on handing over the millions held in escrow from the start. The city and county were under 214 Democrat control. The night Tyler won, the County Democrats were planning on how to spend the 911 money.
True to form when the county became Republican, Mayor Tyler repeated the same as his friend and former Commissioner Todd Donati.
Hurry FBI, we can’t take much more and we certainly can’t afford their self-serving and greedy actions any longer.
How did we get in this mess?
Perhaps many of you may be wondering how Muncie got herself embroiled in a massive FBI investigation. Most of us can agree it was the electing of Dennis Tyler and his cohorts on City Council. How did he get elected? He lost in 2003 yet won by nearly 1,000 votes in 2011. Mansfield and McShurley carried about the same number of votes in 2007 and in 2011 Tyler gained votes. McShurley hovered at the ’07 total. 214 really knows how to get out the vote, or AVBs.
214 Democrats were desperate to control the city once again. So their campaign to win began on 1-1-08 and as they pledged a “clean campaign” Tyler was ready to be mayor. He was ready to give the county all the 911 accrued monies. Ready to place his best bud’s son in a position of power and chomping at the bit to control the most lucrative department, Muncie Sanitary District.
You may be thinking what’s all this have to do with the FBI? Just a little background info, that’s all. Ready for a journey?
One of two critical informants whose tenacious persistence led to the FBI’s fight against public corruption in Muncie is willing to be identified and I have permission to congratulate them in public for their heroism on behalf of the community.
* * * * *
The other one is, of course, Les Marsh, and he’s never made a secret of his involvement. Indeed his bull-in-the-china-shop approach is a magnet for attention, and he’s never shied away from letting adversaries know he’s after them. Les is a Muncie native and I’m going off memory here. I think he graduated from Central in the 1960s and enlisted in the U.S. Navy for a hitch. After getting out, he served as a police officer in either Gaston or Eaton. His father had been a cop. But when Mick Alexander got elected Delaware County prosecutor in 1978, Les became Alexander’s chief investigator.
* * * * *
Not sure for how long, some number of years and I’m sure he learned lots. At some point, the pay for a public servant just wasn’t enough, and Les caught on at BorgWarner, probably in the mid-1980s. He stayed at the transmission plant for about 25 years, and then through some buyout procedures was able to retire 10 years ago, at which time he started attending more public meetings, including those of the Muncie Sanitary District board and city Board of Public Works. Sometimes meetings of the Delaware County Commissioners. I’d run into him at all three places.
* * * * *
He was often a loud critic at meetings and ask challenging financial questions. His ire really got roused when then-county attorney Mike Quirk on-the-record called Les some pejorative term. Can’t remember what. Maybe a “blowhard” or that Les was “full of it.” At about that time, Quirk also was Delaware County Democratic Party chairman. Later, he became attorney for MSD. Still later, though fairly quickly, Quirk relinquished all three positions, mostly because he, himself, had become too much of an attention-attracting distraction.
* * * * *
Les made himself well known asking MSD for copies of invoices, and then reporting to the board what he found. For example, in July of 2013, Les said that a $14,000 sewer project earlier that year ended up costing $137,000 thanks to change orders. He was aghast. He said one reason is because a contractor charged $265 per foot for all sizes of pipe from 8-inch to 24-inch. The board president politely thanked Les for his comments.
* * * * *
Which isn’t to say they didn’t take decisive action: the next meeting, MSD attorney Quirk proposed a new public records policy to the board. He told the board they had “recent requests” from citizens that were “seemingly unreasonable.” At his request, the board began allowing 25 free copies of documents to citizens and charging 15 cents for each page after that. Wonder if they tried to charge the FBI when the feds raided their offices and made off with records?
* * * * *
The other critical informant is Stephen Ballman. Ballman’s another Muncie native who graduated high school here, like Les in the 1960s, and afterward earned an associate’s degree in accounting. He worked for a bank for a short time, and hated the work, and found a position at Ontario Corp., which then operated a large smelting forge on West Jackson. He was a non-union inspector for several years.
* * * * *
Ballman then hired on at the Muncie Sanitary District in 1979, learning many of the operations over years and eventually becoming head of maintenance. He liked his job, and remained apolitical even as MSD itself got more politicized, especially under Mayor Jim Carey’s years. At some point, Steve thought he was mistreated as an employee, badly so in his eyes, and he sued the Carey administration in federal court. He won, and got $5,000 plus attorney fees, and a guarantee of no interference with his job. Carey and the Democrats were not happy.
* * * * *
But from 1992 until 2008, the Democrats were out at City Hall, and MSD became less of a political football. When Dennis Tyler became the first Democrat mayor in 20 years, regaining tight control of MSD became a priority. Tyler could replace one MSD commissioner right away, and pressured another, a city banking executive, to resign, and Democrats took control. Steve knew a major reorganization would come and Democratic Headquarters favorites would take over. He always had got along well with Bill Smith, who served on MSD’s board under most of the Republican mayors until Sharon McShurley wouldn’t reappoint him. Tyler brought Smith back and he’s currently president. Steve offered to retire, but Smith didn’t want him to.
* * * * *
Somebody did, because shortly after his offer to retire, Smith and the city’s new Human Resources director came out to Steve’s Kilgore Avenue office to tell Steve he was out. Steve retired after all. But he worried about the kind of mismanagement that he feared would be brewing: Tyler’s board appointed unqualified cronies to top positions, raising their pay dramatically on top of that. That was their first step. Bid-rigging their second. Steve then found himself willing to help the FBI sort out the corruption once it surfaced. Now thanks in part to him, two of those unqualified people are under indictment. Presumably more to come.
* * * * *
The community should be profoundly appreciative of both Les and Steve’s tireless work.
[Share with anyone interested.]
Three strikes, you’re out…
Baseball season known as America’s favorite pastime is in full swing. (Pardon the pun.) . But we’re not writing today about baseball, No, we’re dredging up some history and putting together a timeline we believe is showing a pattern.
This new post won’t be going into extra innings, however. It’s going to be short and sweet. After all, there is a game going on somewhere and 105-degree weather to enjoy.
Batter up! Let’s get this game on the road.
Do you think the corruption of Muncie City Proper is a new game? No, it’s just another play in another inning.
In 1992 the doors of Delaware County Justice Center opened. With the grand opening came indictments for perjury and theft. The newspaper called it a saga of “lawyers, politicians, protestors, bonds, bricks, and blunders. ” Summed up in one word absurd.
Just some of the issues in 1992 included equipment warranties to expire before the Justice Center is fully occupied. Commissioners failed to advertise notice on a public meeting. Budget surplus spent. Bull Computers sued for equipment that didn’t work. Open House delayed because s prisoner escaped the Justice Center, county borrows an additional $5 million. A defunct contractor had keys to the jail cells. Fire code violations, employees complaining of illnesses, the dispatcher sends firemen to the wrong location. Keep in mind this all happened in ’92 and doesn’t include a quarter of what went wrong with this project. Today, most people remember this fiasco. It’s in plain sight. The Justice Center has haunted us since.
Strike one!
A few months ago, we finished up a research project. While perusing the newspaper archives, way out in the left-field was an article from March 9, 1997. “Ex-worker “yardman” for ex-officials.” Testimony from a grand jury into the workings of Delaware County Highway Department detailing how employees performed maintenance on Bridge Supt. Rick Burnett’s residence and the Democrat Headquarters. In addition hauled trash from Democrat Chair, Phil Nichol’s house. Vendors testified if they did business with the highway department they were routinely asked to make a donation to the Democrat Party.
Strike Two!
Hamilton Sewer; a sewer so nice, they built it twice. Royerton was suffering from failing septic systems, they needed a sanitation system badly. The residents petitioned the government and Delaware County officials complied. The lowest bid came in from a company, Midwest, and the county jumped on it. According to an article “Something rotten in the sewer” December 21, 2003, outlined the infamous Royerton Sewer project. The lowest bid from a company already in trouble with two Wisconsin cities for shoddy work and unfair labor practices. Adding, the owner had a criminal record of tax violation, false identity and cocaine charges. Some of the board members voiced concern, yet it went unheeded. In Royerton, the sewers didn’t run downhill, the lines were close to wells, specifications for specific bedding for the pipes not followed. Properties were damaged, too. In the end, the sewer was replaced at an additional cost to homeowners.
Strike Three!
Obviously, there was much more going on than what could be listed in a few short paragraphs.
Although the batter has struck out, there is another who came to the plate. The Honorable Mayor Dennis Tyler.
Tyler hasn’t done anything that his contemporaries didn’t do before him. He’s played with 214 crowds for decades – he knows the game. Well versed in bid-rigging, hiring employee loyalists, deceiving the people, kickbacks and pulling a team together that would support every gameplay and stick by his side thru thick and thin. Yea, he didn’t need any coaching. He was experienced and well prepared even before 1-1-12.
Every infraction we see in the indictments today have all happened before. He wasn’t able to produce too many hits while he was on the State Representative team. Boy, oh, boy he was able to improve his score as Muncie mayor. Of course, the City Council team is pretty good, too. And the owners of the team backed him 100%. In other words, he had the same managers as the Highway Department, County Commissioners, and County Council teams. He just played the game better as mayor.
But the bottom line is, all these projects were done under 214 Democrat team members. Anyone who had been following the costly projects knew Tyler would be a hot mess.
And as it’s been said, we’re supporting 214 Democrat Headquarters with our tax dollars inadvertently. It’s not about serving the people of Muncie, it’s about continuing to finance their bankroll. They desperately need to hold on to the city and council spots.
All of this corruption has priced the average citizen right out of owning season tickets. We’re paying the players but we’re not able to buy tickets for the game.
PLAY BALL!
The Long & Winding Road
The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I’ve seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to your door
We’re back. Not going to lie, it has been a journey the past few months. Life happens and we must travel the long, winding road at times. We’ve been watching the city, the elections, the candidates, the weather and it’s been interesting, to say the least.
Now that we have the niceties out of the way, let’s get down to business.
The City of Muncie is out of control. Shocking, we know. If it’s not Mayor Tyler’s city council giving him the nod for nearly eight years, it’s the board of public works approving the purchase of ambulances. Before the deal was even sealed, the city lined up an EMS director.
Dear people, don’t be fooled with Mayor Dennis Tyler’s feigned concern for the “underserved” of this city. He had ample time to address the “underserved” and did nothing much, in fact, he never even considered it until a few weeks ago. He held the position of state representative for six years. Again, where was his concern?
Tyler has never been one to be proactive, rather he would be considered reactive at least when it comes to serving his constituents. Do you know when he was proactive? When he was in the back room of 214 Walnut St. Also known as Democrat Headquarters. Talk about designing an elaborate scheme to funnel tax dollars into the pockets of the elite.
After the 4th of July, the campaign season will kick into high gear. You will hear promises, see plenty of smiles, handshakes. In fact, you may even see city council members actually looking as if they are working for you.
Here’s what we have, incumbents all have records. How did they vote? Did they spend the past seven years voting straight down 214 party lines? Suddenly, they are giving volume to your voice, or so it seems. Are they really? What will they be doing come January 1st, 2020? Will, there still be a place for them at the 214 dinner table? Probably.
You can be certain Tyler and Company had a plan in 2011 and it was executed fairly well. We believe all the things we are seeing today is also a plan. No, Mr. Tyler won’t be on the ballot but he and his cohorts will still be guarding their territory, make no mistake about it. They must have their own sitting on the council and in the top seat.
Voters! Wake-up and smell the stench.
Mayor Tyler – Just won’t quit
Good morning to all of you fine people. Much to be grateful today as the Polar Vortex train has left the station. Good riddance, say we!
On to more pressing news. Mayor Dennis Tyler announced he would not run for mayor of Muncie again. However, it has not stopped him from keeping his beloved dream of a city-run EMS program alive. It appears Dennis Tyler will do as much damage to this city and county as he can before we say “Adios Amigo” come December 31, 2019.
But, you never know if the FBI will come knocking on his door. After all, he was privy to the meetings where the elite of City Government schemed to cover Craig Nichols’ crimes. Tyler was an eye-witness, a willing participant in protecting Nichols’ rear.
Exactly how is Dennis Tyler going to pay for his dream? Why it’s simple. Rumor has it he will be tapping into the $400,000 Center Township pays the city for Muncie fire protection. What, say ye? Center Township is one of the many taxings entities the City of Muncie supports with property taxes. (Check your bill.) So, we’re assisting Center Township with city property taxes to provide fire service.
Kay Walker, Center Township Trustee on board with Mayor Tyler? Is she earmarking the $400,000 for the city-run EMS when a perfectly good DCEMS is already paid with Delaware County taxes? How will the MFD budget make up the $400,000 decrease in funds? Talk about double taxation. We will be paying for not one but two emergency medical services.
Does this stink to high heavens, or what? Is it not a typical shell game of shuffling funds from here to there? You bet it is. Don’t think for one moment Tyler’s last-ditch effort is anything less than a political move and one which causes serious harm to the City and County.
The funding Center Township receives to pay for Muncie fire protection is from Muncie property taxes. We shift money to Center Township and then Center Township pays the City of Muncie. Tyler claims concern for the city in reference to being double dipped (the concern is feigned, of course). Center Township is owned by Democrats for years. Delaware County is controlled by Republicans and this explains Tyler’s motive in a nutshell. Politics before People. Always has been with this crowd.
(On a side note: this makes for a good argument to abolish township governments. It really is just another layer of bureaucracy.)
Let’s just walk down memory lane.
In 2010 Muncie was facing a financial crisis. Firemen were to be laid-off and other cuts were needed just to keep the city afloat. The previous mayor Sharon McShurley and Kay Walker came to an agreement. This is it in a nutshell:
- The move to apply for the grant was tied to Center Township turning its firefighting force over to the city, and in turn, paying Muncie $250,000 a year through 2011 and then $400,000 a year after that for fire protection. Earlier news articles said the city would save $750,000 over the next two years and then $700,000 thereafter because of the Center Township agreement and concessions from the fire union.
Star Press 5-5-10
Dennis Tyler took office on January 1st, 2012. With this office came an inheritance from the previous administration…a goodly sum of $8 million earmarked by McShurley to cover MFD when the SAFER grant expired. For three years Mayor Tyler claimed enough money to support public services and would not pass LOIT.
That all changed in August 2015 when he and city council proposed the LOIT tax at the highest rate. No one seemed to remember how or when the $8 million was spent. The officials didn’t just pass one tax, they increased the EDIT tax, too. A 43% increase in income taxes was passed in a mere 14 days.
Today we have Mayor Tyler working to resurrect the city-run EMS. We’re hoping the FBI picks him up before he can create additional damage to the city and the county. The legacy of Mayor Tyler will continue long after he is gone. Don’t think for a moment the city will go unscathed. It’s going to be painful to fix this topsy turvy ship.
We decided to provide a small pictorial timeline of Dennis Tyler. We’ll begin with State Representative Tyler hightailing it to Urbana, IL. A failed attempt to shut down Indiana government. Then as now, he avoided the people. Every time Tyler is placed on the hot seat he disappears. And Urbana was no exception. This is where the phrase “Tyler is vacationing in Urbana” began. You may hear it said when Tyler refuses to speak or be interviewed by the press.
Next, we see candidate Tyler asking for your vote. He won by approximately 7,000 votes. 1,000 more votes than McShurley received in 2011 and in 2007.
Picture three is Mayor Dennis Tyler with a caption addressing one of his campaign promises “For the People” and the cost of his administration a 43% income tax. Well, the EDIT tax needed to be increased to fund Nichols’ property demolition companies.
Moving on is a meme created when Mayor Tyler first introduced his EMS project. It is meant as humorous satire. Although, there is nothing funny about his proposal.
City Council Meeting
Monday, February 4th, 2019
7:30 PM Muncie City Hall
Ex-building commissioner – going down
Bad company corrupts good morals.
One who runs from corrupt people is wise indeed.
Birds of a feather, flock together.
Be sure, your sins will be found out.
Here we are nearly three weeks into 2019 and finally, the sentencing memorandum of Muncie’s ex-building commission has been made available. So, let’s begin with the persons named in the memorandum.
Here is every name listed in the Nichols sentencing memo
(Full text of the memo is located at the end of the post.)
The names have not been changed to protect the innocent. Some of the people were doing their jobs – their consciences could not be seared. Those would be the ones who resigned or perhaps fired.
One name, Aaron Kidder, was a rising star in the city’s administration. He was the right-hand man to Mayor Tyler. Intelligent, well spoken and to his detriment (at least in this administration) honest.
“Nichols asked Kidder if he would be willing to say that he acquired quotes from Gibbs even though he had not. Kidder refused.”
And then there is Audrey Jones, the city controller. She complied with an FOIA.
Jones gave Marsh copies of the original invoices, and then approached Nichols to inform him that she had turned them over during the FOIA request.
What exactly did Dennis Tyler know and was he aware of the bid-rigging, demolitions? The answer would be yes. Although when issues came up, he blew them off with a “nah” and a smile. How could average citizens, people not privy to the inner workings of his administration, have information and the mayor didn’t know?
Note Ross Bater’s comment:
- Brater states that had they been competitively bid instead of awarded to Nichols through fraud, it would have cost the Muncie taxpayers between $8,800 and $9,200 on average to demolish each property. Nichols (according to his own calculation) billed on average $19,500 per property. Source: Muncie Star Press 1-18-19
Local columnist and what he knew
Three years ago Larry Riley wrote about the cost of demolitions done by Nichols’ company. We might presume Gibbs Construction would be the one and the same. Just a wild guess. Amazingly, Riley had all the facts, figures and names and the column published in the local paper yet Mayor Tyler did nothing. Larry was on top of it and the FBI confirms it.
Certainly having him give quotes to compare with Advanced Walls helped the latter immensely, as each Gibbs Construction quote was even higher, usually a few hundred bucks, than the unduly high Advanced Walls quote. Thus a cost conscious administration went with the lower quote.
The four demolitions averaged $20,375 each, or more specifically:
— 527 W. Wilson, an 850 square-foot house with no basement, razed for $22,000 by Advanced Walls.
— 424 S. Proud St., 1,700 square feet, two stories, plus 400 square-foot detached garage, for $19,500.
— 320 S. Beacon, 1,216 square feet, no basement, for $19,500.
— 909 S. Wolfe St., 964 square feet, half basement, for $21,500
Source: Muncie Star Press March 6, 2016
Check-out the full column below.
No one would notice or no one would care
Given his powerful allies, Nichols figured that either no one would notice or no one would care, and he quietly submitted $81,500 in invoices to the City between August 7, 2015, and October 5, 2015 for work he didn’t perform. Nichols used his company, Advanced Walls and Ceilings, for this.
Did no one notice or did no one care? The administration did notice and no one cared. It’s amazing all the channels put in place and Nichols slipped by? The public didn’t seem to care and so it continued. But yes, considering all the information we have received in the past 24 hours and past articles, State Board of Accounts audits, and the continuous presence of the FBI should have been a wake-up call and instead, it was business as usual.
To read the full report click the link below (pdf).
craig-nichols-sentencing-memo 1-16-19
Another City Audit … yea
Muncie Star Press reported the MSD was dinged by the State.
Click for the full report: Muncie SBOA 12-18 yr 2017 The audit report covers the city’s SAFER Grant as well as the Muncie Economic Redevelopment.
Saturday Ramblings – Politics Before People
As you all know, Mayor Tyler is speeding towards a city-owned EMS. Yes, if you haven’t yet heard, he is doing everything in his power to destroy a well-oiled County EMS service. Why? Of course, we know why. Politics before people.
You may be thinking, “No way would Mayor Tyler even consider putting the citizens in danger. He loves this great city per all of his public speeches.” Would he destroy DCEMS because of politics? Let’s take a walk down memory lane.
Immediately after Tyler lost his mayoral bid in 2003, he and his pal, Phil Nichols, were right back to the political games. In a 2004 editorial “Lack of proper plan for fires scandalous” the editorial board was referencing a letter two Democrat County Commissioners authored, The editorial states:
On Dec. 31, Stonebraker and St. Myer signed a letter to the city-county 911 dispatch center, ordering that Center Township trucks not be dispatched on emergency runs within the Muncie city limits. “(Some old-timers will remember) .
Stonebreaker, according to the editorial, said it wasn’t political at all. Never mind they did everything in their power to make Republican Dick Shirey’s life miserable. Definitely not political. (ROLLING EYES)
The editorial continued:
To deny political implications of the letter is to ignore the fact that chief architects of local Democratic policy are current party chairman Dennis Tyler and immediate past chairman Phil Nichols , both Muncie Fire Department officers. Their fingerprints are all over the letter, and they appear to have done little to discourage the animosity that exists between Muncie and Center Township fire departments.
Further evidence of political or government leaders being irresponsible is the report of five instances last fall when the Center Township department was not notified of 911 calls within its own territory.
Take note, MP Readers:
Shirey, Crouch and other local officials have said they believed the best dispatching procedure would be to send the emergency response order to the department that is closest to the emergency as well as to the department with official jurisdiction.
That would best guard the safety of citizens and their property. Anything short of that devalues human life and is a dereliction of duty.
Dual-response is recognized policy in well-organized fire districts across the country. Firefighting experts, consulted last year by The Star Press, agreed that dual-response is a must for Muncie and Delaware County.
‘It’s not rocket science,” said one of the experts.
Everywhere, that is, except Muncie.
Source: Lack of proper plan for fires scandalous Star Press, The (Muncie, IN) – Sunday, January 25, 2004 Author/Byline: StaffSection: EditorialPage: 2D
So, if you think for one moment Mayor Tyler is all about keeping you safe and that his EMS service will be top-notch, dear friends, think again. Tyler campaigned in ’03 and one of the big issues people had with him, among many, was Phil Nichols. Tyler hasn’t changed since then. The difference between then and now it was much easier to hide his involvement prior to being mayor. Not so much today.
To be continued…
Muncie Politics 