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Despite thousands of tax dollars spent on lobbyists to push his agenda, two of Mayor Tom Henry’s key legislative efforts failed.
Henry on Wednesday expressed his displeasure with the legislature for not approving a gaming referendum for city residents or a bill to aid the city in a legal dispute with Indiana Michigan Power.
“I was disappointed that our legislators were unable to give voice to the people of Fort Wayne on the issue of gaming or to protect their interests by affirming City of Fort Wayne ownership of our municipal electric utility. Both of our requests were about basic rights and did not add a single penny to the budget,” he said.
Henry said the city’s money was well spent on lobbying firms even though neither key issue was approved. He said the gambling lobbyists were able to help the mayor study the issue thoroughly and inform the city about what steps to take. They also worked with legislators through the special session – which ended Tuesday night – about getting a referendum approved, Henry said.
The city hired Indianapolis law firms Krieg Devault and Taft Stettinius & Hollister –paying each $3,000 a month – to lobby the legislature regarding gambling. Invoices from the firms received through public-records requests show Taft billed $30,210.50 for May 2008 through February. Krieg billed $10,057.50, according to February and April invoices.
Last week, the city hired Krieg for a separate $60,000 annual contract to lobby for City Utilities issues, including the electricity issues.
A bill to ensure the city has the right to serve 33,000 former City Light & Power customers when the city’s lease with I&M expires next spring was not included in the final budget. The city argues it still has the right to serve those customers and is looking for new companies to provide power. I&M, however, believes it has the authority to serve former City Light customers and that the lease only applies to equipment.
“A small line in the budget bill would have cost the state nothing, but it would have had the ability to save Fort Wayne taxpayers and ratepayers tens of millions of dollars fighting a case in court to preserve what already belongs to them,” said Henry, who later said he hopes the dispute does not end in a costly legal fight.
One of the main reasons the electric issue failed was opposition from Senate Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne. This week, he said the legislature should not be getting involved in the argument between the city and I&M. Long added he thinks getting involved might be unconstitutional.
“The Senate is not going to get involved with rewriting contractual language,” he said. “The best thing we can do is not get in the middle of the dispute.”
Long and others, including Gov. Mitch Daniels, said gambling issues should not be part of the special session.
Henry said he had not had a chance to speak with Long but would like to discuss the reasons for his opposition.
The city will evaluate whether to continue the contracts for the gambling lobbyists – the utility contract will continue – and whether to keep pushing for a referendum next year, Henry said.
He added that he still believes a public vote is the best way to determine whether gambling should be allowed because of the industry’s long-term effects.
“I’m convinced more than ever that this needs to go to a referendum,” he said.
Niki Kelly of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story.
