Watch Tom Henry give away FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS?

So according to MAYOR TOM HENRY Public Works money is not Tax Payer Money.

So does that mean the CITY has been charging to much for services all this time?

If it has half a million dollars to pave a bike trail that is already paid for through private donations & benefactors, why haven't they done it before?

Is it your money or the City's?.... It is your City.

Maybe that 500 THOUSAND DOLLARS could have been used to clean up the rivers before we have people riding around them any further.

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA Mayor Tom Henry has answered critics who question how the city can make a matching contribution of up to $500,000 to Oprah's Big Give and the Fort Wayne Trails project when the city of Fort Wayne itself is facing budget cuts.

In an interview with Indiana NewsCenter's Ryan Elijah, Henry says the money has already been earmarked for the trail system and that money had been collected started even before he came into office. That is why the city can match up to $500,000 in donations. The Mayor stresses that the money is not property tax money, but rather public works money.

[....]

The television show “Oprah’s Big Give” selected ABC affiliate Indiana’s NewsCenter and the local non-profit Aboite New Trails for a donation of $10,000. The mission from “Oprah’s Big Give” to Aboite New Trails and Indiana’s NewsCenter was to find a way to grow the money into something larger.

Aboite New Trails chose to split the Oprah’s Big Give funds with each partner trails organization to fund its own event April 12, thus expanding the reach of the Oprah’s Big Give funding throughout Fort Wayne and New Haven. The partner organizations will keep the money raised from the individual fund-raising walk or rides to fund the expansion and maintenance of the trail network in Allen County.

The City is also offering a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $500,000, for donations to the City or any partner trail organization through Saturday. Donations of any amount can be made now through Saturday. More information about the match and City donation forms are available on the City’s Web site.

[....]

Oprah's production crew will be here Saturday to film Fort Wayne's celebrations and fund-raiser for the Fort Wayne trails project.

She gave Indiana's NewsCenter $10,000 in seed money, and since that amount has now grown to close to $1 million... Fort Wayne could be featured in the finale of "Oprah's Big Give" next Sunday night... as one of the most successful community projects in the country.

[SOURCES: the first of two stories with Ryan Elijah reporting are both written by Paul Neumann, the third is written by Corrinne Rose all respectfully from Indiana News Center TV Channels 21 & 33. The second picture was ganked off the city website]