In April, 2016, almost a year to the day which the State of Indiana gave away a $29 Million, fully equipped two story, 220,000 square foot school for ten cents on the dollar, a National Association of Mortgage Field Services (NAMFS) legacy member did what NAMFS Members do best, they screwed Labor. ASONS, one of the oldest NAMFS Members, had originally committed to hiring 300+ workers for its Muncie, Indiana, National Headquarters, in exchange for ungodly amounts of tax credits, grant funding and yes the pennies on the dollar multi million dollar facility.
MUNCIE, Ind. (April 9, 2015) – Governor Mike Pence joined Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler and executives from ASONS, a national facilities management provider, today to announce the company’s plans to expand its corporate headquarters here, creating up to 316 new jobs by 2024.
Pie in the sky is how some financial experts termed it privately. Fact of the matter is that ASONS had neither the portfolio resources nor financial capabilities to sustain their hollow promises to the City of Muncie nor the State of Indiana in my opinion. More on point, though, it makes anyone whom has witnessed the recent chop in the preservation waters note that the national dinosaurs are becoming extinct. It is reminiscent of the evolutionary process which all industries eventually go through. It is Six Sigma Lean at a most inopportune moment.
Here is what Steve Helser, former ASONS CEO had to say about his employer,
ASONS is considered to be the premier provider of residential and commercial services across North America. We continue to see a strong demand in the market place for our service platform and we can only support this demand through the measured expansion of our core operations. We believe that Muncie, Indiana and Delaware County offer a strong talent pool and cost effective environment to support our continued growth. In addition, Muncie’s central location facilitates more efficient and effective interaction with our national client portfolio and strategic partners across North America.
— Steve Helser, ASONS Former CEO
Foreclosurepedia toured the entirety of the ASONS National Headquarters while the meltdown was in high gear. The term Chief Executive Officer appeared to be lacking. Oh, we met Steve Helser; we met Milan Thompson and Nathan Vannatter, but this was a ship which lacked seamless leadership. It was a ship which, like the Titanic, felt it was invincible. In all honesty, the feel of the ship lacked maturity. I liken it to viewing a young boy trying on his father’s clothing. While visions of power and grandeur danced round in the heads of ASONS C Level personnel, the reality is that they were mere illusion, nothing more and nothing less.
Thompson said ASONS, founded in 1999, was put in jeopardy by a former company official, described by Thompson as a “pathological liar,” who falsified contracts for work that didn’t exist. By the time the falsified contracts were discovered, ASONS had committed to growth, hiring employees and moving into the former Wilson building.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered A-Son’s Construction, Inc. up to $2,600,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The city of Muncie will consider additional tax abatement and other incentives at the request of the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance.
ASONS began reconciling reality with the fairy tales Eric Miller had been preaching. Miller, the Executive Director of NAMFS, is paid OVER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR CONSUMING OVER SEVENTY PERCENT OF ALL NAMFS MEMBER DUES. And while the obscene and excessive salaries which toppled the Mortgage Field Services Industry to its knees might have been used as a bellwether for identifying change, unfortunately no one has been qualified to read the tea leaves other than Foreclosurepedia.
The former Wilson Middle School now belongs to a Muncie construction and property management company and Muncie Community Schools has $2 million in new funds.
The MRC had to open up the bidding for the Wilson property to anyone, but the requirements were narrowly written to make it most likely that ASONS would be the only bidder.
In fact, the skeleton crew ran out of Davy Jones footlocker within the new $28 Million for $2 Million dollar facility was par for the course with respect to how NAMFS does business. False promises and and the blaming of others for their own sins. Thompson poignantly laid all the blame on a “…former manager…” for the state of affairs which ASONS was in. This left little solace for Hoosiers hoping that ASONS would keep their word and generate jobs; it was even worse for those whom took the FIFTEEN PERCENT PAY CUTS currently employed, and those victims of violent crime? Well, as the former school could have become a much needed correctional facility, it was simply yet another example of the failed policies of Indiana Governor Mike Pence. It brings into further focus the need to oversee the activities of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and what, precisely, Vision 2016 has in store for the Hoosier State — read, it is business as usual for the financial sector.
And what happens when you challenge Thompson or any of his staff with respect to taking VOLUNTARY PAY CUTS?
Employees or former employees who contacted The Star Press this week expressed concern that the proposed pay cuts were so high that they would jeopardize their own family’s income at the expense of keeping the company operating.
“The group meeting ended with, ‘What if we don’t offer to take enough pay cut, what happens then?’ The answer was, ‘Here’s the door,'” said Eric Laughner, who was terminated as project manager in recent days.
Laughner said he agreed to take a 24 percent pay cut. He said he was fired after raising questions and complaints about the latest in a series of job changes in his two years with the company.
Stick with us as we walk you through how ASONS grabbed a $28 Million dollar property for $2 Million; locked out bidding competition on the purchase; and then left Hoosiers high and dry with false promises of work in Muncie. And we address the real question of whether or not ASONS is truly a viable candidate for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 3.10 Contracts.
