LOCAL GOV & ECON FAILURE: Scandal Abounds! & Elected Officials Scoff @ Accountability!

*PLEASE NOTE THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED*

Brace yourselves for the ride of a lifetime on the F6 Political Ferry across our three rivers. Sometime after the 2008 General Election, I took a break from covering local politics, for two reasons a. everything going on in the national stage regarding GLBT Equality issues; and b. just needing a break to let some of the local chaos either rest or finish unfolding so I could have the entire picture to review and then comment on.

I have always enjoyed the fact that since I write a social and political commentary I have the liberty of waiting a week to cover a story, rather than shooting from the hip based on someone's whim. I always operate better when I am providing commentary before or following events, rather than reporting on the fly. I have three months worth of material and events to cover in review at a minimum, to get caught back up for the new year.

We will start with the more recent events on the County Council and then move to an ongoing scandal with the City Administration versus City Council and the State Board of Accounts.

COUNTY COUNCIL RENEGES ON PAY CUTS FOR COMMISSIONERS

In County government we had several seats up for review mainly the 1st District Commissioner and all three At Large County Council Seats in last years General Election. There were other offices up as well but they are the main players in the latest news coming from The City County Building. Unfortunately neither of the two Democratic candidates for the three County Council At Large were chosen by the voters and the Commissioners is still a Republican stronghold, which makes the events of the last month even more amazing.

In the middle of last month, rather than accepting the proposed pay increase, County Council voted 5-0 with 2 abstaining to reduce the Commissioners pay from $65,000.00 to $35,000.00 as of the 1st of July 2009. The idea was to force the Commissioners to rely on a Chief Of Staff or County Manager to direct daily operations on the Commissioners behalf, in order to prepare for further implementation of the Commission on Local Government Report Plan of two years ago by the General Assembly.

This actually is a prime example of bitch slap politics in our County Government. Unfortunately in a show of prime culpability in only having a two party system present in the County on New Years Eve during an emergency meeting the Council rescinded with 5-0 with 2 members not present the change. And now even with all the grandstanding by Council President Paul Moss and others, we are back to politics as usual in Allen County.

What is even more priceless is shortly after all these events unfolded we had two County Council Members, both Republicans, resign: Cal Miller, in the 4th District; followed by Paula Hughes, in the 2nd District. Miller and Hughes had two years remaining in their current term and will be replaced by a Party Caucus later this month.

UPDATE => Mitch Harper @ Fort Wayne Observed:
CAL MILLER was replaced by Larry Brown in caucus voting, he will complete the last two years of term and
PAULA HUGHES didn't get the job with State Dept. of Local Gov. Finance, so she will remain for her term.

THE ON GOING BATTLE BETWEEN FORT WAYNE CITY COUNCIL & THE MAYOR!

We need to back up to the findings of a audit report issued by the State Board of Accounts at the end of September. In order to explain that, we have to turn around back yet again, to the effects of the 2007 Municipal General Election, which gave us our current Administration, Council, and conflicts that are in need of serious mediation.

In 2007, Mayor Tom Henry was swept into office thanks to a political and financial multiple felony count indictment fraud scandal on the Republican ticket carrier. As I understand it, either shortly before or right after the election several of the previous Administration's key employees formed their own company, that then contracted with the City for 95,000 dollars for membership in the HIGH PERFORMANCE GOVERNMENT NETWORK, and then left their employment with the City.

These conflicts on procedure and accountability scream of willful deception on a part of both the previous and a rampant and continuing disregard by current Administration to avoid City Council review and oversight, all while the City is facing a multi million dollar budget shortfall over the next five years. Now of course right away most people would say former employees forming a company and providing services to their previous employer is an automatic a. fraud, b. conflict of interest, c. unfair bidding practice, and d. if this was done on the stock market, it would be considered insider trading. But wait it gets worse. Not only did said company hire itself to its former employer, its former employer's CEO the former mayor, is an invested member in the new organization, and its CEO too apparently.

It gets worse yet, Pat Roller, City Controller, whom was the one whom signed off on the purchase order on the last day of the old administration in 2007, without forwarding it to Council for review is indignant that anyone especially City Council would challenge her position of authority, "in making the best purchasing decisions for the City", which is where the whole audit report in late September comes into play.

Wait I'm getting the refuse cart before the jackass. Here is a short recap:

At the end of September of 2008, The State Board of Accounts issued a report (pdf) covering 2007 financial reports by the City and specifically cited this contract and further directed the County Prosecutor to begin an investigation based on "conflicts of interest", and emphatically stated that:

"We recommend this contract be approved by Common Council before any additional payments to HPG Network are remitted.We could not verify that the city received $95,000 in services for the year 2007 when the contract was only in effect for four days in 2007 (December 27, 2007 to December 31, 2007) and while the HPG Network employees were also city employees." (FWP)

The day after the State Board of Accounts issued their report the City turned around and issued yet another HPGN, contract again without City Council Approval. Then during an early December meeting with City Council to air out the grievances with the original contract, no mention was made to the City Council about the new contract by the Administration.

It was only until Jeff Pruitt, Publisher of Fort Wayne Politics, did more digging and finally, through a freedom of information request, found the second contract, probably by accident on the part of the City, and brought it to every one's attention. This notably upset Council Member Mitch Harper, 4th District, even further (AFW, video). Democrat Council Member Tim Pape, 5th District, tried to jump on the bandwagon of, "over the last 8 years the HPGN has saved the City tens of millions of dollars" in the long run.

Everyone is now rightfully pissed off at Pat Roller, City Controller, who is still denying any wrongdoing. Her statement during an exit interview can be read on pages 14-21 of the State Board Of Accounts Report in pdf format. As calls for her resignation increased, in September also, she agreed to resign at the end of the year (FWN). Maybe, maybe not! On the 6th of January, the Mayor announced that she will not be resigning after all (FWOB).

I personally feel that City Council should impeach Pat Roller and order charges to be pursued against her and whomever else is found to be involved in the appropriations scandal!

This is starting to kind of remind me of Chicago politics, but nothing could match that level of corruption. I'm still trying to figure out who actually got beat with the rubber hose harder. Oh, that's right, we the tax payers did. We are always getting the short side of any scandal but yet we keep electing these loonies into office. Bonus pointes are awarded to Council Members Mitch Harper, Karen Goldner, and Liz Brown, for trying to make Government be accountable to the people once again.

Source: Fort Wayne Politics|Fort Wayne Observed| Around Fort Wayne|
Fort Wayne News|Disenfranchised American|

I know. I am running behind the times! County Government?

The discussion is what the Commission On Local Government has to say about County Government.

"County governments should be led by a single county executive and a stronger county council, to whom professionally qualified administrators should report and be accountable. Create a clearer, more accountable structure with fewer elected officials. Better coordinate public safety services."

1. Establish a single-person elected county chief executive.

2. Establish a single, unified legislative body for county government. Expand legislative membership to ensure sufficient representation for included rural, suburban and urban populations.

I actually don't have as much of an issue with this as I thought I would. The only problem I could foresee would be making sure that everyone in the county felt represented on the county council and the only way to solve that would be to make the council districts respective to the townships (eg: one seat per township minimum) with certain modifications of a second seat for population counts in certain ones like Wayne, Washington, Aboite, St. Joesph, and Adams Townships (they encompass Fort Wayne and New Haven). In Allen County that would give us a twenty five seat council minimum. Then of course the City government would feel left out and God forbid if we ever fully went to a unigov system because every other city and town would be throwing a temper tantrum about not being heard at all or the fact that they were now part of Fort Wayne.

3. Transfer the responsibility for administering the duties of the county auditor, treasurer, recorder, assessor, surveyor, sheriff and coroner to the county executive. Transfer the varied duties of the clerk to the courts, to the county election board and to the county executive. Establish objective minimum professional qualifications and standards for certain county administrative functions.

Now this is where I am going to clash with this report whole heartedly and as boisterously as Saint Augustine's swine (St Jerome). Certain of these elected positions are not just office positions they are a political checks and balances that were established for a reason and should not be fucked with no matter what may sound efficient and responsible for the future.

How many people are aware that the Coroner is the only one who can arrest and remove from office the Sheriff or County Prosecutor? He is the Chief Medical Officer of the County; much like the charachters of Drs. Leonard Horatio McCoy, Beverly Crusher, Katherine Pulaski, Julian Subatoi Bashir, and The EMH Doctor (ST: OS, TNG(2), DS9, and VYGR,) of the STAR TREK sagas. You knew I would have to throw one reference in somewhere, right?

These positions are suppose to be the publics way of achieving a balance of power within the County by putting people of trust and honor in "lesser" positions in order to watch over the public interest as a whole and keep the main players in balance. Plus the last thing we need is to reverse that law that was already established to limit a Sheriff's term in office to twice consecutive terms. If the position is appointed someone could retain the office for decades. Second as it is the Sheriff's Constitutional Authority to confine and enforce and serve the courts the Sheriff is also the one who balances overzealous County Prosecutors and Legislatures by ordering the non enforcement of incorrect laws or burying of warrants until they can be mediated.

Certain positions like Surveyor, Auditor, Recorder, and Treasurer I can see being made Executive appointments; however the Assessor's position, should still be a retained elected Executive Office holder.

By appointing any of these main positions rather than allowing the voter to choose you are making government no longer either we, by, or for the people, and in essence allowing one person to bring in whom ever they choose that isn't executive it is dictatorial. If this part of the plan is ramrodded threw the General Assembly, like Governor Daniels likes to do, it should at least be modified so that the modified per Township County Council has to approve by Major Majority all appointments and require only a Minor Majority to impeach either the single County Commissioner and his appointments or all other elected and appointed positions within the County proper.

Leave the Clerk of Courts alone (*channeling Chris Crocker, not really*). Most County Election Boards are either overwhelmed or incompetent and sometimes both.

4. Retain a local government role for property tax assessment under a county assessor who is required to meet professional qualifications and appointed by the county executive.

The Assessor's position, should still be a retained elected Executive Office holder who is then responsible for all appointed (jointly with the County Commissioner) Township Assessors. The County Assessors are responsible for how much each of us pay in property taxes and there needs to be someone at the top of local government that the people choose. Again it goes back to a checks and balance both politically and for the people. The County Assessor should also be the Chair of the County Tax Levy Board in my honest opinion.

5. Create a county wide body to oversee the provision of all public safety services.

This one could get just a little tricky because that also encompasses fire safety which falls under Township jurisdiction not just city government. And I think I will make a separate post about this because the young men and women whom volunteer with fire, medical, and first responder services are very dear to my heart. I have not a problem with having a County Board on oversight, general administration, and purchasing power improvements; but services and the ability for an average citizen to still be able to serve, needs to be considered above any generalized or definitive improvement towards administration. The city departments need to bring back volunteers and first responders. The State needs to give permission for all VFF, EMT, and FR the permission to burn both red and blue or red and green as well as the use of sirens.

(*Insert silently homosexual innuendos*)

6. Consolidate emergency public safety dispatch by county or multi-county region. Require that new, local emergency communications systems be compatible with the Project Hoosier SAFE-T statewide 800 MHz communications system.

DUH!!! Should have been done already *edits slurs* IDIOTS!!!

7. Transfer the responsibility for all funding of the state’s trial court system to the state, including public defenders and probation.

The Libertarian Party of Allen County's Secretary, Douglas Horner, is a Fugitive Recovery Agent and a licensed Bail Bondsman in the State has some interesting thoughts on that so I will defer with conjunction to his comments if he ever writes them out. One of the biggest issues I have is that the crime equity is not balanced across the State and there should be a level list of fines and responsibilities for each particular offense of the penal code that applies across the board. Also judges and prosecutors need to stop with frivolous fines and judgments and quit screwing people up the ass without the benefit of lube or a reach around for a simple mistake, temporary moments of stupidity, or just bad luck. The courts have lost a personal touch and need to be smacked around a little, like having their slush fund taken out from underneath.

One major additional note that I have been bitching on about for years which recently has received some more press and scrutiny: Judges or anybody else in the "judicial system" and their immediate family should be banned from having ownership in any company (AADP?) that provides services to the citizens by court order. That is a major conflict of interest and a violation of unreasonable sentencing which also borders on cruel and unusual punishment (sometimes before even a conviction in the case of juveniles), all in the name of a profit margin, that is WRONG!!! *!!!blows!!!steam!!!out!!!of!!!ears!!!* It is time for this callous blister in Fort Wayne to be shut down once and for all and never used ever again.
Further information: (JG article) (Website)(MySpace)(You Tube)

8. Move the funding of child welfare from counties to the state.

Well since they are already planning on doing a privatization plan anyway and taking away the local offices and mount the corruption of services provided to the hilt, you might as well take over the financing as well. While you are at it, please remove the policy in the Code which allows for illegal immigrants to file for benefits without being documented and forwarded to the Bureau of Citizenship Immigration and Naturalization for review. They should be taken into custody and processed for becoming citizens, not given benefits without legal standing!

[Editor's Note:]

This is just the beginning of my ramblings. I need to take a moment and give Charles M. Langley a nod for providing the AADP commentary on his blog AD FONTES. There will be further updates to this post as I continue to read the report from the COLG and develop further ideas and thoughts on these very complex issues and recommendations. Stay Tuned.

Poll Results part 2: Local Government: What should be done?

In a series of posts starting this Monday I am going to try to lay out some of my concerns and ideas regarding the recommendations recently by the Commission On Local Government, and some of our local bloggers amongst the frey, which involve the future status of County, Township, Municipalities, and Education governmental design. I have decided after trying to scratch out my ideas, complaints, and thoughts, as well as alternatives, that these are to complex in issues to write out any of it in just one or two posts.

The future of local government really deserves to have a single forum where everyone could write out their ideas and recommendations without bitting each others head off or pulling out eyes or hair in the process; but since the likely hood of that happening is wishful at the outset, I will post what I have to say per item and let the cross blog debates speak for other individual's analysis and thoughts. I would like to note as an aside that fellow bloggers have been bringing up some awesome thoughts and issues and recommendations from practical, hands-on, perspectives. I just wish there was a way to get everybody's opinions linked together in one place for ease of reference for the politicians and the public as a whole.

As proven before, blogs can change the current flow of the marketplace of ideas for the better or worse in actual formation and application of policies and procedures.

Map of Allen County's Townships copied from The Centerline. Thank you, Eric!

DISCLAIMER: As I am on record, through other sources and platforms, as to have announced considering an exploration of my candidacy for certain elected offices, which said offices are contained in this and certain future posts: I am clearly aware of the potential for bias in these articles and wish to convey these articles or posts are personal and professional commentary and not to be construed in any way as political campaigning. Thank you.