Where has all the money gone?

Long time passing. Where has all the money gone, long time ago? Where has all the money gone? Gone to consultants every cent. When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

Click here for PB Post article.

I remember last year about this time, during my campaign for the District 3 Commission seat, talking about the perception that "Money was flying out the windows at City Hall and there is no accountability". Well, here we are about a year later and the internal auditor's report is out pointing fingers at the problem - almost half a million dollars spent that was not approved or authorized by any City Commission action. There is now talk of the possibility of pressing criminal charges over the unauthorized expenditure without competitive bidding.

Let's look beyond the issue of these landfill related expenditures for a moment. What led the City to be in this most unfortunate circumstance? My money is on a series of weak City Commissions dating back 15 or 20 or more years. Over time, the polarity has been reversed so that the City Commission answers to City staff. This culture is one where the Commission ends up being the public relations arm of a City staff that knows best and is unchallengeable.

In this instance, staff omitted information or contorted information to continue unauthorized spending. Where were the questions from the Commission? Where was the overall policy related to the strategic vision for the landfill? Mayor Clemens is quoted as saying any sort of redevelopment of the landfill would be a "waste of taxpayer money". Nice sound bite, Jeff. But what is the City going to do with this substantial amount of acreage along its southern boundary line that isn't a waste of taxpayer money? Could we have a discussion on that please? Why not call a special meeting on just that issue?

And, let's have a series of meetings about establishing a policy related to procurement of professional services! Let's find a way to conform with State law as it relates to issuing contracts for professional services so that we are not under the control of Mock Roos (City staff asserts that the City's civil engineer is not subject to the bidding requirements under state law since the relationship started in 1957 - WRONG!).

This is where the hole in the SS City of Lake Worth is. Let's stop bailing out the water and fix the leak once and for all.