I recently read two self-serving letters and one self-serving “I told you so commentary.” The first letter was addressed to the editor by a former city councilor taking credit for stopping increases to our electric bills by threatening the takeover of the electric company (LCEC). The second letter written by our former director of finance was forwarded to city councilors prior to our workshop on the forensic audit held this past Monday. The tenor of that letter was “See, I did nothing wrong.”
The “I told you so” commentary is the one you are reading now.
The first case, as a result of a former city councilor meddling in city affairs, the city spent X dollars on consultants and who knows how many hours of wasted time on the part of city staff to prepare for and hold numerous meetings by volunteer residents who agreed to serve on the “takeover” committee.
The reason that LCEC was able to “hold the line” on prices was, in addition to its own cost-saving measures, its being able to enter into a contract with a new source of electric power. Does anyone truly believe that LCEC would have made this commitment if the price of oil was continuing to rise and it did have a guarantee from its new source of electricity that the price per kilowatt hour would not increase for at least a year?
In the second case, I must admit that I was surprised to hear from the auditors conducting a forensic audit of the Collier Blvd. project that violating the requirements of our City Charter regarding the monetary limits with which the city manager can approve without city council action and the State law governing the “bidding” process by the city manager and staff is not considered to be fraud. I guess you have to have been photographed taking money under the table for them to label it fraud. How about doing it in order to save your job? Boy, are we splitting hairs or what? The forensic auditor found evidence regarding all of these violations, but refused to define it as “fraud.”
In the case of the “I told you so” commentary, you may recall a letter I sent to the editor shortly after I was found guilty of “unintentionally” violating public record laws by erasing e-mails from my home computer regarding city business. I noted in that letter that neither the states attorney’s office who brought charges at the instigation of several prominent residents and members of the now defunct “Celebrate Marco” group nor the judge had any idea of the potential ramifications of their action on the one part, and finding of guilt on the part of the other.
The reason for my comments then is based on the fact that there is probably not one local government in the State of Florida which has not “lost public records,” intentionally or unintentionally. Well, guess what folks, the forensic audit did indeed note that some records were missing just for one (albeit large) project right here in “river city.” No idea if it was intentional or not.
So, what is the states attorney’s office to do? Bring the city up on charges and ask for the maximum fine of $500? I doubt this will happen since the instigation of charges against me were purely political.
I’ll close this commentary by noting that the recommendations included in the forensic audit, if enacted by the city staff with the support of the City Council, will hopefully result in major changes of how the city operates its day-to-day operations. As one member of the Ad Hoc Forensic Committee (a retired CPA) recommended at the conclusion of the workshop, the only way to guarantee that the recommendations of the auditors will be enforced is for the city council to hire a full-time internal auditor who monitors all financial transactions and reports only to the City Council.
Given the history and audit of only one project, I am afraid that my concerns about the city staff taking end runs around the city council regardless of state and local laws have been confirmed; therefore, I will support the establishment of this new position on the basis that this individual will likely result in ultimate savings to the city and will more than make up the cost of having he or she onboard to guide the city council in our decisions.
Buddy Day, 2012
Marco Island GOOOH meeting, Feb. 2012
Tommy Davidson at Marco's Off the…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 10
Montel writes:
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/f...
"Kiester testified that he regularly deleted e-mails from his personal inbox.
Chuck, get your story right; one second you say you unintentionally deleted the emails and the next second, you claim you intentionally deleted the emails. Pick a lie and stick to it Chuck!
Everyone is aware of the conversation you had with Butch Neylon asking him how to delete the emails. Remember Chuck, he said the only way was to change out the hard drive...did you get some help from Professor Sanchez??
You were found guilty by District Judge Mike Carr who "told the court that Chuck Kiester had "made a mockery of the law!"
I personally would have loved to read all of the dialog in those emails between you, Godfrey Davies, Butch Neylon, Roger Hall. Crazy Putnam and the other conniving, anti-city cabal. While all the other councilors had to produce their emails and personal information you escaped that by INTENTIONALLY deleting your emails.
SHAME ON YOU KIESTER.
You will not win in the election. I promise!!
ChuckKiester writes:
Aw, my dear Monty, I thought all was forgiven between the two of us, at least me forgiving you for your role in bringing charges (along with your good buddy Arceri) against my accidental loss of public record emails. As you may recall, the Sheriff's office was able to retrieve those emails and provide them to you as requested. I still chuckle over the blog writer (who may have been you) at that time whining that the recovered emails had mostly to do with the paying of bills on-line, etc., not any evil undermining of you and your fellow's effort to chase middle-income and retired residents off the island in favor of making the island a "resort" destination. As to my re-election, what will be will be. Are you and your buddies going to scare the part-time condo owners with made up "studies" as you did last time? In short, I am very, very disappointed in your response to this commentary---personally, I think you are smart and very funny. I would have liked to have had you as a friend. Chuck Kiester
ejburger writes:
Mr. Kiester, in your response to Montel you neglected to answer his questions as to why you have changed your story about the deletion of emails. Instead, you attempt to discredit the writer and in true political fashion, redirect, change the subject and avoid the question.
Had you left the whole Sunshine Law violation alone most of us would have forgotten it and moved on but you continue to remind the voters of ugly times and your deletion of emails which is very poor judgement! Did you every hear the old adage, "let sleeping dog lie."
Fossil writes:
Montel, the tone of your writing is weird. You come across as a very angry and unbalanced person. Your comments imply you were damaged in some way by Chuck's past behavior. Tell us why you feel so much hate for those who fought the changes you promoted in our community. We all came here for different reasons, most to retire and enjoy what remains of our lives. You however have supported those who want to develop and grow local government and infrastructure. All at the expense of homeowners. Your success has resulted in a diminished population, property foreclosures, lower revenue streams and resulting loss of business opportunities(so many empty shops). Are you disappointed that the permanent residents have shown their disapproval by voting with their feet? The only people that appreciate what you have done are the tourists, condos and hotels. Don't blame Chuck, it was your activiites that brought this about. Soon even you will find it too expensive and perhaps then you will understand.
ChuckKiester writes:
Dear Mr. EJBurger: I debated whether to respond to your blog as whatever I say will be mis-used or taken out of context by those who consider me a threat to their vision of what our beloved island should become. As Montel well knows (as he was at the hearing) plus I'm sure he blogged my subsequent letter to editor about what had really happened, the answer to his questions are "yes" and "yes." I did delete all my emails back then and sent them to the trashcan where they would be available for retrieval should I need them for a public records request. When I did receive such a request, I went to the trashcan only to find out that they weren't there and couldn't figure out why. Well, as it turns out, my wife's old laptop (which she passed on to me as she needed a new and improved computer for her business)had a program in it that automatically emptied the trashcan on a periodic basis---something she had forgotten to tell me at the time. So I did call Butch Neylon to ask if I couldsomehow "retrieve" those emails. Butch's answer was that there was a program to do that but I would have to take the computer to a specialist and that it would be expensive. By that time, I had received a summons from the Sheriff's office so I decided to give them the computer and have them download the messages on their dime. Given these facts, the only charge the States Attorney's office could charge me with was the "accidental" or "unintentional" loss of public records. Almost funny in a way except for the fact that pursuing this case opened a "can of worms" for the States Attorney's office and the courts which was the whole point of that part of my commentary. So, there you have it for whatever it's worth. Oh, by the way, I'm not sure I knew Professor Sanchez at that time. Chuck Kiester
Flowerpower writes:
Mr. Kiester, my husband and I started to like you and felt you were a good addition to the council. We realized that the political climate several years back was not a good one and even though we didn’t always agree with your votes, we felt that you were a very good councilor with good judgment. That all changed at the recent forensic audit meeting when you were so mean to that poor auditor. Then you brought up your Sunshine violations, something we forgot about. Up until this time we had planned to support you in your reelection bid but we are reevaluating that now; there is no place for your aggressive behavior on council. We watched the meeting on channel 99 and my five year old was quick to point out you said “dam it.” I admit as a parent it’s not the first time he’s heard that word but we expect more from our elected officials. It seems you want to get even with anyone that opposed you. What about all of the negative things done to the councilors that supported the STRP, i.e. recall attempts, lawsuits, personal property damage, threats, etc. Those councilors took the high road and moved on; it is unfortunate that you didn’t do the same! Please re-instill our faith in you and stop all of the negativity.
ChuckKiester writes:
Dear Ms. Flowerpower: Love the name. Reminds me of the '60's when hippies would place flowers in the receiving end of soldiers' rifles. I was overseas in the military then while Janie (now my wife) was protesting the war in California. I, too, was concerned that maybe I was a bit hard on the consultant auditor so I watched the tape several times and concluded that in terms of people viewing the exchange it could go either way. My problem with Ms. Bennardette was that she kept trying to avoid answering my questions which, as you may recall, called for a "yes" or "no" answer. The city either did or did not violate Florida State statutes and/or our city charter during the Moss administration in terms of its financial transactions. Her own evidence showed that the city had in fact violated these laws and she should not have beaten around the bush in her responses. Keep in mind that her firm is one of those who the city is considering as a replacement of our former annual auditor who failed miserably in the performance of its duties by downplaying or not even bringing up the obvious problems in our accounting system. No rules or procedures---run it the way it will allow you to do as you wish. One last thought, since you mentioned a young child I assume you and your husband are still working and, unless you have inherited or earned millions of dollars, you are also in danger of being pushed off the island by those who wish us to become a playground only for the very rich and famous. Chuck Kiester
Fossil writes:
Flowerpower, you are not a truthteller. You never supported Mr. Kiester and you know that to do so would make all your past writings hypocritical. One need only click on your moniker following your most recent blog to review your past writings. You have supported the big government, big spending Council Members and least qualified political activists on this island for many years now. Your stand has been consistant against homeowners and retirees on every major issue. You care not about those of us on fixed incomes and you would like nothing better than to see all our small modest homes torn down. Your vision is tourist growth, larger condos and more hotels. You are against the community having a high school and could care less about our green space (unless it means another golf course). Chuck Kiester stands for everything you are against. You and Montel are cut from the same cloth. You are both weird and probably the same person.
EdFoster writes:
Chuck,
If there were a way to sell Marco short and invest elsewhere, I'd do it. I know Janie loves the place and for good reason. So does Ruthie and that locks up John. Marco doesn't deserve the likes of you guys any more than it deserved the likes of me. If you can, let it go down and devote your considerable talents to the betterment of a place that will appreciate you or, if not that, at least admire you.
I'm re-reading Atlas Shrugged right now. Haven't read it since August of 1982 and it's overdue for a re-read. You need a good dose of Ayn Rand every few years to keep you sane. She makes you realize your own value and the terrible waste it is to squander it on the likes of Montel, the god (note the lower case) who can control elections. Turds should be walked around, not stepped on, not answered.
Ed Foster
jwputnam writes:
hahahahaha
Ed, you are the best!!!!!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.