I had a good laugh a few weeks ago when Mayor Talbert opined at the end of a City council meeting [go to the 1:26:45 mark and listen for 45 seconds] about how citizens should be able to ask department heads anything and get answers…that there should be complete transparency.
Her exact words: “I feel like (City) staff and Council oughta be tasked with being accountable to answer on the spot…and..uh…I would be comfortable doing that….that’s transparency at its finest…is…you know…we don’t put off a question, we answer it on the spot”
I chuckled because every single time I ask a department head (IT, LEDC, Finance, etc) OR even Finley himself a question that might actually make them look negligent, incompetent or profligate, ‘transparency’ goes right out the window. This is evidenced by my past questions about the no-bid Azbell A/V contract, the LEDC and ‘business park’ contracts, employee discipline questions, ransomware attack questions…..the list literally goes on and on.
In fact, this ENTIRE BLOG only exists because I asked IT DIRECTOR Monica Wright (July of 2018) a simple question about what appeared to be a ridiculously overpriced NO-BID audio/visual system from Azbell Electronics for the new Council chambers. Her response? To copy and paste a couple sentences from the Azbell bid sheet! When I pressed her, Finley took over immediately and shut down all lines of inquiry. Seems to be a pattern with all “department heads” – they aren’t actually ‘head’ of jack shit, but rather a Finley Finger Puppet dancing to his tune.
Well, I have apparently opened an whole NEW can of worms regarding the City’s health insurance premiums and payouts. I had recently politely requested information that is WELL WITHIN my rights as a taxpaying citizen and guess what? Finance Department head Yvonne Moreno and City manager Finley ‘Elmo” deGraffenreid are once again hiding behind their City attorney and stonewalling me.
When that happens, I just KNOW I am on to a big stinky pile of dogshit they prefer to keep hidden. Good thing I still have MY lawyer on retainer.
Details coming up very shortly! I know you all need SOMETHING to keep you entertained during quarantine. Until then, let’s watch Finley ‘Elmo’ deGraffenreid make the Seven Goldfish dance to his tune…