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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

NO GO FOR COO

The Hartford City Council Monday night postponed a vote on the appointment of Saundra Kee Borges as Hartford;s permanent Chief Operating Officer. According to sources, councilman Alexander Aponte appeared to be the only solid yes vote for her approval. Councilman Joel Cruz was apparently on the fence and may have been a second yes vote .

Issues over the enforcement of an ordinance prohibiting double dipping by retirees prohibited from returning for more than 6 months played a role. Councilmembers said that the lack of management of the City for the last few months since David Panagore left was more of an issue than the retiree issue.

The Counccil will most likely take up the vote at their first meeting in May, although it appears that there will be little movement in the vote tally

Don't forget to take the poll above

Monday, April 22, 2013

OH WHAT A WEB THEY WEAVE

Tonight's Council meeting should prove very interesting. On the agenda are the resolutions submitted by Mayor Segarra for the possible appointments of his hand picked Chief Operating Officer, Saundra Kee-Borges and Juan Figueroa as Corporation Counsel.

As of 4:00PM it appears as the votes are not there to approve Kee-Borges's appointment. It is most likely to try to avoid any more embarrassment, Segarra may pull the resolutions for both appointees rather than be humiliated by a public vote against his choice.

Unfortunately, Figueroa may end up as collateral damage in this vote, I think the votes may actually be there for him, but his confirmation would mean no home for Kee-Borges at City Hall if her vote as COO fails. There is only money budgeted for one Corporation Counsel, and Kee-Borges would revert back to her previous position if her ascension were to fail.

This may prove to be just one more step in the neutering of Segarra as he sees his power slip without the Council's support. The recent override of his veto was symbolic and now a potential no vote on Kee-Borges will be a negative blow to Segarra as strong mayor.

As a former Council President who came from an era  of disrespect from the Mayor's Office under Eddie Perez, I can only say Segarra has done this to himself. He has fostered an era of disrespect for the Council, probably greater than any that happened under Perez. Unfortunately, rather than building relationships with the Council, Segarra has relied on terrible advice from his so called"Cabinet" that has led him down the wrong path for their own self serving interests  rather than putting Hartford first.

Kee-Borges has presided over the City during some of the worst decisions made that have been far from boosting the best interests of Hartford and its people. The recent P-Card mess and the ignorance of City Ordinances have pushed Segarra into the public spotlight in a far from flattering role.

 These appointments should have been a slam dunk for his Chief odf Staff if he knew how to build coalitions and consensus. In the end, everything works out for the best though, start a real search and find a professional that can lead our City forward

A NEW POLL

Should Saundra Kee-Borges be approved as Hartford's next Chief Operating Officer?Feel free to vote and then leave a comment as to your opinion

Saturday, April 20, 2013

FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRIVE DRUNK

A picture is worth a thousand words. The operator of this vehicle has become HPD's latest DUI arrest tonight on Ann Ucello Street near the Russian Lady. The parking speaks for itself, I am not sure how the DUI tests went

Friday, April 19, 2013

TAKE THE VOTE AND LET'S MOVE ON

The old saying that "everything works out for the best" could probably  be about to come true in Hartford. Item number 8 on the agenda for Monday nights Council meeting is regarding the appointment of Saundra Kee-Borges as Chief Operating Officer for the City of Hartford. Sources are telling me that the votes on the Council are not there for Kee-Borges's ascension. So be it, take the vote and move on to a real search for a professional to run our City.

Kee-Borges has been Hartford's version of Captain Queeg at the helm of theUSS Caine for the last 10 months. According to Wikipedia Queeg was described as" Queeg is prone to eccentric behavior, From the first, he begins to make mistakes that endanger his ship. After refusing the assistance of his predecessor in command, he grounds the Caine on a muddy shoal his first time underway. He panics in a fog and nearly collides with a battleship, and passes the blame to his helmsman, starting a series of incidents that eventually results in a scripted court-martial "

Our ship, Hartford City Hall , is still stuck on that muddy shoal, and until a new Captains is brought to the helm, we will remain grounded, unable to make any forward progress. I recently had a conversation with Mayor Segarra and in my frustration, explained to him the number one rule of management. As a manager, you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. In Segarra's case, enough said.

Not everyone realizes when the time comes to call it a day, and in the case of Saundra Kee-Borges, the time has come.Many of the embarrassments currently facing Segarra have been created by his allegiance to his law school classsmate and friend. Loyalties that are definitely misplaced when it comes to protecting the interests of the people of Hartford.

In the case of one of the current issues that will most likely be a big black eye to this Administration , is Kee-Borges's  ignorance of an ordinance on the books preventing retirees from returning as City employees for any period greater than six months. In her capacity as Corporation Counsel should she not be aware of ordinances on the books:? Or at least one of the other attorney's in her office should have been. That's called management.Was it self serving for her to overlook Hartford's municipal code or just ignorance of Hartford's law , either way, we deserve better.

A Chief Operating Officer taking command of the operation she would have or should have had control of City spending on City credit cards before it blew up into a huge embarrassment that may eventually lead to a criminal investigation. And if Kee-Borges couldn't handle the task of proper management, the Finance Director who answers directly to her, is bound by the City Charter to review all transactions to verify their legitimacy. That's called management.

Overtime spending is something that any manager worth their weight tracks almost daily, not when it becomes a huge issue and requires the City Council to step in to put the brakes on. That's called management. And the resolution to the matter, the Council overriding Segarra's veto was a huge hit to Segarra's power, (if he actually had it to begin with)

Kee Borges, in her dual role as Corporation  Counsel and COO also created the SAMA land deal after ignoring Connecticut State law and then ignoring the concerns of Council members  who questioned her judgement and the legality of the issue.This also has the potential to become a criminal investigation drawing the Segarra Administration in because of a lack of management oversight.

Kee-Borges was also apparently responsible for the selection of her Deputy Cprporation Counsel, L. John Van Norden, enough said on that one

 I think the final straw for Council members in pulling their support for Kee-Borges was her e-mail regarding the mental stability of Councilman deJesus. Not a smart move, but again, everything works out for the best.

The creation of the previously non-existent Deputy Chief position in the Hartford Fire Department tailor made for her husband/partner/significant other Terry Waller was another move that drew question to Segarra's choices.

Call the vote and let's move on, it is time for this run to come to an end.

Friday, April 12, 2013

I'M CONFUSED

There is a quote engraved in the stone walls at the Mark Twain Visitor's Center here in Hartford. I saw it while there for a recent police promotion ceremony "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." Too bad more people at that ceremony weren't reading the walls also

Last week when the stories began to erupt regarding Hartford's problem with use  (or misuse) of city credit cards, WFSB's Len Besthoff was working on the story. He interviewed  Mayor Pedro Segarra regarding one of the charges that raised some eyebrows. Is a charge for the Mayor's New Years Eve dinner that was put on his Chief of Staff's City Credit card for $707.21

When asked about the dinner charge by Besthoff, Segarra replied angrily "I paid for half that dinner, half that dinner". You can view the interview and Mayor Segarra's exact words here on WFSB.com. I'm not sure why, I just don't believe a lot of what is coming out of City Hall these days so I asked the Mayor's Office for documentation of the payment, when it was made and a comment as to why the Mayor thought it was necessary to make the payback in the first place.

I had hoped that maybe the payback was made January 1st or 2nd after the wine cleared and someone realized it was wrong for Hartford's taxpayers to pay for the Mayor's Dinner as well as the Mayor's partner, and his Chief of Staff and a female acquaintance. Last Friday , April 5th. I made my request through e-mail to the Mayor's Communications Director Maribel LaLuz. She replied asking me to giver her until Monday. That was fine, it was Friday afternoon, and Happy Hour at Salute was just around the corner.

Monday I received an e-mail from LaLuz informing me the information wouldn't be coming Monday because " Am working on getting this but due to POTUS visit may not get to it until tomorrow.
Keep you posted. M. "
 
On Tuesday another e-mail, but still no verification" Mayor was in budget meetings all day and did not bring the statement in. I've requested it for tomorrow. Will keep you posted..M
 
From that point on, nothing until late today
 
This afternoon another e-mail with a couple receipts attached arrived, and this is where the confusion begins. Despite the fact that the Mayor had stated to Besthoff that he paid half the bill, the receipts were dated today, and for 1/3 of the bill , not half. I guess anyone can make a mistake, but Segarra was so adamant and visibly upset, I had hoped he was telling the truth.
 
The explanation given by LaLuz also seemed to confuse me somewhat."Attached and below is the requested documentation regarding the Mayor’s dinner at Max on New Year’s Eve. It’s important to note that once Mayor Segarra realized that the charge was done incorrectly and not as he requested, he called MAX on Feb 28 at 11:00am and asked them to fix it- hence Adam’s apology below. There are telephone receipts confirming that request. That was before any reports surfaced about p cards.  To be clear, Segarra paid $205.76 on his personal card and Charlie paid $250.76 on his personal card. "
 
Why did it take two months for the buyers remorse to kick in, no one at that table realized that night it was wrong? And the scans provided showed only one charge for $250.76 and a credit for $250.76. In trying to make sense, I can only assume the charge was to Segarra's AMEX card and the credit was back to someones City Credit Card apparently, but only for a third of the bill, not half as was stated in the interview. No documentation was provided for the charge claimed to the Mayor's partner, Charlie Ortiz..

I guess it is troubling to me as to why Mayor Segarra would make the statement to Besthoff that the bill had been repaid when it clearly hadn't and why they would string me along for a week saying that the receipts were coming. The Transaction hadn't even been done yet.
I probably would believe it more if he had said he needed to go to the Credit Union for a loan after the request for receipts had been made