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Friday, July 12, 2013

WHY?

I try not to take the blog too seriously, most times, at least. I am starting to realize what people have been telling me for a while. "We the People" has definitely become an engine for change in Hartford.

As much as I appreciate that though, I really do have to ask...Why?

I have some excellent partners and sources that make it all possible, but it would be so much easier if the City was just run right.

With the number of high priced, most of them in the six figure salary, so called managers, it seems as though  very little managing is taking place.Whether it is the p-card abuse or Kupiec's joy ride, why does it come out here first. Shouldn't our managers and our double dipping COO have a handle on the operation first?

I just wonder what the outcome would have been if I didn't develop the information regarding the former Chief of Staff and his apparent theft of a City vehicle. Would anyone have even known?
And when would the vehicle he took without permission have been noticed as missing? Maybe when the dust on it from the parking garage got too thick that it bothered some city Hall manager with allergies?

As the incident unfolded Monday morning it was amazing that no one, not even the HPD Fleet manager knew who the vehicle was issued to. Cops were saying the registration cam back to HPD but apparently no one had a record of who the vehicle had been issued to.. That is just amazing that there is no vehicle data base that should show any City vehicle at a moments notice. If people are being paid to manage a fleet, then damn it, manage the fleet.

That would also require though that those in power play by the rules and allow the people being paid to do their jobs. You can't bypass the rules and hand out vehicles or cellphones or I-pads like candy without following a process in place. To the best of my knowledge there is no small asset inventory in place for the City of Hartford. I have asked for it and no one has provided it.

That means if you are a City of Hartford employee and are issued an I-pad or a cellphone or in the Case of Jared Kupiec, a car. No one even knows you have it, so there is no procedure to protect the city's assets to make sure that property eventually makes it back to City Hall, unless someone remembers to ask for it back.

This just crazy that we run a half a billion dollar corporation like this, if you can even call it "running". It is a free for all allowed to flail out of control because of misplaced loyalties to law school study buddies and chronies rather than qualified professionals.

Council President Shawn Wooden today requested an Audit into City Vehicles based on the Kupiec incident. An incident that was revealed through a blog posting, not an observant City employee or even a highly paid Department head doing their job.

Even more troubling though is the comment in Wooden's letter that " I understand that an audit of this scope will likely be a labor intensive one, so I am asking that it be completed by September 30, 2013". This report would most likely be a few key strokes on a computer to generate for management at any properly operated business.

The report would probably also tell you the last time it was serviced, the mileage etc, etc. And if it was a really well run business, the entire fleet would be tracked by GPS and able to tell you where that vehicle was at that exact moment and how fast it was travelling.

It is definitely time to start reviewing the City Vehicle policy. There should be three people with City take home privileges, the mayor, the police Chief and the Fire Chief, period. In addition all other City vehicles should be clearly marked  with city seals and markings. What is the need for stealth by the Fire Chief or the Fire Department. no HFD markings and in most cases  not even municipal plates. Why?

In a City struggling with the need for additional police presence and visibility , other than detective's vehicles, every other vehicle should be clearly and very visibly marked a s a police vehicle. If you don't want a marked police vehicle in your driveway, don't take it home.

And as far as DPW, no one is owed a ride back and forth to work by the taxpayers. Follow the Weather Channel, if a blizzard is predicted, either stay local or take an SUV home for the night, but there is no need for vehicles to go home on a daily basis.

There is  no reason for the Chief of Staff , the COO or even Department heads to have take home cars

The City of Hartford residents deserve so much more from those who are supposed to be running the operation. Allowing the direction and management of the city to be dictated by a blog is wrong.


GET OUT THOSE LEISURE SUITS AND PARACHUTE PANTS TONIGHT

I don't post commercial events here too often, but I think this one is worth it. When many business owners are bailing on Hartford, at least one continues to invest in Hartford and grow while also creating new jobs for people, many of whom are Hartford residents. Jerry Fornacelli, owner of Hartford's Russian Lady, the Tavern Downtown and the newest addition the Rocking Horse Café.

Although the Tavern Downtown has been a staple of the Union place dining establishments for some time, Jerry recently relocated to the former Coach's space directly next to the Russian Lady Café and expanded the restaurant . Just south of the Russian lady, Jerry renovated a vacant store front and created the Rocking horse Café. The atmosphere makes you think you are in the old west  with the pine barn board siding, saddles and country Western music.

The latest addition to the Ann Street triple crown this summer are the weekly block parties, complete with the mechanical bull in the middle of the street, free for anyone brave enough to jump on and trust Pat at the controls. He hasn't launched anyone off yet, but then again I haven't climbed on .

The block parties are events that usually draw over a thousand people to celebrate Hartford in the block of Ann Uccello Street between Asylum Street and Allyn Place.. It is great to see people out enjoying Hartford and patronizing the other restaurants and bars around the are being drawn in by the block party.

These events are a gamble for the owner because they require a rather large police presence, street closures , porta-potties and fencing and all the logistics, none of this is cheap, the Police coverage alone is a few thousand every week, even if it gets rained out. All that can change on a moments notice with the weather, but Jerry is an entertainer and I think he thrives on the crowds and seeing people enjoying all that Hartford has to offer.

Tonight is the flashback to the 80's Blockparty and should be a great night. It will probably bring back memories to many of us to the first time we sat in the Barber Chair by the front entrance drinking your first , now famous, Russian Lady Long Island Ice Tea and then keeping the hurricane glass. Some of those memories I am sure many of us would like to forget, like the shots of Peach tree schnapps when that was first introduced

Luckily most of us have grown up, or at least grown older, but tonight should be a good night, just seeing crowds downtown is a good thing.

And again, in full disclosure, I do have a business relationship with Jerry but I still love the place, business or not. Say hello if you stop by

IS IT TIME FOR ANOTHER GRAND JURY APPLICATION?

The plot thickens on this one. I have some great readers that follow this blog, some with a keen sense of observation. I can't believe I missed this one, but after the "Pigs at the Trough" posting I received an e-mail telling me I should look into the listed owner of the property that the Chief Operating Officers fiancee' purchased during the tax lien auction. I did, and then I slapped myself in the head for missing this.

The property at that the COO's fiancée 's purchased was owned by ATFH Real Property , LLC. The delinquent taxes on the property listed were $105,413.29.

The initials ATFH jumped out at me. "ATF", not the Federal agency  but for American Tax Funding, the same company that the City of Hartford sells it delinquent tax liens to. Interesting that the fiancee' of the COO just happened to buy a lien from the same company that the City of Hartford sold it to.

To be sure I looked up ATFH REAL Property , LLC on the Secretary of the States website. BINGO!

Next I looked up American Tax Funding, the company that the COO  and the City of Hartford sell the delinquent tax liens to.
Coincidence that the two corporations share the same address in Jupiter Florida or are you starting to see the connection here.

So a quick recap here, The fiancee of the acting COO purchases a Tax Lien at the auction run by the City . The tax Lien that he purchased was in the sale because the Company that the City sold the liens to defaulted on their taxes and became a tax delinquent after foreclosing on the previous property owner and taking the property. Apparently after foreclosing and obtaining the property ATF Real property stopped paying the taxes due to the City of Hartford.

The company that is contracted to help the City of Hartford collect on delinquent taxes , then became a tax delinquent themselves while running up a delinquent tax bill of over $100,000. This is not the only property that ATFH owns in the City..

  Now also keep in mind that Saundra Kee-Borges currently wears several hats at City Hall. Two of those hats being those of Chief Operating Officer as well as Corporation Counsel, the attorney for the City of Hartford.

Even though they set up separate corporations, ATF and ATFH are clearly linked, even listing the ATFH properties for sale on the ATF website

One of the responsibilities of the Corporation Counsel is to monitor City contracts and to adhere to and enforce Hartford's municipal code. Section 2-571 of the Municipal Code requires the following 
Sec. 2-571. - Obligations of Persons or Candidates seeking a contract or purchase order with the City.permanent link to this piece of content
(A)
No Contract or purchase order, regardless of how procured, shall be awarded by the City to any Person or Candidate until it is determined that such Person, Candidate or affiliated entity has no delinquent taxes or other financial obligation owed to the City.
 
 If  Kee-Borges was paying attention to the code, ATF should have not been allowed to conduct business with the City of Hartford until their  property tax obligations were paid.
 
Who made the decision to ignore Hartford's Municipal code, might it have been either the Chief Operating Officer or the Corporation Counsel? And does it seem to be suspicious that  those decisions are now potentially benefiting  the decision makers  fiancee'?
 
I think there are some questions here that need to be addressed and answered, probably by an authority outside of and not related to Hartford City Hall.
 
This doesn't seem to reflect well on that Mayoral makeover.
 
And just to keep you coming back, this is not the end of the questionable real estate that the COO and her fiancee are being linked to. Keep reading

DISGRACEFUL

HEADSTONE AT A VETERANS GRAVE SITE IN HARTFORD SOLDIER'S FIELD PROPPED UP WITH 2X4'S
 
 
 It seems pretty obvious that very little supervision or accountability is going on in Hartford City government. Most of it we have just become accustomed to and seem to accept, but one thing that is inexcusable and I can't tolerate or accept is disrespecting our veteran's who have served and some have actually died for us.
 
I have received several calls about the condition of Hartford's cemeteries ,Northwood's and Soldiers Field in particular . Gravestones falling over. some, like the one above propped up with lumber, lawns not mowed, weeds overgrown. Totally disrespectful to the deceased buried there as well as their families and loved ones.
 
The veterans headstones don't look like they have been cleaned in ages and are filthy. It just disgusts me that no City official can drive through and find this unacceptable.
HARTFORD'S  SOLDIER'S FIELD
 
The sad part though is that if you drive three or four miles up I-91 to the Windsor veterans cemetery, the cemetery is maintained almost like Arlington National Cemetery. MY  father is buried there and I appreciate the condition. The lawns are always mowed , the monuments are upright and they are regularly pressure washed why does Hartford deserve or tolerate such disrespect. It is just not right and we deserve so much better for our veterans.
 
Something is seriously wrong when we maintain  rose gardens better than the final resting place for our veterans that have served our country


ABOVE-WINDSOR VETERANS CEMETERY, IN CASE ANYONE NEEDS TO KNOW HOW IT SHOULD LOOK, NOTICE THE LACK OF 2 X 4'S HOLDING THE MARKERS UP

Thursday, July 11, 2013

KEE-BORGES:"DID I DO SOMETHNG WRONG?"

Remember the posting last night quoting Richard Wareing ""We need to be less reactive and more proactive".

Well apparently today after the horse left the barn, Hartford's Acting Chief Operating Officer Saundra Kee-Borges reacted and decided to ask for an opinion from her Deputy L. John Van Norden. I am quite sure the opinion will be unbiased  and based in law.

At least one burning question has been answered in the request for the ethical opinion, Waller is her fiancee'. Maybe she might have wanted to ask if it was ethical to purchase rack of lamb and caviar at the taxpayers expense also.

From: Kee Borges, Saundra
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 3:00 PM
To: Van Norden, John L.
Subject: FW: Request for opinion

 

 

 

John, questions have been raised concerning the appropriateness of my fiancée Terry Waller bidding at the most recent tax deed sale. Specifically, Terry was the successful bidder on 2 pieces of property at that sale. In one case there others who also bid before it was determined that his bid was the highest. In the other, he was the only bidder after the property was made available for sale again in round two of the auction. There were no bidders for either property in round one of the auction.  An opinion by the Ethics Commission on whether it was a conflict or gave the appearance of a conflict for Terry to bid at that public auction given his relationship to me is requested. According to the tax Collector, the whole procedure was overseen and conducted by an outside entity named Taxserv. Thank you

 

Saundra Kee Borges
 
Why wasn't this asked before the bids were made. I guess that would just make too much sense. But before you say this sounds legit and are ready to giver her a pass, wait until you read tomorrow's posting and the follow-up on this.
 
Earlier toady, Mayor Segarra issued the following statement  regarding Kee-Borges and Waller's actions:
 
"Tax deed sales are public auctions marketed heavily by the City to encourage community investment and to return properties to the active tax rolls when collection efforts fail. The Mayor does not monitor the public auction process, city employees are not prohibited from bidding at these auctions, and anyone can bid or outbid each other for the purchase of the property. All details about the properties are public information, and made available on-line."

RESPONSIBILITY

I have thought about this posting for some time now and it may force me to consider how the blog continues to operate, but I am going to say some these that need to be said and try to explain a couple things.

As I approach almost a million hits on the blog, I continue to think back on why I started it in the first place. The preliminary reason was that it was eventually started as a clearing house of sorts for bad information coming out of City Hall. It was during the Eddie Perez investigation and the eventual Grand Jusy that I guess I started to gain a reputation as the "go to guy" if you wanted to get information out without putting your own neck on the line.

A local reporter, Len Besthoff, knew of my concerns to make sure I was protecting my sources. Len attended a seminar where they were told that Bloggers have apparently been determined to be legitimate journalist and come under shield laws. I still laugh every time someone considers me a journalist, but I do have my days. As far as protecting my sources, if Eddie Perez ever knew where much of the information was coming from, Hartford's unemployment rate would have jumped a couple of percentage points.

As the blog has grown, I can't help but realize that it has an impact. That is where the responsibility part comes in all the time. One of the tings Len , and others, taught me very early was to check and double check information an never trust anything from a single source. I think I have higher standards than many journalists who jump to take what they hear off a scanner or in line at Dunkin Donuts and run with it, only to be proven wrong later.

This blog has cost people their jobs, some have been arrested in part or totally because of information developed here .Some  careers have ended because of the blog,  and on the positive side, some careers have been enhanced or  saved because of it.

I have been threatened with law suits to remove postings, but if I know I am able to verify what I post, the truth would mean nothing if I caved in when someone  felt the heat.

The difficult part has been the comments, and I guess this is the main reason for this posting. Most people like reading my posts, but I know just as many people come here to read the comments. I think in some cases it is a form of therapy for some to post and take their shots. Sometimes those shots are at me, sometimes at their co-workers and in some cases it is almost the modern day version of the office suggestion box.

 You have something to say about HPD or City hall but you don't want the possible retaliation so throw it up on the blog as a comment and you know the word will get around. Whether it is junk cars behind the old Police Station or the need for an Internal Affairs investigation, commenter's know that if it posted here in the comment section, it will get noticed and something will most likely happen. The junk cars were removed within a day, and IAD investigations have been launched within minutes of being received recently.

The tough part is where to draw the line and be responsible. Believe it or not, some comments, such as those about HPD midnight shift supervisors are deleted more than they are put through. What's the point, after the first few, I am pretty confident  that the message is out to the Administration that there is a possible problem. If there is an issue there, constant jabs on a blog aren't going to correct it. It is out of my hands. It might be therapy for the co-workers, but there is some responsibility.

I was talking  to a frequent commenter today and we were discussing Mondays deal with the Kupiec  SUV deal. The  caller threw out a name of another HPD member who has had more than his fair share of negative comments on the blog. Some deserved, most probably not. I will be cryptic here, but anyone in the know will read between the lines.

So he threw out the name saying so and so "had to be involved". Wrong, or at least I feel comfortable saying wrong . "So and so" has I think become used to the backlash, but isn't shy about calling me when he thinks the comments are unfair, some have been removed to be fair, some have not.

Anyway, when he threw out the name, I asked him if he would be surprised  to know that Sgt ."so and so" had actually called me regarding a comment posted about Kupiec.  I.asked him if he would be surprised to know that phone records and text messages had already been voluntarily forwarded to me to prove that Sgt "so and so" was not involved and made no calls or notifications before, during or after the incident.. It was all voluntary and I told him it was not necessary, but he felt that it was important to prove his point.

But in all candor, I told Sgt. "so and so" that he created a lot of his own problems by his associations and that sometimes the perception of impropriety was almost as bad as the actual impropriety itself and it might make sense  to reconsider putting yourself in the situation  where the perception could be allowed to exist or form in the first place.

It is not always what it seems, and after I explained Sgt "so and so" actions, he said "you need to put that on the blog". I agree. It's called responsibility.