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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

CIRCLING THE WAGONS- MORE ON THE AUDIT REPORT YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO SEE

 
A cart Path at Keney Park Golf Course, Where is American Golf? It never looked like this when they were the City's Vendor
 
 
The full court press was put on the Internal Audit Commission by City Hall  to not release the Keney Park Tree report. Below is the "opinion" written by Hartford's Deputy Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden in an attempt to keep the Audit report from Public scrutiny. His opinion didn't work.Van Norden seems to take offense with the Auditors using "legal terms" in their Audit report. Apparently that is a bad thing when it comes to laying out the facts. Instead maybe the Auditors should take a lesson from Van Norden in sugarcoating facts and rather than call the illegal removal of trees, call it a "Golf Course Tree Conversion Claim" as he calls it in his memo.

"Golf Course Tree Conversion Claim" does sound a lot better than saying a vendor defrauded the people of Hartford by removing assets, namely 275 Large red Oak trees probably worth hundreds of thousands of dollars . I can see why Van Norden doesn't want the report released since he and his bosses allowed the Letter of Credit that was required from MDM to protect the taxpayers of the City of Hartford in the case they defaulted , to expire. Van Norden and the Finance Director allowed the letter of credit to expire without any efforts to protect us from a lousy vendor. There is no financial recourse against MDM since they apparently have to assets available to attach,

Van Norden goes on to quote the City Code regarding the powers of the Audit Commission in his "opinion". If the fact that no one in City Government was paying enough attention to 275 large tress, one of the most valuable assets we have in our green spaces is not a City Government issue, I am not sure what is. It might also be an issue that apparently no legal action has been started to protect the City's interests from a vendor that has destroyed two valuable City assets. Are there any lawsuits or claims that have been filed by Van Norden, Kee-Borges or anyone else on the City's behalf to protect our interests? I can't find any.

Finally, Van Norden states that apparently the Auditors shouldn't focus on the law in their reports but should instead leave the legal analysis to the jurisdiction of the Corporation Counsel. Since the Corporation Counsel is or may very well be the focus of this audit as well as others, that might constitute a huge conflict of interest for Van Norden, to potentially sit in  judgement  of his own actions or that of his boss.

In the end, it is nothing more than a smokescreen to protect the Administration from another embarrassing misstep. On the positive side though, I think we are coming to just expect them now so it doesn't have the same shock effect

This opinion seems more negligent than any report the auditors could file.

And Mr. Van Norden, I know you are from out of town, but it is Keney, K-E-N-E-Y, not Kenny

Monday, September 23, 2013

MAYOR SEGARRA'S HUSBAND AND WEST END CIVIC ASSOCIATION WORKING TO SHUT DOWN WEST END FOOD PANTRY

 
Food Pantry recipients line up for the 11:00am opening last Wednesday
 
Some things just seem to defy any logical explanation in Hartford, this is one of them.

The Grace Seventh Day Adventist Church  is situated amongst some of Hartford's most expensive homes in the elite West End. It has been there since the 1940's operating as a church, nestled back from the Street on Prospect Avenue. Most people probably have never paid it any attention as they drive by gated homes  close to Elizabeth Park and the Governor's residence. The building is well kept , the landscaping well maintained.

Apparently at least one part of the Church ministry  though is  not a good fit with the gated homes.
 
 

The Segarra/Ortiz gated residence , above

One of the gated homes is owned by the husband of Hartford's Mayor, Charlie Ortiz and sits about 2 blocks from the Grace Food Pantry. The gated residence is also the home of Mayor Segarra. Other than traffic concerns, I am unsure what the actual complaints regarding the Pantry are. I went to the Pantry last Wednesday to observe the operation first hand.

The Pantry attracted roughly 150 people, some arriving by car, some walking, many took the bus to the closest bus stop and walked the final distance.

The alleged parking congestion that is disrupting the area

The parking was orderly on the east side of the street and traffic was monitored closely by volunteers with the Church. According to volunteers working at the Pantry, their Saturday services have more cars parked along the street than the Pantry does. The clientele was somewhat interesting to me. It was a mix of young and old, all races and it pointed out to me the number of people having a difficult time making ends meet in our City and around the region

 I have seen events at the Rose Gardens at Elizabeth Park and events at the Governor's residence, a block up the street cause more traffic problems

I spoke with quite a few of the people waiting in line. The stories of how they ended up there ran the full spectrum of explanations. There was the 70 year old woman whose husband had apparently been killed in an accident with a drunk driver last year. She now was finding it difficult to make ends meet without him and had just heard about the Pantry due to news coverage of the shutdown efforts.

There was a middle aged diabetic man who showed up walking with two canes to stand up. He had just had surgery on both feet to remove infections caused by his diabetes and needed the assistance of the pantry to be able to put food on his table.

There was a grandmother who stood in line to put some extra food on the table for her grandchildren. There were two other elderly women who walked the distance from their north end homes to get their food.

As I stood there watching people show up and their joy as they left with their bags or boxes or grocery carts stocked with food for the week I just kept thinking " but for the grace of God" that could be anyone of us. It could be anyone of those people living behind the wrought iron gated homes. It could be anyone of us that  gets injured  in an accident or is unable to work, It could be anyone of us that loses a job, It could be anyone of us  that  suffers a downturn in the stock market and sees their lifestyle change quickly.

Ortiz, Segarra's husband, told a recent meeting of City Officials that on one Wednesday he  observed food pantry traffic impeding an ambulance and a  a person in a wheelchair unable to use the sidewalk.  You can read more on this issue here

The other interesting piece was that any stereotypes you might have would quickly go out the window when you see the widespread need for assistance. There were all races, young and old, mothers with children, middle aged men, all just looking for a little help from a church that knows what it means to be a good neighbor.

No one was turned away, no one was asked where they live or how much they make. And everyone left with a smile that their burden to survive was lightened just a little bit by Brother Paul and the other volunteers. at Grace Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Can anyone explain to me how ministering to the needy is a bad thing. I would think that is exactly what a church's ministry is all about and definitely comes under their zoning use as a Church.

In one of the poorest cities in the country, with a Mayor that claims he was forced to live on the streets and was homeless himself, it just seems odd to me that any organization or individual  could possibly fight a food pantry that seems to have very little impact on the neighborhood in which it resides, other than feeding those in need once a week

SAVE THE DATE: AUDIT COMMISSION NEXT MEETING

In the last several months, Hartford's Internal Audit Commission has come to life. The Internal Auditors have done some great investigations and released some stunning reports on the operations or probably more appropriately the inefficiencies of Hartford City Hall and the Segarra Administration.

Although the Administration I am sure would prefer to muzzle the Commission, they are autonomous and don't answer to the Mayor or his Staff.

Take a look at the Agenda below for Wednesdays meeting. It should provide some good information and insight into what is happening inside City Hall


ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CONVICTED FELON ON PROBATION ARRESTED WITH A GUN BY HARTFORD'S SHOOTING TASK FORCE

 I always thought that probation was a way for criminals to show that they were getting their lives back on track. Apparently the opposite is true in Hartford. It seems to be a way that criminals can get out of prison early to get back on Hartford's streets to obtain new guns and start committing crimes against society once again.

This release is from HPD:


On the above date and time members of the Shooting Task Force were conducting surveillance in the area of 155 Edgewood Street in response to recent intelligence that individuals were arming themselves with illegal firearms in the area. STF members observed a party manipulating an object in his waistband, and when they approached to investigate, the individual fled north west through several back yards. STF members pursued the suspect and at one point the suspect drew a firearm from his waistband, pointed the weapon at a pursuing officer, and cocked the hammer on the weapon. The area was immediately flooded with additional STF members who ordered the suspect to the ground at gunpoint
 
DESCRIPTION OF UNKNOWN SUSPECTS / ARRESTED PARTY'S INFO. (If 18 years or older
 
The suspect, identified as Byron Williams D.O.B. 2/19/87, was taken into custody and the firearm, along
with narcotics (cocaine), were recovered from his person.
Williams was charged with the following violations:
1) Criminal Possession of a Firearm.
2) Carrying a Pistol without a permit.
3) Interfering with Police.
4) Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree.
5) Possession of Narcotics.
6) Possession within 1500 feet of a School.
Evidence:
1) Taurus PT940 .40 Caliber Pistol serial # SUK08454 containing nine .40 caliber ammunition rounds
2) One piece of knotted plastic containing a white powder substance (Cocaine)
*Note* Williams has a prior adult firearms conviction and is currently on probation for robbery charge
 
 

 

THE AUDIT REPORT YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO SEE

As recently as last Friday, the Segarra  Administration through its acting Chief  Operating Officer Saundra Kee-Borges and acting Corporation Counsel, L John van Norden were trying to block the release of the Audit report below. ( A lot of acting going on at City Hall, but no Emmy's)

Apparently Van Norden was advising the Audit Commission that they were opening the City up to liability and accusing the auditors of acting like lawyers and using legal terms in the report. The Corporation Counsel probably figures it is odd for the auditors to make conclusions in their report based on Connecticut Statutes , following the law is apparently a novel ides for those sitting inside City Hall.

This report is just another example of the incompetence and lack of accountability that has been the hallmark of Segarra's Administration. The lack of transparency by Segarra and those around him always seems to backfire on him and they just don't get it. I obtained the report through an FOI request to Hartford's Chief Auditor. Once the report was completed it became a public document and subject to public view, whether the COO or Corporation Counsel get that or not.

The City has begun labeling any document they don't want released as a "draft". Unfortunately, according to FOI, once a "draft starts getting e-mailed and circulated it is no longer legally a draft but rather a public document that can eventually be edited as needed.

The report outlines a strong disregard for the environment, and specifically Keney Park,  as it notes that several hundred large oak trees had been documented as being cut down and removed . Approximately 25 of those were required as the result of the October 2011 Halloween Storm.

Much of the tree removal appears to be illegal and in violation of Connecticut General; Statutes as neither the Hartford or the Windsor Tree Wardens gave permission for the work as required. Many of the trees cut were actually on the Windsor side of the Park, which straddles the town line . The report speaks for itself, but I have to ask, when is an outside agency going to begin looking at what is going on in this Administration

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

NUMEROUS DISCRIMINATION PROBLEMS IN SEGARRA ADMINISTRATION COMING TO LIGHT

Claims of discrimination by employees are apparently so bad that the Segarra Administration has been forced to hire an outside law firm to deal with them. Most of the claims posted below are self explanatory but paint a sad picture of leadership and management at City Hall.

The claims were difficult to obtain and the City of Hartford fought their release under an FOI request I submitted , claiming that their release would have a "chilling effect " on employees  filing such complaints. The effect might just be the opposite though as people read these complaints and realize the chilling effect that the actions of City officials may have on the budget  of the City of Hartford's taxpayers.

Settlements in discrimination cases sometimes come with hefty price tags if justified. The majority of the cases are coming out of the Department of Public Works and paint a real picture of dysfunction when it comes to employee relations. Others just appear to be adults acting like children and unable to get along.

Here is the City's original reply to my FOI request:

Mr. Brookman: 

The City of Hartford has a statutory obligation to maintain an environment free from illegal discrimination, and to that end seeks to encourage, rather than deter, the filing of internal complaints by employees alleging discriminatory treatment, hostile work environment, and the like.  The City of Hartford will not, therefore, be releasing complaints of discrimination that are currently undergoing investigation so as to avoid any potential chilling effect that disclosure of this sensitive information may have on reporting and the ability of the City to meet its federally mandated duty to investigate and respond to claims of discrimination.  The state legislature has recognized the importance of keeping complaints of discrimination confidential, see Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-83 (h), and the public policy reasons underlying that law also apply to internal complaints filed within the City of Hartford.
 
Attorney's at FOI actually had a different opinion when I contacted them for advice. They cited the case of Rocque vs FOI which applied to the City's denial. When Corporation Counsel was contacted  and informed of this, they reconsidered and agreed to provide me with the complaints, with the complaining employees names redacted.
 
As you read the complaints, many of you will immediately realize the complaints and probably figure out the complainants yourself.
 
For what we pay for salaries, shouldn't our managers be able to understand and avoid any potential discrimination claims. The first one is a former employee of Mayor Segarra's office who was suddenly transferred to DPW and almost immediately encountered problems right away, including the discovery of pornography  on her City computer

 There are many more, but this should get you started , the first one is very detailed and will most likely be a problem for the City to defend