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Friday, October 10, 2014

CAN PEDRO DO ANYTHING RIGHT? ANOTHER BAD AUDIT

I guess some people just aren't cut out to manage anything. It becomes clearer everyday that Pedro Segarra is one of them.

The Hallmark of Segarra's administration has been his high turnover and lack of stability in the leadership of his Department Heads. Police, Fire, DPW MHIS have all seen the revolving door of "Acting Department Heads" and the list goes on.

Who in their right mind would move into the City to become a Department Head under Segarra and inherit the messes both he and SKB have created?

This has resulted in no tone being set for the Administration and resulted in the City being a free for all. There has been very little discipline resulting from many serious chronic problems including drug and alcohol use by employees, serious policy violations and abuses, including credit card misuse.

And now another bad audit of DPW operations. Including questions about thousands of gallons of gasoline unaccounted for and the lack of electronic security safeguards over the system.
 
I guess nothing will change until some real leadership arrives at City Hall, or until Segarra and his flunkies resign.

THE DPW AUDIT


Wednesday, October 8, 2014

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

I love using this picture, it is about as phony as the leadership of this City
 
 
It might be interesting to ask how Mayor Segarra and his staff think they can manage a baseball operation when nothing else seems to function properly. The report below is just one more example of a City spiraling out of control with no management or leadership.
 
Wouldn't it make more sense using City funds to shore up City Departments that are falling apart due to a lack of funding before throwing money at a baseball stadium?
 
Read the report below, it pretty much speaks for itself. After reading it, ask yourself "is it any wonder we can't attract reasonable economic development with this kind of "leadership"?

HPD DEPUTY CHIEF SUSPENDED OVER RACIST AND SEXUAL COMMENTS

The Internal Affairs Investigation is complete and now comes the discipline. The investigation ordered by Hartford Police Chief James Rovella. It began after complaints by HPD officers related to complaints against Deputy Chief Robert Ford that the officers felt were racist in origin. The investigation also developed information related to sexually inflammatory  comments that Ford admitted to making.

Once the investigation was completed, it confirmed the behavior that the officers alleged. The entire report can be read below. The report upheld that Fords behavior was a violation of the Departments Code of Conduct. Under the code, the punishment could be nothing , up to a maximum five day suspension. Apparently due to the severity of the actions, Ford was given the maximum punishment of a five day suspension.

It is somewhat uncommon for a member of the command staff to receive a suspension . Ford's disciplinary paperwork and his admission to the behavior are below.

These documents were obtained pursuant to an FOI request made to HPD

UPDATE:  Chief Rovella's Letter of Discipline was left out of the original scan, here it is below



THE FORD INTERNAL AFFAIRS REPORT

DEPUTY CHIEF FORD DISCIPLINE REPORTS

PLEASE....OUT OF RESPECT

Normally I encourage your comments and in most cases welcome them.

Out of respect for the tragic death of Firefighter Kevin Bell and his family as well as the other firefighters injured last night, I would ask that you refrain from comments regarding HFD or  its "leaders".

If you sent a comment this morning and are wondering why they aren't being posted, I am holding them back. Let's get through the grieving process and show our respect for our first responders. Including our firefighters , police officers and EMT's who worked so valiantly as a team yesterday to save a life. To the EMT's who worked over an hour and a half trying to revive Firefighter Bell, to HPD who blocked intersections along the ambulance route to Saint Francis to facilitate a quick response to the trauma center and foremost to Firefighters who were in a building that most of us would have run from.

Yes, there are problems  but now is not the time to focus on them. Let the investigation proceed and see what the results are. If changes need to be made , so be it, but in the meantime , respect the brave first responders that our on our streets for us day in and day out.

I will save any information I receive and post it at the appropriate time in the future.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

WHERE ARE THE REPORTS?

With the Bond Rating dropping, tax collections unaccounted for now for several months , how can the City really know what its financial position is?

 And where is the Council on any of these issues? By Charter, the quarterly financial reports should have been submitted to the Council at their first meeting in September. One City Hall source says the reports aren't even done yet and definitely have not been submitted as the Charter requires. This should raise a red flag for the Council and they should be demanding these reports immediately. But in true Council fashion... nothing.

We need a government that functions and is accountable. Otherwise we might as well throw the City Charter out and continue in the direction we are going

IS A BASEBALL STADIUM REALLY THE SPARK THAT HARTFORD NEEDS?

As I watch more of the "process" for this baseball stadium, I keep asking myself if this is really the spark that is going to get Hartford moving ahead?

As much as I would hope that it could be, I think it has only gone to reinforce the image that Hartford is a City of fools, run by fools. Nothing about this project has gone smooth  or been presented well. The busway was rolled out smoother than this single, much simpler project . Hartford's Economic Development people were born too late, they probably would have had great futures launching the Edsel.

I think this project was doomed from the start due to the secrecy and lack of information supplied to the populace. The second launch after the original outcry wasn't much better, still no facts, very little financial detail. Just more of the "trust me" from a Mayor whose trustworthy ratings aren't riding too high right about now.

I just keep wondering what will really spark  economic development in Hartford. I don't believe it is stealing a baseball team from one of our neighboring suburb. I really do think that a properly run City Government would draw more attention from developers and business people than any baseball stadium.Wouldn't it be great to hear business leaders saying "we want to be in Hartford, it is so well managed , and it is the place for us to be"

Wouldn't it be nice to hear a developer announce that they are coming to Hartford because they believe in the potential and think Hartford is moving in the right direction. They see the fiscal responsibility at City Hall and want to be part of the growth. Not because a broke City is willing to throw $65million dollars at the feet of greedy developers to buy their love for the City ( I know the $65 million figure has been changed, but can anyone supply real  numbers for the project)

I look at a smaller town like Middletown, that is vibrant and seems to have no problem with Economic Development. Their Main Street is busy and I don't think we hear too much of the bickering and nonsense coming out of Hartford coming from Middletown.

These things make a difference. What developer wants to take a risk on a City like Hartford where more energy is put into corrupt activity like scheming to hand pick an Assistant Fire Chief, who just happens to be sleeping with a City Official. And a Mayor that is willing to put his New Year's Eve Dinner and his caviar on his City Credit Card probably won't impress a hardworking developer that understands the meaning of hard work and proper management to get ahead.

I think if Hartford got its act together and began using basic management skills, that would impress more for the potential of actual Economic Development than gambling on a baseball stadium whose future and potential is sketchy at best. If you really want to gamble , head to Ledyard , not Hartford, our track record isn't the best.