Another financial blunder!

What about keeping the recruits in the academy a extra two week because he could make the ceremony to swear them in. So lets pay the recruits for two more weeks for them to do nothing productive.

Paul, as if you need more ammo...

From Ed Springston's Blog site (springston.blogspot.com)

Friday, February 19, 2010

ABRAMSON AND SCHARDEIN PULLING THE WOOL OVER KENTUCKIANS EYES

Many of you may recall my report on HB 221 on the MyViewMatters radio show last week concerning a proposed regional wastewater commission currently being filed as HB 221 in Frankfort. I went on about how the STOP IT guys President Ray Pierce and OPS Manager Paul Holliger went to Frankfort and kept it from getting out of committee.

Well the situation has drastically changed. HB 221 was supposed to be revisited NEXT Wednesday February 24 and amazingly it got shoved up to this Wednesday February 17 with no notice. Thank goodness the STOP IT boys paid attention and showed up "just in case."

Except this time there was no allowed discussion. The issue was already decided. The "fix" was in! (Gee I wonder why.)

HB 221 was pushed out of committee and sent to the floor where it is being debated today. It also has one missing element in it. One of the original counties has decided (and I might add WISELY) to get out of this MSD bailout plan. Shelby County has decided NOT to be a part of this plan. Good for them. They apparently could see the writing on the wall and that this was just another way for Abramson and Herbert "Bud" Schardein to fund their mismanagement over the years by being bailed out by the rest of the State at large.

The Louisville MSD no doubt needs help. I have reported on MSD issues throughout this website for some time including how it will be the financial ruin of Jefferson County:

Louisville News and Politics: MSD: DISASTER LOOMING?

Louisville News and Politics: MSD: THE COMPARISON CONTINUES

Louisville News and Politics: ABRAMSON AND MSD: WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH?

It is important to remember facts here as this potentially affects the 6 other Kentucky counties and their way of life.

HB221 is going to create a regional wastewater commission that will have the following powers: Eminent domain, Unregulated rate increases, and the power to take on debt that we repay without oversight. Current Mayor Jerry Abramson will be the one in charge to set up this commission because Louisville has the biggest population involved.

That is one major problem. Abramson has mismanaged Louisville's MSD into near bankruptcy and now will do the same to the rest of the State especially if elected as Lt. Governor. This proposal is just one example of why he wants to be Lt. Gov. and one example of why he should not be elected.

Abramson appoints literally every board member in Louisville including MSD Director Herbert "Bud" Schardein who admits he has been working on this Regional Wastewater proposal plan for at least 3 years. Why would he need this plan? To cover the losses he and Abramson put on us all thanks to the EPA consent decree they agreed to that has forced us into near insolvency.

The mismanagement of MSD is solely the responsibility of Herbert "Bud" Schardein and Jerry Abramson. This has been a known problem since at least 2004. It is a problem he chose to ignore at the expense of the citizens of Louisville and now wants to mismanage at the State level. Herbert "Bud" Schardein and Jerry Abramson have done nothing to work towards a plan to fix it. Well they have worked for this "regional" plan for 3 years apparently according to Mr. Schardein's own statements. A plan that makes someone else pay for their mismanagement as usual.

As this bill is currently worded, HB 221 also (apparently) allows money to be moved from one area of commission members to another without any oversight approval.

For example Hardin County money can be moved to Jefferson County to cover their debt whatever the commission decides and vice versa. It is obvious that we in Jefferson County have no money to move back and forth so we will be the only beneficiary. We must be honest about that upfront. Don't try to hide and lie to the people of the other counties of Hardin, Meade, Bullitt, Spencer, Oldham, Jefferson, and Nelson.

With MSD's current debt service of $2.7 billion dollars, and another $1.6 Billion on the way thanks to the Herbert "Bud" Schardein negotiated EPA consent decree, that total will rise to approximately $4.3 Billion in the next couple of years.

This is not acceptable at any level. You can read why here:

Louisville News and Politics: JEFFERSON COUNTY MAYOR CONVICTED ON CORRUPTION AND FRAUD CHARGES OVER MULTI BILLION DOLLAR SEWE...

And therein lies a HUGE reason why this plan cannot be trusted nor why it should be approved.

There has been no transparency or oversight when it comes to MSD in Louisville to date. Rate increases that are rubber stamped with absolutely no accountability for spending. We do not need to use this same old mindset on the rest of the State when they are suffering as well.

Without oversight by the PSC this plan will run amok as well. You can count on it as Abramson has proven time and time again through the years he does not want accountability for fear of what will be found. MSD, with Abramson approval, has nearly bankrupted us and this plan will do the same to anyone else involved.

Of course the lackey's are already on board trying to circumvent any oversight.

Larry Clark (D-Jefferson Co.), Linda Belcher (D-Bullitt Co.), and Steve Riggs (D-Jefferson Co.) I am told are staunchly opposed to the having the Kentucky Public Service Commission regulate and oversee this Regional Wastewater commission. This really is no surprise either as all have a reputation of being against anything that may hold them accountable.

While HB 221 would definitely benefit Louisville because of our ability to use other Counties monies, it is not good for the 6 counties that will be involved. I love Louisville and want us to move ahead but I cannot support a bill that will hurt others, as well as ourselves, in our quest to do so.

Call your Representative now and get involved.

Our future may well depend on it.

Your thoughts?

If a Republican mayor had made these blunders and wasted tens of millions of dollars the media would be calling for his lynching, but they turn their heads and kiss his butt. Hey Louisville media, you guys are pathetic jokes! Not to mention balless and spineless. Why don't you go and do another "hard hitting" story on some dispatcher that was seen doing needle point at work or some cop that poured a cup of coffee out in a parking lot or something else exciting. Gee, wow, you guys will really make it to "network" with these kind of earth shattering stories.

Yeah I would love to know where the news story on this is?! Oh let's not make the queen look bad, he doesn't work in public safety!

Let's lay people off or cut budgets everywhere but let's make sure all the majors and up have another new car. I have lost count on how many new cars the chief has had in his time here. How many miles are on these cars before he either turns them in or gives them away? Why do majors and the PIO's need explorers to drive? Don't give me the line about they need to get to the division if there is an emergency............how do the officers with the crown vics do it?

We need to raise money but the city continues to loose money on many derby events but they won't close them down. Everybody can remember when there was a Chow Wagon in nearly every part of town and how successful they were. Now there is only one and it is downtown where it has to be losing big money.

Interestingly enough, if you take each one of the many decisions he has made as Mayor over the years and break them down you will discover exactly how many of them where made on his whims alone.

When term limits and transparency rules were taken to Frankfort last year in order to amend the Metro Government rules of how they do business, Council President David Tandy the puppet of Jerry Abramson and the star child of the Courier-Journal went to Frankfort and behind closed doors was able to get this bill killed.

Remember that the Courier-Journal is pushing for David Tandy as the next Mayor.

I can truly forsee that when a new Mayor is elected that isn't sleeping with wither Jerry or the Editors of the CJ, that we will one day see the depths of the graft and corruption that Abramson has perpetrated on this community for years.

"The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing."

Ben Okri

"The kids are turned off from politics, they say. Most of 'em don't even want to hear about it. All they want to do these days is lie around on waterbeds and smoke that goddamn marrywanna… yeah, and just between you and me Fred thats probably all for the best"

Hunter S. Thompson

Corrupt politicians give the other 5 % a bad name.

Ok, ok. Let us start with what we know. After all that is how we can bring cases to the Gand Jury, correct? Let's start with our house. Let us get it in order.

* The chief used "Public Relations" money at the beginning of this nightmare for an unaccountable spending spree.

* Members of the Chiefs staff, to include the Chief and newly promoted Lt. Col. Gentry, have had defined personal "associations"/"relationships" with known felons - a direct violation of of SOP. (Can anyone say BOWLING TEAM)

* The command staff has repeatedly "hidden" concerns about certain officers, such as Jackie Hollingsworth et.al. There is even a strong rumor that a certain officert was convicted in Federal Court under a "sealed" case - whatever the f$%^ that means and that the senior command staff is aware and has tolerated this.

* No Major has been held accountable in "COMSTAT", with the only demotion having been a guy that loved the troops and the troops love him - IT WAS NOT FOR STATS AND FAILURE TO PRODUCE.

* The expenditures of our agency on foolish purchases (such as i-leads) when other cheaper or free alternatives were available (KYOPS).

* Major Ozzy Gibson's apparent inability to see a stat he can't tweak. (i.e. reclassified assaults and other crimes, etc)

* The repeated violations of contract (thus civil law) by the command staff which will cost the tax payers LONG after the command staff is gone.

A long time ago, I listened to this chief when he spoke at training. He spoke about good management. I knew then we had a problem. He is a manager. Not a leader. We serve in a paramilitary organization, meaning it is VERY loosely modeled after the military styled police structure created by Sir Robert Peale so many years ago. Thus we, "the troops" crave leadership. We want to know that when we go, our bosses go. We want to know they can do what we do. We NEED that which we so lack right now.

The problem with management is that without leadership you lose the hearts of the people you manage. When you lose the peoples hearts, you lose their "buy in" to a system. When you lose their "buy in" the no longer feel like the own any part of the system (by "own" I mean share the responsibility. This leads to the perceived need for MICRO managing, which in turn makes the problems worse. In the end all you need is leadership.

I will obey the orders of the CO who is a manager, because I have to; however I will GLADLY follow any CO that proves to me he/she is a leader. I can still remember those people on this agency who were leaders, and I know there still remain a few who are hidden away in what ever dark closet that can be found for them. And those few are mostly the poor ******* sergeants having to "mitigate" the damage from above. To them, I say thank you.

For God's sake please give us some leadership!

www.louisvilleky.gov/salarylookup

The amount of $17, 743.20 is under the "other" category. Wonder what is under other for an assistant??

Johnstone, Richard /Mayor's Office /Special Assistant / $90,532.00/ $76,812.66 /$0.00 $0.00 /$17,743.20 /$94,555.86

Let us not forget that the person in charge of the union who represented the vast majority of the employees who were forced into taking furlough days is now an employee of metro government, in a management position with a take home vehicle. He readily agreed to all the concessions that the mayor asked for failing to represent the people who paid him and in what appears to be another closed door deal got a job with the city to repay him. As a leader of a union he failed to notice that many of his members had contracts or agreements that gave them a specific salary which meant that they could not be forced to take unpaid days. The largest areas of overtime went to EMS and Corrections which have mandated staffing levels and are already working at minimum numbers so surprise surprise surprise they had to pay overtime to cover the furlough time. To quote a well known poster on this forum "BAAAAAAAAACKS"!!!!!!!

Even though it ended up costing the taxpayers I am thankful that eventually all the Metro Employees received compensation due them because once again Abramson tried to screw over everyone. How about that secret deal with the Denny Norris who stabbed all of the teamster members in the back & was rewarded by Abramson giving him a cush job so he would have enough time to draw a pension.

The people of Louisville need to wake up and see what a fool and a crook Abramson has been for years. He is a spoiled child that uses our money as his own. When someone stands up to him he delays by dragging it though the legal system. Abramson is currently dragging his heals over the money he owes Police Officers. Remember the last time he did this...oh yeah it was the fire fighters and the finally settled at about 25 times what it could have been settled for back in the 90's.

Abramson..you are a thief and a liar. You owe me $1410.00 pay up you cheapskate!