Why Things are Not Improving in Port Orange Government

A Liability that must go.

Greg,
Your failure to adequately discipline  the  Public Works director for failing to comply with Florida law  until she was  exposed by citizen activists has gotten us into a fine kettle of fish.   Your tacit approval of Port Orange employees not following the law was amply demonstrated in the video Corey supplied this morning,  AND while I have every confidence Chief Monahan can and likely has disciplined the police officer  involved,  HOW EXACTLY is the Public Works director going to do likewise ..….when she  has been in violation of Florida Tag, License and Insurance  law herself for the past 9 months.
This absurdity has got to stop and we might as well start with your  half baked answer below that is totally inadequate.
Even if I were to consider  that your powers of observation are so deficient as to not notice Illinois tags on the car parked in the spot at public works marked M. Anderson in the  9 months you have been with the City,  AM I also to assume that all the rest of your staff including  the Assistant Manager,  Assistant Public works director,    Risk manager, HR director, Finance director, Comptroller, the police  and every other administrator who goes in and out of Public works have equally weak powers of observation. AND what  of the dozens of times Mary visited City Hall in her personal vehicle – no one noticed those Illinois tags on those occasions either ???
There is a word for your answer Greg,  and that word is preposterous.
The truth is that it was common knowledge that Mary didn’t change over her tag  and license,  and I do not know if it is worse for you personally to have known and taken no action,  OR TO be the last one to know.
At the heart of the issue however is the question that just won’t go away.   Are there any consequences, responsibility, or  accountability  for the actions of  Port Orange administrators ???
So absent any consequences  how is it you are condoning  Mary’s actions;     (1) She just didn’t understand the Florida law requiring drivers to have a valid Florida license and therefore can’t be faulted if she hasn’t been requiring Florida licenses be required  of newly hired Public works drivers,  or   (2)  She understands Florida law and has absolutely been ensuring that all Public works drivers have valid Florida  licenses but didn’t bother getting one herself because ______.     (3)  What she did was wrong but I don’t intend doing anything about it because after all  she is a Port Orange administrator.
Mary’s failure to comply with Florida law and obtain a Florida drivers license, auto tag and insurance   is juvenile beyond description.  At a minimum it would have been a complicating factor regarding her insurance coverage while operating City owned vehicles in the event of an accident,  AND such juvenile behavior  calls  into serious question her ability to fulfill the duties of Public Works Director …….. which in part requires that all public works employees operating City vehicles and equipment  have appropriately valid Florida driver licenses including some that require CDL’s
Her decision to purchase a residence west of f I 95 in NSB further calls into question her judgment and commitment to Port Orange. Aside from the obvious thumb in the eye of not supporting through her tax dollars the very community that pays her salary I have to ask if neither you or she view the position of Public Works  Director in terms of a response time in the event of a call out incident ???
Up until  2 weeks ago we only had your word to go on as to Mary’s competency  and all I ever heard you say was  ‘ Mary is strategic’ ………. Whatever the heck that means.
But since the Tuff Turf episode we have been able to judge her abilities  first hand,  and her abilities are lacking and by no measure even  remotely approximate the $124,720  she is costing taxpayers.  Outside of government-land and in the Port Orange community in particular  do you have insight  as to just how much talent can be purchased for  compensation of $124,720 ?   OR  sensitivity to the genuine outrage felt by hardworking taxpayers with the notion of paying a doofus  that kind of money on  their nickel ??
There is another concern here also and that is,  absent proof of which you have shown us none,   why should we accept your assurance that all is well in other departments,   when after 7 months on the job your Public works employees are incapable of  * locking yard gates and building doors, * basic communication, * fundamental equipment repair,  * cutting grass,  * treating long serving contractors with consideration and respect, and  * complying with multiple  Florida laws.
Employing any person with her demonstrated lack of abilities that are only exceeded by her demonstrated lack of respect for Florida law is an outrage,  and if you do not terminate  her over this latest incident then how long do you think it will be before Council decides to terminate you and start over with a new manager likely from the  private sector who will be rightfully outraged with what is passing  for competent government in Port Orange.
Greg, I supported and lobbied for you in the recent manager selection process,  and would tell you candidly that  if  you continue in your  unwillingness  to start cutting loose of the  baggage you have been attracting,  I am  fearful  of your being nicked  with  Ockham’s  razor as being    ‘just not right for Port Orange,’   as the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions as to why things are  not improving in Port Orange government.
 
Ted Noftall