The Port Orange City Council is Imploding
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from Hank Springer: ….
I feel it is necessary to give my readers an in depth report of the June 24, 2014 Port Orange City Council.
I sense that the administration of Port Orange City functions is at a turning point and the future of Port Orange City Politics and elected officials will be determined with how the present crises is handled.
I sense a growing disappointment among City Council members with the leadership of Greg Kisela. I will present video on my web site of specific remarks made by city council members. I think all thought Mr. Kisela would provide the leadership to initiate reform in city governmental operations when he replaced Ken Parker who left a ton of problems for Mr. Kisela. It is becoming clear that Mr. Kisela had not provided substantial reform to affect departmental heads and supervisors; the same problem which Ken Parker apparently was unaware had been present during his administration. I feel sure that Mr. Kisela probably regrets taking the job as city manager of Port Orange and probably would like to leave this city with all the blogs, criticism, activists, and a few members of the city council who don’t care to be “team members” of a sinking ship. I think Mr. Kisela’s days as city manager of Port Orange are numbered.
I think it is a mistake for the City Manager of Port Orange to assume the responsibilities of the Public Utilities Director who last week resigned. City hall is still in a crises mode and I think it would be better for Mr. Kisela to appoint a Utility supervisor interim director even if it meant that the interim director was in immediate contact with Mr. Kisela 50 percent of the time. More than ever, the city of Port Orange needs a full time city manager.
In my humble opinion, when Mr. Kisela first started as city manager of Port Orange, he should have assigned to the city manager’s office, one or two personnel who would have assisted him in learning about the problems to be fixed, and who would be able to be out in the field, representing Mr. Kisela, making sure that new policies and procedures were being put in place, understood, and followed.
Perhaps Mr. Kisela was unaware of the culture of problems he was inheriting, and did not expect new problems to develop. But the reality is that some of the old problems remain, and new ones keep popping up.
Perhaps Mr. Kisela was unaware of the culture of problems he was inheriting, and did not expect new problems to develop. But the reality is that some of the old problems remain, and new ones keep popping up.
The council meeting tonight I think was an historic session. From those citizens who came up to the dais to speak to the city council, and from city council members, practically all areas of concern and discontent were voiced. — transparency, the financial books, meeting behind closed doors, ridicule of city people, employees leaving because of blogs, contracts with outside lawn services, the report on the cost of city workers cutting the grass, the chairman attempting to silence a city council member by telling him “that’s enough” because he was the chairman, the asking of fellow city council members what should be done about the progress they don’t seem to be making, and a final item in the session about legal action or a contract, or an administrative code? which might cost the city millions of dollars, and when a citizen asked what that was all about, and whether it had to do with a pond, water, or what, the city manager replied, “It does and it doesn’t”. Or did he say “It is and it isn’t”. I can be sure when I review my DVR and present that segment to my readers.
Some months ago, on a Friday when Mr. Kisela fired, or had a director resign, I had the pleasure to break Bread with Mr. Kisela as we enjoyed some Olive Garden food. I remember Mr. Kisela said that direction to a city manager has to come from the city council. Perhaps that is what went wrong with Mr. Kisela’s leadership. I would guess that all thought it was the city manager’s job to reform operations and working standards in City Hall. This is he has not done and I do not think he is capable of doing
For the next few days I will be spending time reporting to you and commenting on segments of this June 24 2014 city council meeting. I will have to turn my police scanners off and there will be no radio logs until I finish my work in reporting the city council meeting and presenting video of certain segments.
More to come, tomorrow, Wed. 6 24 14. I will try to be mild in my reporting. I have heard that I am known as”Hank the Shank”. Lol, I have been called worse.
Posted www.popdradiolog.com 10:54:47 PM June 24, 2014
If you want to comment send your comment for publication to poimages@outlook.com
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Hank; You may be wrong! … Let Greg Kisela continue to be Acting Utilities Director permanently and let the council recruit a new City Manager.
Why in the world would you wish him on those poor souls from public utilities. That’s what the city does now in demoting incompetents for a 5% pay reduction and pay them well above the top out pay of the position they are being demoted to instead of rewarding someone who does outstanding work within the organization and giving them a chance to advance. They were going to do that with the assistant utilities director if he survives this debacle by demoting him down a level to a position he can’t even perform competently and destroying their own career path and successorship plan. They recently did this to one of the assistant city managers and created a hybrid position out of Human Resources and I.T. paying this person their $125,000 salary which is $40,000 more than the previous director as a retirement linchpin to get two more years to 25 year retirement vestment. This is an administrator with absolutely no experience in information technology or human resources. This is another one of the Lifesavers grand management decisions. I guess its screw the taxpayer and screw the elected officials for the lifesaver and his boss Allen Green.
Yes anonymous. You have a point there — the “Peter Principle”.
Hank,
The Mayor is powerless to an honest council. He is nothing more than a commissioner at large. Unfortunately old friendships and loyalties still exist. This makes him very large. Soon District 4 will take a change. District 2 unfortunately will not. This zone has been represented by a philosopher that just talks a lot and rolls with the punches. As long as District 1 remains unchanged I think we will finally see the progressive changes we need to move our City forward. Any change in district 4 will make more positive changes instead of the existing status quo. You were correct in earlier stating that changes in government were coming. We sure need one and I can’t wait. The glass is half full. Right???
This is no longer mayor Allen Greens southern plantation as depicted on POG TV with a trip down memory lane. This is a bedroom community of over 60,000 people that has evolved exponentially in the last decade with an emergent new identity that deserves a new paradigm. Allen Green needs to retire and grow his grapes, make his wine, spay his stray cats, and change his depends. He and his son need to stay out of politics and stay away from any business interests in Riverwalk. By the mayors senile antics and delusional comportment at the city council meeting last night he will probably be in adult diapers and eating mush through a straw before the next decade.