Incompetence or Undisciplined ? | You Decide !
.to: Theresa Gutierrez, City Clerks office
Hi Theresa
I am deeply troubled and perplexed that our IT staff either refuses or is clueless on how to download the Citizen Connection database files into simple readable comma delimited or fixed field ASCII text file.
Until the IT department decides to comply or are persuaded to do so by city management, it appears that the city clerks office will have no viable way to redact any sensitive information that may exist from the file and my FOIA request will have to go uncompleted .
Readable (simple English) fixed format ASCII data files, or CSV files are used in all professional IT departments because its usefulness in passing data between colleagues and programs. In addition, they are a prudent way for the city to archive your data for future use, as they are not dependent on changes in computer architecture or the fate of a particular software package.
It is very troubling to hear that our IT personnel do not know how to do this task and shakes my confidence in their competency. If on the other hand they are just refusing to comply with FOIA, shame on the city administration for letting this occur and continue.
.
Theresa, thanks for your efforts;
Pat
Gutierrez, Theresa via bounce.secureserver.net
8:49 AM (23 hours ago)
to Pat, Robin
Mr. Nelan,
Sorry for the delayed response on Friday. I was out of the office. Please see the response below from our IT Manager, James Hicks. Attached is a glimpse of the CSV file that IT provided to me. Is this more of what you are looking for?
“Robin,
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from: James Hicks
I will provide a CSV file as he requests, however it will not be any more user friendly for you to look at and redact.
I’m assuming he might have access to SQL and that is why he is requesting the CSV file so that he can import it directly into SQL and query it as he wishes. But the fact remains the same – the data must be reviewed and redacted as appropriate prior to providing it to him.
I have attached the CSV file to this email.
James”
Thanks,
Theresa
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—–Original Message—–
From: port.orange.us@gmail.com [mailto:port.orange.us@gmail.com] On Behalf Of
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2015 11:28 AM
To: Gutierrez, Theresa
Subject: Citizen Connection Dataset
Hi Theresa
The snippet of data you provided within your recent email appears to be part of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet formatted file with some improperly truncated fields belonging to the Citizen Connection program. So it comes as no surprise that you are having difficulty reading that file.
There is no way that the Citizen Connection program is using an Excel spreadsheet to store its alphanumeric dataset. Service desk type programs normally use some type of SQL database server to store its data.
Excel excels with numerical data but not alphanumeric data, its storage and the many permutations of analysis you might require to uncover any patterns, trends or misnomers in numeric data. Also, Excel is a superb tool when utilizing a few numeric spreadsheets at a time, but when you begin to scale up the size of your numeric data, for instance with a government dataset, Excel begins to creak under the strain. Nevertheless, the Citizen Connection files are alphameric and not numeric thus must be using a MSQ type server for storage
At this time I have no reason to believe anyone in the IT office is purposely trying to obfuscate the data to make your task of redacting any confidential info more difficult and time consuming and my task of importing the file more cumbersome. Perhaps that file originated from an intern in the IT office with shallow experience that may need a little more re-training on importing and exporting databases.
Kindly inform me of what type of database server the city is using to store the Citizen Connection data, and I will gladly forward the city a step by step instruction on how to export those files to a comma delimited CSV file format for easy reading by your office.
Thanks for your efforts;
Pat
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On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 3:53 PM, Gutierrez, Theresa <tgutierrez@port-orange.org> wrote:
> Good afternoon Mr. Nolan,
>
>
>
> I have received your records request in regards to the database for
> Citizen Connection. In reviewing the report pulled from out IT Dept.,
> it will take more than 5 + hours to redact. This report is very
> difficult to read. I have attached the first 10 inputs of the report.
> Unfortunately, this is not a very “user friendly” report (but the only
> one we can pull). Please let me know if you would still like to
> continue with this request. My contact information is listed below.
>
>
>
> Theresa Gutierrez
>
> City Clerk’s Office
>
> City of Port Orange
>
> 1000 City Center Circle
I have discussed your concerns with the IT Manager and his Director. The record provided is the only record we have and has been provided to the Clerk’s Office in the format it is stored in by the City’s IT Department. If you would like Theresa to continue redacting the database, please let us know. Otherwise, we can return your check if you wish to cancel the request.
Thank you,
Robin
ROBIN L. FENWICK, CMC
CITY CLERK
CITY OF PORT ORANGE
The easy answer is no. The longer version is she has been a cover up and whitewashing artist for Allen Green, Ken Parker, Greg Kisela. and now David Harden. She has been rewarded with a job she is not qualified for because of her successes at obfuscating information from the public, covering things up for the mayor & manager, scapegoating & blacklisting employees, and overall whitewashing for the political stratosphere, the administrative elite, and special interest.
Truer words were never spoke. Donna has zero qualifications or experience to head up IT, HR or RM. Everyone and especially Council knows this and yet they have sat there and said and done nothing since the Parker implosion of 2012 to rectify any of the known problems facing Port Orange. Shame on each and every one of them.
When you have a senile old man as the CM, a vindictive incompetent witch as his right hand technical support, and a corrupt mayor that sets their white washing cover up agenda the city will never be righted until they are down the road.
EZ answer is who is the IT director ? Does this person indeed possess the qualifications to be an IT director ?
Tron’s answer above was supposed to be a reply to concerned citizen.
If Allen Green and Donna Steinbach were gone and we were able to get a decent city manager who believed in transparency and was employee oriented maybe, just maybe things could be turned around within the city. I have little hope that these things will happen in the near future.
Is Donna Steinbach still employed with the city?
Yes and she is now called Gravel Gertie!
“Employed” is the proper adjective. That’s about it in a nutshell.
Speaking of Incompetent Lake Helen looks to hire new city administrator after string of resignations The city had narrowed down a list of applicants to just two as of December: Jason Yarborough, who has served as interim city administrator since Cichon’s departure and is the former city manager of Groveland, a small town in Lake County; and Adam Mengel, planning director for Flagler County and former planning director in Palatka.
The infamous Tiny Yarborough!
Are they crazy in Lake Helen ?
Guess they don’t do a thorough background check on applicants.
Just as Port Orange didn’t do a thorough background check on either him OR Kisela.
I know people who work for Lake Helen who say Yarbrough is running rough shard over employees and firing people left and right. If Lake Helen makes the mistake of appointing him C/M….watch out Gargantua at large.
He will need an extended lunch break each day to travel back and forth to the nearest Golden Corral Buffet. Maybe he can drive over to Port Orange and have lunch with Peg Leg occasionally.