The Greybeards Report- Episode #1

Deliberations from The Greybeards regarding Biscayne Park news.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!

 

Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUad1DdCOcQ&t=2s

 

 

Standing Watch, 

Milton Hunter

The Biscayne Parker

FAKE NEWS

This is the purpose this blog was created for. And that was to expose and combat BP Fake News. Because. Facts. Matter.

Please watch and listen here to the public’s comments during Tuesday’s monthly meeting: Starts @ 35:04 (hang in there- the audio goes in and out as our microphone problems have yet to be addressed)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwXJyrSmUs8

After watching… How would you rate your local government’s performance?

[ASIDE- for those unaware, this is the first time I ever recall hearing such damning language issued against a commission or administration coming from Bob Anderson and Dale Blanton.  Both whom I have known for over 20 years and have served this community for two decades and under many different commissions and administrations]

You know, it shouldn’t be a requirement for residents to follow up behind this commission and administration to correct their mistakes, deceptions and disinformation, but this is our reality under Tracy’s attempted fiefdom. A wise man once said “to not judge people by their words, but by their actions.” And their actions have been to sow division and spite with their unacceptable attitudes, lack of transparency and accountability.

Sadly, based on their actions…they have proven to be morally bankrupt and disinterested in the concerns from Village residents. You know, those who pay their salaries... but I digress.

“So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell: I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!
Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!...You've got to say, I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!” – Network 1976 film

There is so much to say about this meeting, but I’m drifting off point. Below is some information on our new attorneys billing practices (who by the way, billed the Village taxpayers for her job interview- I kid you not.)

Excerpts from an email Rox Ross sent to the commission (and others) on 8/24/19 regarding the increased legal billing fees and, what looks to be personal services provided to one commissioner.

“Since Rebecca Rodriguez became lead Village Attorney, services provided in communication and/or meeting with the Mayor alone come to 25.1 + hours / $4,352.50 (fee adjusted down for no-charge entries).  The amount does not include bundled entries where other tasks did not allow me to quantify the time spent with the Mayor alone.  The entries generally say re: legal matters without further detail.  I encourage you to compare GR’s to Herin’s and Hearn’s time entries, and I am certain that you will find few (if any) communications between the Herin/Hearn and the Mayor alone.  These are fees incurred by the Village that do not benefit the Manager in day-to-day operations, and do not benefit the rest of the Commission in its collective decision-making.  The Village Attorney is not the Mayor’s personal consultant, and the Village should not pay for such services.

By contrast, GR Village Attorneys’ communications with the Manager and Mayor come to 21 hours / $4,725; and, with Manager or staff (without the Mayor) only 4.7 hours / $990.”

So Tracy, you can stomp your feet and deny it all you want to, but the Facts speak for themselves. (1:47:47 on the video) And for readers here, the spreading of misinformation, the omission of information, or any other such conduct are all Charter violations that can result in being removed from office. I suggest for you to look it up as you clearly don’t understand the limitations of your role as a commissioner. And secondly, I for one am grateful that Rox is looking over your collective shoulders as she has already discovered many mistakes and abuses you missed…or chose to overlook for whatever reason. 

Next, to Betsy’s assertion, and to a lessor extend Will’s as well on Dan’s (um….stalled) agenda item for a discussion on a Change of Leadership and/or Vote of No Confidence in Tracy’s performance. (1:23:28 on video)  Betsy chided Dan that “facts, dates and examples” were lacking and that is totally baseless in the long view. Meaning, where have you both been during commission meetings this year where numerous detailed “facts, dates, and examples” of misconduct and abuses of office have been explained in great detail during Good and Welfare? It's already ALL on record and please don’t try to play semantics with us. You both clearly need to pay better attention to what is being stated and to start protecting the residents from these abuses as per the oath you both swore to. Better late than never is the best we can hope for.

(And by the way, the reason I stated that this item has been “stalled” was the commissions tactic (based on the attorneys suggestion) to wait for “an opinion” from the Attorney General that dates back for months now. Well, we all finally got that answer on Tuesday that the AG has, wait for it... “no opinion.” LOL! Imagine that! And to no surprise…as I and others came to this very conclusion when it first came up- let’s see what other skullduggery they come up with next…)

Lastly, a discussion of the recently approved Whistle Blower Protect Ordinance issued from Miami-Dade County. The prime sponsor was Commissioner Sally Heyman, along with five other MDC Commissioners. It was approved by a vote of 12-0 on the second reading.

As somewhere along the line our Village stopped including comments from residents during Good and Welfare in the minutes, we now only see “who spoke”….but not what they said. Another hit on transparency and good government practices, in my opinion. Anyway, those residents in favor of adopting this ordinance to better protect our employees were:

·         Bob Anderson- 20 year commissioner

·         Rox Ross- 8 year mayor and commissioner

·         Barbara Kuhl- chairperson and long term member of our P&P board

·         Janey Anderson- former member of the Code Compliance board

·         Chuck Ross- chairman of our Citizen Crime Watch

Here are the basic problems we face as I see them:

·         We have no PR department

·         We have no personal department

·         We have a manager that lacks experience in these matters

In other words, what do we have in place for our employees now to air their grievances or to report abuses? They could face retaliation/termination (after reporting) and have to pay for legal assistance to fight a wrongful termination lawsuit themselves. As I understand it, this plan would protect against both of these outcomes.  But, more study is needed on all fronts.

What we know is that all we do have in place is an inexperienced Village manager, and that concept is flawed as he/she serves at the will of the commission. What happens when the majority of the commission is also flawed and threatens the manager’s position if he/she doesn’t play along? What if the employees complain is about the manager? Awkward, right?  

Sorry, but that’s a clear conflict of interest and hits too close to home. We need to find a way to make this happen.

I found it amusing that Betsy and Tracy “agreed in principle- in sprit” yet argued about costs to the taxpayers wherein they both have no problem with the attorney fees being increased by $50K just to finish the fiscal year. And who other than the attorney benefits from this added expense to the taxpayers? Or, in problematic employees getting recent raises. Can you understand the concept of leverage here and who wields it? Or in funding Betsy’s projects no one wants or asked for at the taxpayers’ expense. That’s hypocritical and just phony people. But again, more to follow on this topic as it becomes more fleshed out. 

In short, free speech and discovery is hindering Tracy’s plan of authoritarian restriction and in her tyrannical approach of shutting down anyone who dares to speak up in the face of their oppressors.

“When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar. You’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say” -George R.R. Martin

“Censorship is the child of fear. Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself”- Potter-Stewart

Standing Watch, 

Milton Hunter

The Biscayne Parker

Amateur Hour 2.0- Krishan Manners Edition

 

Biscayne Park We Have a Problem…

Well, actually more than one- but this article is meant to focus on the root cause of most of our dysfunction.  And as we have now had 2.5 + years to observe the Krishan and Tracy Show, it is fair to conclude that it has been an abject failure. Now, as to the reasons why…

Neither of them has proven that they have any command or knowledge of municipal government rules and procedures, any understanding of professional ethics or in how to communicate and manage others. In other words, they both possess poor, underdeveloped people skills.

Month after month Rox Ross has attempted to educate and correct them, (within her allowable 3 minutes of time), while pointing out mistakes made on the most basic practices. These myriad of errors (just watch the monthly meetings when Rox is speaking) apparently don’t seem to be corrected or even acknowledged as they continue month after month. Because after all, Krishan and Tracy has never admitted to ANY mistakes as they fear it would be a sign of weakness. For me, their weakness lies not in addressing known blunders, but in the continuation of trying to divert and deflect the blame elsewhere.

Because, it’s easier to play the victim card don’t you know.

 
Excerpts from an email sent to the commission on 4/11/17:

"You are tasked to find the most qualified person to run our Village and to ultimately bring in someone with a proven background and leadership experience. This is a huge void in our community that needs to be addressed. Especially now due to the fact that the super majority of you also have no municipal government experience. And this is not an ideal situation we find ourselves in. Based on his employment record and overall lack of relevant government experience, I feel Krishan is simply not qualified for consideration as a permanent hire. I truly hope that you are not just looking for one who is malleable but rather, one who can lead by example and provide some much needed stability to the position."

As I couldn’t get his actual employment application to copy, here are excerpts from Krishan Manners  original 2013 application. [For anyone interested, I can forward you the complete application] Listed in descending order (information has not been verified)

[Education: BA in Political Science] Personal Reference- Heidi Shafran  

To review, Krishan was originally brought here by Heidi to serve as her assistant. Someone to have her back, to be her eyes and ears and someone to push her work onto. And this hire cost the Village taxpayers approx. $69,000.00 annually in both his salary and benefits. It was a hire moreover based on nepotism than in his relevant work experience. To review his original employment application positions in descending order. He was :

•                    A commissioned sales associate for a realtor. Reason for leaving "to obtain a non-commission based career."

 

•                    A volunteer for Wilton Manors Development Alliance/ No clear salary was listed on his application. Reason for leaving "to focus on a non-volunteer position."

•                    An owner of an advertisement and public relation agency- The Manners Group.  Salary: N/A (?) “Varied with clients.” Specializing in branding micro-businesses. Reason for leaving, moved to Florida.

•                  Director of Marketing/ Richmond Events, Inc. Responsible for their corporate brand in the US. Reason for leaving, to start The Manners Group.

•                    Manager, new business development/ Grey Worldwide Advertising. Scope of work, acquisition of new clients. Reason for leaving, to join Richmond Group

So, what do you see above that qualifies him as a City Manager? What I see from his last two positions is that of him wanting to escape from commission based employment. His work experience is basically based in sales and as a public relations liaison. As mentioned above, there is no relevant job experience in municipal government or related administrative services.

Since he left the Village, his work experience has been as a consultant tasked with the renovation of a retail/office building in Wilton Manors.

Ranking and Evaluations

In reviewing the spreadsheet from one member of the vetting board chosen to select a new Village Manager, a point system was assigned for each of the 23 applicants which covered education, relevant work experience, professional certifications, among other criteria. The point totals ranged from a low of zero (2) what were those two thinking ???) to a high score of 34 points.
   
Krishan’s score was 11 points. This ranked him 17th out of the 23 applicants. (which includes the two zero scores) And yet, he was selected anyway.  Why, and is this really the best we can do for our community?

*** 

And again for the umpteenth time, this is not personal (as few suggest- going back to that “deflect and divert” knee jerk thingy), this is not the action of clubbing a baby seal, this is simply exposing the cause and effect of hiring a person that lacks the required qualifications, backbone and experience we need for this position. 
  
Lack of Control and Accountability for Employees

Being that I’m located across the street from the log cabin, I see when our employees come and go, for the most part.  And what I see is little to no accountability on when employees actually show up for work. The code officer (more on her later) routinely shows up 1 to 1 ½ hour late and doesn’t always stay to make up for lost time. (I don’t know if she is being docked for missed hours or not) Others employees arrive 15 minutes or so late regularly yet leave at 5:00pm sharp. And I would be remiss not to mention that one shows up early to get a jump on the day before people start coming in or the phone starts ringing off the hook. And she’s a gem. But I credit her work ethic as an individual more than I do Krishan on this.

For as many agendas that are late and other issues we continuingly face, Krishan should be here on weekends catching up and working to create a system to stay on top of all of this. We are well past the time for endless excuses made for his shortcomings. As I'm prone to say, "he's fully formed," and as such isn't likely to progress further. And what we have in him simply isn't good enough. Krishan should have by now secured, or at the very least started his professional certification training as a City Manager, if indeed this meant anything more to him other than just another gig along the way.

Now for a moment on Christina in Code. Not only is she not in the field doing the job she was hired for, but earlier this week during her, um, “re-scheduled monthly meeting” I understand that she stormed out due to a conflict with residents… abruptly ending the meeting before any cases could be heard. Not only is this bush league and unprofessional, it is totally unacceptable. In any “real world” setting, this would be cause for immediate termination. To make matters even worse, one person flew in from out of State for this meeting, and I believe for the second time, only to be turned away. What possible excuse can we offer this man?  

Add to this that we were then (2017- Irma) and are now still unprepared for a hurricane, legal bills have shot through the roof since the hiring of Tracy’s new attorney (more on that in a future post), we are experiencing potential wasteful spending on unsupported unpopular projects (see Betsy Wise) even as the commission is under investigation by the Ethics Department... nothing is improving. 

*DEEP BREATH*....it boggles my mind. 
 
P.S. “But, I’ve got Tracy under control”

 

Standing Watch, 

Milton Hunter
The Biscayne Parker 

 

BP is going to the Dogs....um, make that Chickens

This week our infinitely moronic commission voted to allow residents to maintain livestock, i.e. backyard chickens due to some interpretation loophole found in the ADA regarding support animals. 

My question for those reading this is how would you feel living next door to a chicken coop housing multiple animals? Do you think this may affect property values, your quality of life, or the desirability of someone looking to buy into the Village? How about someone you’re looking to sell your house to?  

For these are the common sense questions this commission ignored.

The vote was 4-1 with Dan Samaria voting against. And of course Tracy didn’t recuse herself from voting as a “conflict of interest” due to her maintaining chickens (or have in the past) and as one who also requires an emotional support animal.

Background

The owner appeal before this commission on Regular Commission Meeting of June 04, 2019 to seek a special exception to chapter 3, article 1, sec 3.3 of the code of ordinances that states: The raising or maintaining of poultry, rabbits, pigeons, goats, cows, horses, pigs, white mice, or any grazing animal in the village shall be prohibited, however, the commission is authorized to grant special exception to this section subject to the imposition of special conditions upon showing and finding that they are not detrimental to environment. 
 

Proof was submitted to the commission (see below) confirming that chickens are considered a potential detriment to the environment, (CDC article and others) so that condition was met. This should have ended this request as there is no language in the code addressing any doctor’s note to be used as an exception, just the “finding that they are not detrimental to environment.”  

This was proven, but disregarded entirely.

 
Salmonella and Campylobacter are common public health hazards potentially associated with chicken contact. These bacteria are carried by healthy chickens and are communicable to people through direct contact, exposure to manure, or consumption of undercooked chicken and eggs. Intestinal bacteria from poultry can infect humans and cause urinary tract infections. The intestinal bacterium Enterococcus faecalis can transmit from chickens to humans, causing urinary tract infections. This discovery is yet another example of how emerging infectious diseases in humans often stem from animals.

More here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/backyard-chicken-poultry-flocks-human-health-risk-cdc-warns/

This code violation was submitted last November. The doctor’s note stating that the residents “support animal are backyard chickens” was dated 12/26/18 one month after the citation. However, the chickens had already been here for nearly one year before any doctor’s note was ever produced. Maybe it’s just me, but this whole thing looks like the resident just asked for the doctor's note (1 year later and after being reported) to support their decision to raise and maintain multiple chickens.    

 

From the code officer: “I cited this homeowner on November 26, 2018 (point of reference is they never came before the code board- MH) when you made me aware this existed.  However, the homeowner requested to apply for a Special Exception, which this request is allowed per our code. (Again, look at the exact language above- any “special exception” only pertains that they are not detrimental to the environment) This “special exception” is unique and is first time it has been requested from the Village.  As such, we needed information from the previous Village Attorney and new documents had to be written since this is different from an administrative variance.” 

 

On the application the petitioner (wife) claims that “they have kept backyard chickens for four years now." She also told the code officer “for 4-5 years now.” However, this was contradicted by her husband (and a next-door neighbor) who both stated that they have had the chickens for only 1.5 years.  So, someone is not telling the truth here.  BTW, this resident has 8 chickens. This may now be reduced to 4, but how many are needed for emotional support anyway? Also of note is that the chicken coop was built without a permit or approval from the Village’s P&Z board.  

The petitioner (husband) seemed quite defiant about “his rights” and other nonsensical comparisons between chickens (prohibited animals) and dog and cats (not prohibited animals) when pressed about coop inspections and possible required vaccinations. He also didn’t seem to know, or didn't want to disclose  how many chickens they have until pressed for an answer. Then he sheepishly confirmed that there are 8 animals. There were also other conditions discussed, which helps a little to mitigate this violation, but only time will tell if any of them will be followed through with. (My guess is that this will be my job as well to press for proof that these conditions have been met annually) Good times! Can't wait! SMH. 

So, instead of complying with all existing laws pertaining to this issue, this commission instead veered wide right citing some amended clause in the American Disability Act (ADA) regarding anxiety and support animals. Which was a reach around in my opinion.  They supported this clause over all existing codes fearing an alleged lawsuit. This to me seems manufactured by the new and inexperienced Village attorney as a scare tactic to support their pre-decision. For as you see above, the Village invested both their time (7 months) and taxpayer money to find this loophole and to create a “special exception” intending to violate our code.

And chickens could just be the beginning. For all you seemingly need is a doctor’s note citing anxiety and you could maintain any of the above listed prohibited animals. This is the door this commission has now opened. 

 

So neighbors, it’s now Open Season for keeping livestock in your yards. Pigs, goats, cows, llamas, alligators, you name it.  And, so sorry to any neighbors effected by this utter lack of sound judgement- just get over it. You, the majority don’t matter.

Again, property values or Village fiscal responsibility to homeowners be damned… we’re going to have our chickens! Yee Haw!

P.S. It was also mentioned that the Commission and possible members of staff are currently under investigation by the Miami-Dade Ethics Department. So, there’s that too. More to follow as details become available.

Standing Watch (while throwing up in my mouth a little listening to the chickens squawk their beaks off)

Milton Hunter

The Biscayne Parker

What is the FOIA?

This falls under The More You Know category as there have been substantial changes made recently on how the Village responds to (and bills for) public records requests.

As one who has made many such requests over the years for public records, I wanted to shine some light on this topic for those who are unaware and to illustrate what has now become questionable and seemingly biased tactics used by our Administration.

An Overview of the FOIA:

Since 1967, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Please note that the FOIA applies only to federal agencies and does not create a right of access to records held by Congress, the courts, or by state or local government agencies. Link Here: https://youtu.be/j5b9sSBiRTQ

That said the material changes made to our common practice are so deviated from the norm that I find it is worth a further examination.

Below are two examples of recent public records request. The names of the parties involved will be omitted, but the scope of work and timeframes will be shown.

Example #1

This public records request was made on Friday 11/2/2018 with an expedited request “being it is time sensitive” for delivery by Monday/Tuesday of the follow week.

SCOPE OF REQUEST: Dates 9/13/18- 11/2/18

·         All correspondence between resident X and the manager

·         All correspondence between residents X and Y and the manager

·         All correspondence between residents X and Y and every commissioner

·         All correspondence between residents X and Y and the police department

·         All correspondence between residents X and Y and the village attorney

The invoice generated from Next Level Systems (I.T. vendor) dated 11/7/18 for this search was $200.00. It was fulfilled in 7 days (request date to Village invoice date)

The invoice generated by the Village clerk to this resident (example #1) is dated 11/09/18. (As a point of reference, this invoice shows that it was received on 11/13/18 but was not stamped as being paid. This requires further examination as if there was proof of payment or not)

Re: Public Records Request dated November 02, 2018

Staff research- ½ hr. -                                               $14.02

No charge for the first 15 minutes of staff time- $6.01

Copies- 211 pages @ $0.15 ea. -                            $31.65

Total-                                                                           $37.66

Notice that the $200.00 (I.T. research fee) charged to the Village from NLS is not part of the invoice.  Why not?  

Example #2

This public records request was made on Thursday February 14, 2019.

SCOPE OF REQUEST: Dates February 14^th 2018- February 14^th 2019

From resident Z: “Pursuant to Florida Statute Chapter 119 I am requesting that Mayor Tracy Truppman produce all phone logs and Village emails spanning the last 1 year period. Today is 2/14/2019 I believe that by 3/1/2019 you should have sufficient time to fill this request.”

This request was then amended on 2/15/19 to the following:

·         All of the Mayors Personal Cell Phone Logs and TEXT Messages that are in connection with Village Business

·         All of the Mayors Village emails

·         All of Commissioner Betsy Wise Phone Logs, emails and Text Messages pertaining to Village Business commencing Nov 6th 7PM to Date

·         All the Village Managers Text, phone log and emails pertaining to Village business for a one year period

Communication to the resident (with invoice) from the Village clerk was on 3/18/19- (31 days later- note that the previous request was expedited and fulfilled in 1 week)

Re: Public Records Request dated February 14, 2019

Staff research – 250 hours-                                $ 6,190.00

No charge for first 15 minutes of staff time   $ 6.19

IT service-                                                              $ 350.00

Text Messages- 233 pages                                 $ 34.95

Copies – 58,820 @ 0.15 ea.                               $ 8,823.00

Total-                                                                     $ 15,391.76

Upon receiving this invoice resident Z inquired as to the fee, “First, I asked that for this in PDF so no copies are necessary. Second, what staff research is needed? The phone records and text messages are provided by the carrier to the client at no charge all they have to do is download the invoices. Third, what IT services are needed? ” I’ll tell you what, standby I’ll get back to you on this.”

This request was again amended on March 15^th: “Based on this ridiculous estimated invoice and my conversation with the State Attorney’s Office, here is what I am now requesting. Please send me an estimated cost as soon as possible as I will need to agree and forward to State Attorney."

·         All Text messages since 11/6/2018 related to Village business from Tracy Truppman.

·         All Text messages since 11/6/2018 from Betsy Wise

·         All Text new messages since11/6/2018 from Village Manager.

As of today’s date, there has been no further communication from the Village clerk and this records request has not been fulfilled...  

I have also been made aware of other recent resident’s records requests that have been upcharged, delayed, ignored and/or improperly fulfilled. In my opinion, these actions violate the very sprit of the Freedom of Information Act.  

So, What Did We Learn?

First, off, the two requests are of a different timeframe and scope so we can’t make an apple-to-apple comparison. However, there are more disconcerting elements to uncover. Namely,

Example #1 was submitted from one of Tracy’s known supporters.

Example #2 was submitted from one who has been critical of Tracy.

As a point of record, in the past I have typically not been charged, or charged a nominal rate for all of the public records I have requested.  So you can imagine my shock at seeing this $15K+ invoice!

According to the FOIA guidelines, “There is usually no charge for the first two hours of search time or for the first 100 pages of duplication.” As listed above, the Village clerk charged after the first 15 minutes and offered no free pages of duplication. (Also charging the maximum fee per page without offering the use of back pages ($0.5 as opposed to $0.15). There was in addition a new “I.T. fee” created for resident Z’s invoice (example #2, again not charged on example #1) and a huge disparity in staff research time and costs between the two invoices- $6,175.98.

Further, there is no authorization in the Village Fee Schedule to charge these fees and there are Attorney General opinions (AGO) advising against similar fees. In looking over the contract with the I.T. company, there is no mention of any research fees that pass through to the public either as I.T. fees are not part of the Village Fee Schedule. It is the duty of the Village to produce records and make them available to the public.  If the Village incurs additional fees because of the process they have set up to retrieve records, then that is the cost of doing business to the Village and not to be passed along to the residents.

It seems clear that the purpose of this excessive charge on a public records invoice and similar charges to other residents (on or after February 2019) is meant to obstruct the public records process. At least that’s what I come up with. Should anyone have another idea or explanation, please feel free to leave it in the comment section below. 

Standing Watch,

Milton Hunter

The Biscayne Parker