ONE YEAR LATER....
On October 4, 2005, the second post on this newly-created blog read:
BREAKING NEWS
The City of Toledo has acquired over one MILLION dollars worth of miscellaneous equipment from the Federal Surplus Property Program. Many alert citizens are questioning the practice and the propriety of this program. Questions are being raised in the local community about the overall cost to the City for this program, even though the equipment is considered "surplus" by the Federal Government and there is no cash outlay from the City for the equipment itself.
The Surplus Program does require the requesting agency to pay for any and all shipping or freight to bring the equipment from its current location. A large 5th-wheel lowboy trailer, for instance, may be free of charge to the requesting agency, but since it is warehoused in Tucson, Arizona, as an example, it must be shipped back to Toledo at the expense of the City.
Many people are wondering how much the City has paid to ship or deliver this equipment to Toledo. On Wednesday, October 5 at 7:00 pm at the City Hall Council Chambers, local residents may be able to find out.
Now ONE YEAR later, many of you know how this situation turned out. At the City Council meeting on September 20, citizens were given a nearly complete inventory list of the surplus property referred to in this early post on THE TOLEDO WATCHDOG, but at the same time, staff members appointed by our City Manager reported that the total cost to the City of Toledo for transport and storage may never be known. The Police Chief who acquired these items has been found in violation of 21 counts of Oregon ethics law, has gone on an extended "vacation" taking employment with a private contractor in Iraq and most recently, his "retirement" has been announced by Pete Wall, City Manager. How could this have been handled differently? What if, when allegations were made early on by Councilwoman Lambrecht about the propriety of this 1033 Surplus program, the City Manager had immediately taken action to clear up the costs, locations, condition and need for these items? A great deal of pain and misery could have been avoided.
What about the future for Toledo? Again, a crisis in leadership is occurring over the cost overruns and add-ons to the Highway 20 reconstruction project. We are not going to sit this one out. We will demand accountability by the project manager and the administration as well as members of the City Council who have a unique view on separation of powers. Be informed! Stay vigilant! THE WATCHDOG is ready to help.
BREAKING NEWS
The City of Toledo has acquired over one MILLION dollars worth of miscellaneous equipment from the Federal Surplus Property Program. Many alert citizens are questioning the practice and the propriety of this program. Questions are being raised in the local community about the overall cost to the City for this program, even though the equipment is considered "surplus" by the Federal Government and there is no cash outlay from the City for the equipment itself.
The Surplus Program does require the requesting agency to pay for any and all shipping or freight to bring the equipment from its current location. A large 5th-wheel lowboy trailer, for instance, may be free of charge to the requesting agency, but since it is warehoused in Tucson, Arizona, as an example, it must be shipped back to Toledo at the expense of the City.
Many people are wondering how much the City has paid to ship or deliver this equipment to Toledo. On Wednesday, October 5 at 7:00 pm at the City Hall Council Chambers, local residents may be able to find out.
Now ONE YEAR later, many of you know how this situation turned out. At the City Council meeting on September 20, citizens were given a nearly complete inventory list of the surplus property referred to in this early post on THE TOLEDO WATCHDOG, but at the same time, staff members appointed by our City Manager reported that the total cost to the City of Toledo for transport and storage may never be known. The Police Chief who acquired these items has been found in violation of 21 counts of Oregon ethics law, has gone on an extended "vacation" taking employment with a private contractor in Iraq and most recently, his "retirement" has been announced by Pete Wall, City Manager. How could this have been handled differently? What if, when allegations were made early on by Councilwoman Lambrecht about the propriety of this 1033 Surplus program, the City Manager had immediately taken action to clear up the costs, locations, condition and need for these items? A great deal of pain and misery could have been avoided.
What about the future for Toledo? Again, a crisis in leadership is occurring over the cost overruns and add-ons to the Highway 20 reconstruction project. We are not going to sit this one out. We will demand accountability by the project manager and the administration as well as members of the City Council who have a unique view on separation of powers. Be informed! Stay vigilant! THE WATCHDOG is ready to help.
posted by The Watchdog | 10:47 AM
