Comment to Commissioners

This is the transcript of my comments to the City Commissioners on August 26, 2015, during the alloted three minutes that I got during General Comments.

Good Evening,

I have been talking about the Alzheimer Center debacle for over 5 months and still have not received the answers to 7 primary questions:

• Why Commissioner Talerico voted for the Center’s revolving loan from the City, a loan system that no other business or charity has ever received?

• Who was authorized to write the checks?

• Who authorized payments to exceed the $75,000.00 “soft limit”?

• Who supervised the account and allowed this to happen?

• Why until 2014 this debt didn’t have its own line in the City budget?

• Why the previous City Manager said nothing and the current City Manager remained silent until the total reached HALF a MILLION DOLLARS before bringing this, to the Commissioners attention?

and

• Where did the HALF MILLION DOLLARS go once it left the City and what was this money spent on?

How is it that in FIVE months NONE of these questions have been answered?

Our ethically challenged Commissioner says that, “she will take responsibility for this”. Is she going to make up the difference out of her own pocket, of any money not recovered? Of course, not. I guess talk is cheap.

Commissioner Talerico had no problem saying, “Aye” for the loan, but since then has dodged any responsibility or explanation for his vote. Any responsibility. Any explanation.

Now we find out that we have to pay an additional $308,000 to take over the Center in the hope that one day we may recover the money that was lost. But, hope is not a strategy and hope is not a plan.

I may be accused of being a touch cynical, but it looks to me, that not only are some people trying to sweep this under the rug before anything worse comes out, but the taxpayers of the City are paying $308,000 for the privilege.

This is a disgrace and once again the city taxpayers are stuck with the bill. Deception, cronyism and incompetence should not be tolerated on this or any other dais. Every Margate resident should demand and expect better.