Fine Art of Fingerpointing
I often ask my two mischievous nephews the proverbial question…"Alright, which one of you two did this?" Inevitably, they grin and point to one another uttering those magical words nearly in unison “HE did.” I never get any closer to the answer, yet I still ask the question. The truth is that I get a kick out of their rather predictable responses. With kids, fingerpointing is amusing; with adults, it’s not…especially when it’s more motivated by politics than by a desire for “real” answers.
Last Sunday, October 29th, a St. Petersburg Times article included back-to-back fingerpointing quotes by two IRB City Commissioners.
When speaking of Finance Director’s Schless firing, Commission Wollin was quoted as saying: “It is not his fault that he was hired without that experience. That is the fault of the people that hired him.” Schless had no municipal accounting experience when joining the IRB staff. Do you think Wollin realizes she’s criticizing the judgment of the gentleman immediately to her right on dais, Mayor (then Commissioner) R.B. Johnson—who voted “Yea” on the Schless hiring? (Wasn't it Ockunzzi and Carmody who were the initial "NO" votes for Schless?)
Commissioner Kennedy's reported remark accuses the city of using “bad judgment” in hiring Marty without the proper experience. How soon she forgets that Marty's predecessor left behind an accounting mess so abomindable that it required a forensic accountant to unravel it. And that was a DiNicola commission who hired the Schless predecessor...right? That kind of spoils Kennedy's depiction of the “DiNicola Days” as some sort of beachy Camelot with herself as one the roundtable knights, doesn't it?
Commissioner Valery doesn’t point fingers. He speaks his mind and has very strong opinions but is not a blamer. The thoughtful Torres isn’t a fingerpointer either. Mayor R. B. Johnson almost goes the other way; he tends to accept responsibility for his decisions even when it’s not really warranted.
So…why is it that primarily the women on our commission engage in “blamecasting” every chance they get? Is the purpose of this selective disparagement to somehow make themselves look smarter or more qualified?
And, some of the fingerpointing has been rather expensive. Consultant Rob Garner’s timetable tracing the Sewer/Solid Waste Funds debacle represented thousands upon thousands of dollars in prime PowerPoint fingerpointing. His timetable listed the names of all the commissioners who sat on the commission and the dates when City Managers and Finance Directors came and went in relationship to the still-mysterious loans. Yet, when it came to showing important info, like the actual date when Pinellas County increased their rates to IRB, that info was noticeably missing. Instead, the date when the commission was TOLD about the County’s increase was shown…because that date better supported the claim that the County’s rate increase is what caused the Sewer Fund to go upside down.
Ironically, when it comes time to engaging in fingerpointing that could actually be beneficial, the commission suddenly develops a case of governmental carpal tunnel syndrome. Soon-to-be-departing Finance Director Marty Schless has been blamed for everything in IRB right down to Chief Chic-a-Si breaking his ankle while crossing the rocks in the Narrows. Don't some of the misdeeds Schless has been saddled with pre-date his arrival in IRB? Plenty of fingers were pointed at Marty alright. But, when it came to asking him the hard questions like “Who the hell authorized these loans?” or "Did you take it upon yourself to approve the loans," no commissioner so much as raised a pinky.
Is this commission protecting someone? Won’t the City’s errors and omissions insurance cover the loss if some sort of malfeasance can be shown? Isn’t that reason enough to put a proverbial finger on the culprit or culprits? Or, is it just easier to continue protecting those who put our City in such financial peril while the taxpayers foot the million dollar tab?
I often ask my two mischievous nephews the proverbial question…"Alright, which one of you two did this?" Inevitably, they grin and point to one another uttering those magical words nearly in unison “HE did.” I never get any closer to the answer, yet I still ask the question. The truth is that I get a kick out of their rather predictable responses. With kids, fingerpointing is amusing; with adults, it’s not…especially when it’s more motivated by politics than by a desire for “real” answers.
Last Sunday, October 29th, a St. Petersburg Times article included back-to-back fingerpointing quotes by two IRB City Commissioners.
When speaking of Finance Director’s Schless firing, Commission Wollin was quoted as saying: “It is not his fault that he was hired without that experience. That is the fault of the people that hired him.” Schless had no municipal accounting experience when joining the IRB staff. Do you think Wollin realizes she’s criticizing the judgment of the gentleman immediately to her right on dais, Mayor (then Commissioner) R.B. Johnson—who voted “Yea” on the Schless hiring? (Wasn't it Ockunzzi and Carmody who were the initial "NO" votes for Schless?)
Commissioner Kennedy's reported remark accuses the city of using “bad judgment” in hiring Marty without the proper experience. How soon she forgets that Marty's predecessor left behind an accounting mess so abomindable that it required a forensic accountant to unravel it. And that was a DiNicola commission who hired the Schless predecessor...right? That kind of spoils Kennedy's depiction of the “DiNicola Days” as some sort of beachy Camelot with herself as one the roundtable knights, doesn't it?
Commissioner Valery doesn’t point fingers. He speaks his mind and has very strong opinions but is not a blamer. The thoughtful Torres isn’t a fingerpointer either. Mayor R. B. Johnson almost goes the other way; he tends to accept responsibility for his decisions even when it’s not really warranted.
So…why is it that primarily the women on our commission engage in “blamecasting” every chance they get? Is the purpose of this selective disparagement to somehow make themselves look smarter or more qualified?
And, some of the fingerpointing has been rather expensive. Consultant Rob Garner’s timetable tracing the Sewer/Solid Waste Funds debacle represented thousands upon thousands of dollars in prime PowerPoint fingerpointing. His timetable listed the names of all the commissioners who sat on the commission and the dates when City Managers and Finance Directors came and went in relationship to the still-mysterious loans. Yet, when it came to showing important info, like the actual date when Pinellas County increased their rates to IRB, that info was noticeably missing. Instead, the date when the commission was TOLD about the County’s increase was shown…because that date better supported the claim that the County’s rate increase is what caused the Sewer Fund to go upside down.
Ironically, when it comes time to engaging in fingerpointing that could actually be beneficial, the commission suddenly develops a case of governmental carpal tunnel syndrome. Soon-to-be-departing Finance Director Marty Schless has been blamed for everything in IRB right down to Chief Chic-a-Si breaking his ankle while crossing the rocks in the Narrows. Don't some of the misdeeds Schless has been saddled with pre-date his arrival in IRB? Plenty of fingers were pointed at Marty alright. But, when it came to asking him the hard questions like “Who the hell authorized these loans?” or "Did you take it upon yourself to approve the loans," no commissioner so much as raised a pinky.
Is this commission protecting someone? Won’t the City’s errors and omissions insurance cover the loss if some sort of malfeasance can be shown? Isn’t that reason enough to put a proverbial finger on the culprit or culprits? Or, is it just easier to continue protecting those who put our City in such financial peril while the taxpayers foot the million dollar tab?
Nancy Obarski
Beach Trail/IRB
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