Internal Audit Department
I have written previously, and believe it needs repeating.
A city cannot fix problems it doesn’t realize it has, and it is up to the Internal Auditing Dept. (IA) to investigate and bring to the attention of the city their findings, and hopefully “Fixed.”
I attended the Internal Auditors meeting on (3/21/19) and it included the discussion and approval of Chronic Nuisance and Police Property and Impound Lots report.
1st. Chronic Nuisance:
The report contained 4 recommendations.
#1 Management update: Implemented May 2017
#2 The audit found 4 dept. working independently. Development Services, Finance, Police and City Attorney’s Office.
Recommendation: Development Services and the Police Dept., in conjunction with Finance and Law Dept. should ensure continued success of the program b developing written procedures and necessary training.
The city has implemented written and training procedures.
#3 At the time of the audit they found that the departments did not consistently communicate or follow-up with one another to ensure that all work and procedures had been completed.
City management agreed with the recommendations and appointed Deputy City Admin. too oversee the successful coordination among the individual dept.
#4 Audit dept. noted the city’s program could be strengthened if it were established in State Statues because stronger remedies are more frequently available.
City management agreed and is continuing to strengthen the program through legislative opportunities.
2nd. Police Property Room & Impound Lots:
The impound lot is used to store vehicles involved in fatalities or serious bodily injuries, and to preserve the chain of command for state court cases, and insure evidence is not tampered with.
The audit Dept. toured the lot and found that the current conditions were insufficient to ensure vehicle evidence would be safeguarded or preserved and noticed the following:
1- Did not have a surveillance system or functioning lights.
The city agrees and requires upgrades, enhancements and more coverage. The Police Dept. has been pursuing upgrades for several years.
2- Had been burglarized and evidence stolen.
The P.D. Has requested an assessment of the property by the building dept. which is responsible for city owned property; the current condition of the property is not sufficient to house evidence properly.
3- No tracking system to determine who was on the premises and for what reason.
Upon securing the lot the Property & Evidence Section will be responsible for ensuring the safekeeping of vehicles in the lot.
4- No covered buildings to protect vehicles from the elements or conduct tests.
5- Had severe overgrowth of landscaping, brush and weeds.
Management Update:
The impound lot has been modified to include a fence with barbed wire, camera alarm system, a two factor access which is a swipe card and key for entry. The city has not incorporated the impound lot with the evidence section and are planning to add additional fencing to accommodate the evidence section. Target date is 6/2019.
Paving was requested and denied. Parks has no access to the lot. This problem still needs work.
All of the above are follow up reports, and please notice many of them have been corrected.
“Audacity” Bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints: I received a mailer for the upcoming Commissioners race and was asked to tell Richard Ryles “The city of WPB is not for sale” Stupid, dumb flyer. How is Richard going to sell our city when the mayor and commissioners have already sold it to the highest bidder. Please make an effort to vote this coming Tuesday 3/26/2019, and make it count.
To end this piece on a positive note Ms. Beverly Mahaso, Chief Internal Auditor, and her crew were honored with winning an award issued by the ALGA (Association of Local Government Auditors) She along with her crew should be proud of their accomplishes.
Who is Richard Ryles?
I attended the recount of the mayoral race that was conducted by the canvassing board who consisted of H. Carson (WPB City Clerk) D. Miller (City Administrator) and Wendy Link (Supervisor of Elections) and have information I will share with WPB Watch readers. The results are final and Keith James will be the mayor for the city of WPB. Below are the final results.
Keith James 5,746 votes=50.38%
Paula Ryan 3,289 votes=28.84%
Priscilla Taylor 2,370 votes=20.78%
Under votes 69 “Under vote is when a voter cast a ballot but doesn’t vote in one of the contests on the ballot.”
Over votes 6 “Over votes occurs when one votes for more than the maximum number of selections allowed in a contest. The result is a spoiled vote which is not included in the final tally.
There are 68,240 registered voters in WPB and only 11,420 folks bothered to vote. What happened to the other 56,820 voters? Obviously they don’t care who oversees their city.
The day before the election City Commissioners met and both James and Ryan voted to rezone the property at 1309 So. Flagler Dr. which included a waver to allow a 24 story building to be constructed on 1.136 acres where previously 10 acres of land was required. Developers won—again. Residents lost–again.
Here are the Commissioner results:
Clint Fowlkes 1,976 votes=18.03%
Christy Fox 5,046 votes=46.04% (A Related girl)
Richard Ryles 3,938=35.93%
under votes 517 That figure is not an error.
over votes 3
On March 26 we will be asked to vote for a commissioner in district 3 because no candidate received 50% of the vote.
I originally supported Clint Fowlkes because he wanted to change the commission votes to a “Super Majority” meaning it would take 4 commissioners to vote approval instead of 3, and he actually listened to residents needs. I loved his idea. I spoke with Clint and he told me he was throwing his support behind Richard Ryles and he’s asking his supporters to do the same.
A group of us met with Mr. Ryles on Monday night and he answered all our questions and I was convinced he is the commissioner we need to stop what is happening to our city. He listed a number of his ideas and I will mention a few in order of importance to me.
Develop a cooperative relationship with the PB County Commission. Mayor Muoio used her “Strong Mayor” form of government to divide WPB from the County Commission, Palm Beach and the Dept. of Transportation. We need each other to survive and I believe Mr. Ryles can make that happen through communication.
Traffic and Transportation. If you live in WPB you know the problems with traffic. Enough said.
Increase and improve affordable housing. The average rent for an apartment in WPB is $1,456.00 for 983 square feet of living space. There’s a popular rule of thumb that states your income should be 3 x your monthly rent or $4,368.00.
Police Officers: Average base pay is $53,911.00 or $4,492.00/month
School Teachers: Average Annual Wage is $50,325.00 or $4,193/month
Homelessness: Re-Read Increase and Improve affordable housing.
Revitalize the great Northwest Community. Imagine an elected official wanting to improve an area outside of Clematis St. or Flagler Dr. It boggles the imagination. Boggles, according to Google: To be astonished or overwhelmed when trying to imagine something.
Please take the time to vote on 3/26/2019. Poll’s are open from 7:00AM until 7:00PM.
Truth or Consequences
Below was written by CTG (Citizens for Thoughtful Growth) and is being posted with their permission. We have 2 commissioners running for mayor and their vote should be noted for this huge project which both James and Ryan continue to tell us when they are mayor they will listen to us, and James going as far as to state he will not be a dictator. Muoio wants this to pass to keep the developer happy, lets see what happens. If you can’t appear in person, please turn to channel 20 to view the meeting, and please vote on Tuesday, and take our city back.
Dear CTG Members and Supporters,
We are asking for your HELP!
We are very appreciative of the messages, emails, letters and comments thanking us for leading the charge on Responsible Growth in our City and clearly expressing your concern about lining our waterfront with high rises.
We now need you to stand with us and attend the Commission meeting Monday night. We need you to tell the Commissioners what you have told us. We know the developer will have speakers lined up in favor of this project and we need your help to impress upon the Commissioners that the wishes of ALL the people need to be heard. Won’t you please join us?
City Commission Meeting
5 pm (this project will be heard after 5 pm)
Monday March 11
A Call to Action – Monday March 11th
On Monday the City Commission will Vote on final approval of 3109 South Flagler – The vote on first reading was unanimous. This vote will take place the night before election day!
1309 South Flagler is bringing Dade County’s Sunny Isles Beach in Miami-Dade or Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm Beach!
The high-rise condominium proposed will be one of the tallest buildings in the City – taller than the Bristol, taller than Trump Plaza —
The building is proposed on 1.28 acres of land
Lots of Waivers are needed to approve this huge building
The Scale of the proposed building is out of context with surrounding areas
The applicant is asking for a special Planned Development Approval which under the city code is reserved for innovative projects claiming a walkway they don’t own is innovative.
The proposed building is entirely out of context to the neighborhood, which is surrounded by existing college, church, small office and residential buildings.
An approval of this project would certainly be the city’s justification to allow the entire waterfront blocks north and south of the Norton to be redeveloped into a new Sunny Isles Beach (Miami Dade County) or Ft. Lauderdale (Broward County).
Is this what everyone wants in West Palm Beach? If not, please come and let your thoughts be heard at the meeting. You may fill out a card indicating your position and/or you may speak for three minutes.
You may also send emails to the Mayor and Commissioners.
emails for Mayor and Commissioners:
[email protected]. Mayor Jeri Muoio
[email protected]. Commissioner Paula Ryan
[email protected]. Commissioner Cory Neering
[email protected]. Commissioner Keith James
[email protected]. Commissioner Christina Lambert
[email protected] Commissioner Kelly Shoaf
WPB Running Out Of Time.
We have a very important election on March 12 and you must decide who will lead West Palm Beach for the next 4 and possibly 8 years. To understand where Mayor Muoio and City Commissions have taken politics please take the time to read the very informative piece “Palm Beach County Issues and Views” below, and note that Clint Fowlkes running for City Commissioner in District 3 wants to change commissioners vote to a super majority vote, meaning it would take 4 commissioners instead of 3 to approve a development that is good for developers and bad for residents. It also easily explains how a 24-story residential tower on Flagler would consist of 42 luxury condominium units built on just 1.29 acres of land, instead of the 10 acres previously required. Acreage and setback waivers would have to be approved by the Commission for the project to advance— and approve they will.
.http://e-governmentresearch.blogspot.com/2018/11/
Former WPB mayor, and now a Florida US Representative, Lois Frankel endorsed Keith James to be our next mayor. Read the article below, and ask your self if you would want her endorsement.
Both Commissioner James and Ryan have a plan to end homelessness in Fla. James has had 8 years, and Ryan 4 years to work on the problem. Read the link below to understand their priorities. Again telling residents what they want to hear, and working hard to please developers.
The elected official’s have taken Clematis Street and turned it into a dismal failure where one business after another are leaving the area for greener pastures just down the street in Northwood Village. According to the Post in Feb. 2019 Mayor Muoio celebrated the grand opening of Mestizo Peruvian Cuisine which joined “popular and award winning restaurants in the neighborhood” One of the reasons to do business in Northwood Village is on street parking with no meters, so you can have dinner and keep an eye on your car, or as the mayor and Commissioners prefer your bike. I shouldn’t write about free on street parking with the mayor still in power and able to tear up the street or install the meters removed from Clematis.
I end this story with a quote from Thomas Sowell
“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”
Is a Mayoral Candidate Deceitful, Judge for yourself.
March 12,2019 is right around the corner and residents are expected to visit the poll’s and vote for their choice for a new mayor and city commissioner. Please take the time to open and read the information I have supplied so you will be informed voters.
Below is a flyer I received in the mail from the Ryan Campaign and it is actually accurate. Ms. Ryan is telling us to take back our city from developer friendly Keith James and place the city in her capable hands. What Ms. Ryan neglected to tell us was she voted in lock step with James. They both voted for every project that came down the pike, regardless of residents pleading with them to please slow down
Below is the City of West Palm Beach Internal Auditor’s report on Ms. Ryan’s “Blue Roof” program that she continues to say how proud she is of it. Read it below for yourself.
Below is general information about Ms. Ryan, and of particular interest to me is the opinion of a psychologist hired by her in a custody case where the psychologist stated: “I consider Paula to be an extremely deceitful person” Read and judge for yourself. Contains salty language.
Below is the e-mail from Related’s Ken Himmel to Commissioner Ryan concerning “One Flagler” Christian Science Church.
Now you must judge for yourself is Ms. Ryan deceitful or not?