Beyond the Badge

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Beyond the Badge is a program for the West Palm Beach Police Department, and a meeting was held October 24th at 10:00 o’clock in the Old Northwood neighborhood, and I’m happy to report many neighbors attended asking questions and they were definitely involved as they mingled with officers and met with Tony Araujo, Interim Police Chief for the city and that started me thinking of Former Chief Frank Adderley, fired by Mayor James

CAST

Mayor Keith James, Chief Executive of the City of West Palm Beach elected to office on March 12, 2019.

Faye Johnson, Assistant City Administrator promoted to City Administrator by Mayor James in Jan. 2020.

Frank Adderley, hired as Chief of Police June 2019, and fired in Sept. 2024 for “financial improprieties”

Tony Araujo, Interim Police Chief, on loan from the PBC Sheriff dept. Taxpayers will re-imburse the PBC Sheriff for his salary.

Tony Shearer, Deputy Chief, retired from the office of the FBI and hired by Mayor Keith James Sept. 30,2024 one day before James terminated Police Chief Frank Adderley for “financial improprieties” I have a problem. James hired Shearer as “Deputy” Chief, why?  The City Commission must vote to approve James choice for Police Chief, Fire Chief and City Attorney. James won’t need the City Commission approval for “Deputy” What are you up to Keith?

Many stories have been written about the firing and hiring of leadership for the WPB Police Dept. Are the stories true or exaggerated? I honestly don’t know, but if the stories are true, I want to know who is responsible for allowing it to continue for so long.

An audit was done previously on the overtime of the WPB Police Dept; and below is the 2nd. heads up received by the city.

March 29,2022 the IA (Internal Audit) dept. released a Draft report of the Addendum to Payroll and Overtime audit. Audit #19-04.

A letter addressed to the Audit Committee members and CC to Keith James, Mayor Faye Johnson, City Administrator and Franklin Adderley, Police Chief. It reads:

Dear Audit Committee Members,
During the original citywide audit of Payroll and Overtime, we identified inaccurate time card reporting that contained overlapping hours within the City’s Police Department (Finding 5 of the Payroll and Overtime audit report.) Our testing was limited to the top 20 Earners of city- paid and vendor- paid overtime during FY 2019. The process to analyze the records was time consuming and labor intensive, thus we did not have the resources to expand and review to all offices within the scope period of the audit. Subsequently, we requested resources to conduct testing on all officers during the audit period which was granted. As such, we have attached the Internal Auditors Office Addendum Report to the Payroll and Overtime Audit which details the results of the additional testing.

We thank our contracted auditors, Monica Sanchez and Elena Gonzalez, for their work in completing this audit. Further, we thank the management and staff of the police department for their time, assistance, and cooperation during this audit.
Respectfully submitted,
Beverly Mahaso
Chief Internal Auditor

The city can’t fix a problem they don’t know they have so when the Internal Audit department finds a problem during an audit it is their responsibility to bring it to the attention of the city so it can be corrected.
The Internal Audit Dept. has never been fully staffed and some of the audits are contracted out which was done in this case.

So who is responsible for the years of neglect the audit has uncovered?

Below is from the WPB City Charter.
“A city charter is a legal document that defines the structure, powers, and responsibilities of a city’s local government. It’s similar to a constitution for the city, and is adopted by the city’s residents through an election.”

What does the Charter say about the City Administrator?

“The West Palm Beach City Manager is primarily responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the city, implementing policies set by the City Commission, managing the city budget, appointing department heads, and ensuring the efficient delivery of city services, all while acting as the chief administrative officer of the city.”
“Key responsibilities include:
“Policy Implementation: Executing the policies and decisions made by the City Commission”

The City Charter also states the City Administrator MUST reside in the city of WPB which Ms. Johnson resides in un-incorporated PBC. She relies on the County for Fire, Medical Assistance, Sheriff’s office for protection and most important she does not rely on the city for her drinking water.

The mayor couldn’t possibly fire himself or his City Administrator for the mishandling of Audit No. 19-04 so in my opinion Police Chief Frank Adderley was the sacrificial lamb.

In closing I asked a police officer if they still gave out teddy bears to traumatized children they saw while on duty. The answer was yes, but there were to many children and not enough teddy bears, and they were constantly running out.

Christmas is coming please consider buying a teddy bear for a child you do not know but could use a friend.

The end