Stop Throwing County Employees Under the Bus and Making Them Scapegoats
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Stop Throwing County Employees “Under the Bus” and Making Them Scapegoats
By Viola Davis, April 5, 2016
I recently viewed several news reports on the Wade Walker YMCA and Roy Wilson with major concern and disbelief because I knew some major facts were not included in the report. I am writing this article in hopes of making some corrections that will remove the appearance of making Roy Wilson a “scapegoat” and/or “throwing Wilson under the bus”. Wilson was not employed with DeKalb County when the decision was made on the YMCA construction.
The future move to build a library at Wade Walker Park also made us very uncomfortable with the manner in which this was reported. Both of these issues involve questionable actions of our local county government of DeKalb and clearly have cost the taxpayers and voters over $100,000. However, it is not right to place the blame on county employees such as Roy Wilson.
I also read the column wrote online and strongly disagreed with blame being placed on Roy Wilson, the Director of Parks and Recreation for the following reasons:
· The Public-Private Partnership agreement that helped with the construction of the YMCA at Wade Walker Park was voted on in August and September of 2008.
· The agreement originated under the administration of Vernon Jones, Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County. Jones had a totally different staff to include:
o Richard Stogner – COO
o Marilyn Drew – Director of Parks and Recreation
o William Linkous – County Attorney
· The September 9, 2008 Board of Commissioners business agenda and minutes will show that Commissioner May made the motion and Commissioner Ellis seconded, and the agenda item passed 6-0-0-1 to authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute the Master Agreement with the Development Authority of DeKalb County and the Young Men’s Christian Association of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc.
· Commissioner Elaine Boyer, Commissioner Jeff Rader, Commissioner Larry Johnson, Commissioner Burrell Ellis, Commissioner Lee May, and Commissioner Kathie Gannon voted in favor of the item. Commissioner Connie Stokes was absent.
· The contact person on this agenda item was Morris Williams. The agenda item was listed under Commission District 5 and 7.
· Marilyn Drew was the Director of Parks and Recreation until CEO Burrell Ellis fired her in 2009. Ellis hired Roy Wilson in 2010.
· The major decisions were made on the construction of the YMCA prior to Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton taking office in 2009.
· I was present during the Board of Commissioner meeting when the issue of the YMCA was discussed.
We are very concerned that placing the focus on Roy Wilson makes him appear to be “guilty” of a serious issue that he has no direct power to control. Wilson is a department head and must report to the COO and/or the CEO. Wilson does not report to the Board of Commissioners unless directed by his superiors.
The questions we are asking involve our legal department. Did anyone in our legal department provide guidance and/or warn our elected officials against building the YMCA in violation of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ restrictions? Where was our legal department during this year’s budget process when the decision was made to move forward with the library?
It is wrong to blame county employees and bypass the “true” decision makers. Did Roy Wilson give the report to Executive Assistant/COO Zachary Williams and/or ICEO Lee May? This would be Wilson’s first course of action. Wilson is not obligated to report to the Board of Commissioners. Zachary Williams is mandated through the Organizational Act to report to both the CEO and BOC.
Furthermore, Mr. Roy Wilson spoke of retiring long before the issue of the YMCA and the building of the Library came to light. It is unfair to make it appear that this was a sudden action Wilson did following these reports.
I am forwarding copies of documents that will provide a better understanding of what happened in 2008 with the construction of the YMCA at Wade Walker Park. Please view the attachment. I hope this will clear up any misunderstandings and restore Roy Wilson’s reputation.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 770-256-0034 or via email at UnhappyTaxpayers@gmail.com.
Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter Founders 2016 Community Kudos Awards Gala Honorees
March 4, 2016
Viola Davis and Ruby Bozeman Davis
Founders of Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter
909 Rays Road
Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083
Jennifer Ffrench Parker
Crossroads Newspaper
2346 Candler Road
Decatur, Georgia 30032
Dear Mrs. Parker:
We are writing this letter to let you know that we have received your notification that we are one of the 2016 Community Kudos Awards Gala Honorees. We are very pleased and grateful to accept the award. We are honored you are recognizing us with your “Making A Difference Award”.
We are very grateful for this reward, which is an excellent morale-booster that will encourage us to continue doing our community ministry work. We are also very appreciative of those who recommended us to you and for the time and effort you have put into this yearly award process.
Yours sincerely,
Viola Davis
Co-Founder
For More Information on Tickets, Please visit: http://tinyurl.com/2016KudosGala
or call 404-284-1888
Commentary: DoraTAD – New Schools Superintendent Won’t Contribute, Whether Gambling or Philanthropy
Tom Doolittle, Contributor. File Photo.
DeKalb County, GA, January 11, 2016 – Commentary by Tom Doolittle, Contributor – “Our core business is teaching and learning, not speculative, unpredictable real estate projects.” Dr. R. Stephen Green, Superintendent DeKalb County School System
DeKalb School Board members are probably a little uncomfortable with new DCSD Superintendent R. Stephen Green being so outspoken about Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) – http://brookhavenpost.co/dekalb-schools-superintendent-has-reservations-participating-in-doraville-tad/35801/
By preemptively providing the media with a statement rejecting the Doraville TAD, Green has deftly deflected all the pressure that TAD proponents have tried to put on him. He has also sent tremors through the economic development world by invoking the unspoken “s” word—“speculation”.
The City of Doraville’s Tax Allocation District is 289 acres and projected to deliver $293 million in additional tax revenue over the next 25 years if the city’s redevelopment plan works. DeKalb County Government (“DeKalb”) has agreed in principal to participate. The school system would pay nearly three times what the city or county pays. The proposed breakdown for a maximum of $247 million in bonds would be about $50/50/150 million in round figures. (The outsized 58% school system contribution is unique to DeKalb because the government’s tax millage is lowered by the Homestead Option Sales Tax).
Green hasn’t taken umbrage with or demurred on the “Assembly” project at the General Motors site per se. That now represents only 149 usable acres of 289 acres in the TAD. Reading between the lines, the Superintendent wouldn’t support a TAD anywhere regardless of its projects’ particulars: location, jurisdiction or plan. Speculation is speculation, real estate development is real estate development and economic development is economic development—and Green says school systems don’t belong doing any of those.
Regarding “speculation” though, TADs can carry widely different levels of financial risk—and they are uncertain for different reasons for different entities. The Atlantic Station TAD had anchor tenants signed and substantial “soft” support from a civic league renowned in influence before the City of Atlanta took it on—Doraville has none. Bond holders presumably take on “all” the financial risk, given that taxpayers are not legally on the hook for defaults—yet would a city or county really allow a default given reputational implications? What developer is involved and how solid is its financing? Plans can range from abstract to those specifically associated with end-users.
Fundamentally, Atlantic Station is a corporate plan, one which TADs are well suited. By contrast, Doraville’s TAD (of which the former General Motors property is only half) is principally a program that builds a town, not a private sector development. It is planned for “public grounds” and is a sociological experiment first and contemplates revenue production last. One third of TAD bonds would be used for one project which idyllically connects the GM site to the rest of the town—the Atlanta Journal Constitution calls it a tunnel while the developer terms it a “covered street”. The cost, estimated from $80 million to $120 million would be on the order of investments that DeKalb makes for wide usage—jails, courts, libraries, etc., not areas which would remain unutilized by most in DeKalb.
As I have stated, the Assembly project is elegant and represents the idea of fulfilling all of New Urbanist theories that “mixed-use” developments have not. It’s not a corporate center, it’s a village from which the rest of the little town of Doraville can reinvent itself. Without the school system contribution, the $100 million in bonds that Doraville and DeKalb can underwrite can be used to leverage sums from various agencies. Those agencies would be appropriate for the type of “infrastructure” needed to fulfill its New Urbanist model—congestion relief/alternate transportation, density, mixed-income and income disparity solutions.
Dr. Green is articulating a problem that stems from the same underlying problems that required gyrations for DeKalb County to get to this juncture—the Doraville TAD, as planned (or unplanned) is philanthropic by nature—“speculative” being his term. Dr. Green has simplified at least one part of the equation by deciding the TAD is not required for him to do the job he was hired to do and he has handed the decision over to his board to grapple with. Meanwhile, he has removed himself from the predictable backlash from OTHER small towns in DeKalb or school parents in remote areas which will demand the same philanthropy.
Outstanding Balance of $53,404.72 “Not Paid” for Emergency Repair of Water Main Break
Photo from It’s In DeKalb Twitter Page
Outstanding Balance of $53, 404.72 “not paid” for Emergency Repair of Water Main Break
GS Construction was contacted by DeKalb County to perform emergency work at the corner of Henderson Mill and Evans Road after a vehicle hit a fire hydrant on a 48 inch main. The accident caused the citizens of DeKalb to endure three full days of low water pressure and eventually a boil water advisory.
We are grateful that GS Construction, a private company, stepped to the frontline to help restore our water system and repair the water main that created a countywide crisis. We are sure that the taxpayers and voters would be upset to learn that we have not paid for the emergency services that corrected our water main crisis that caused the entire county to boil its water.
We received assistance from GS Construction in writing an After Action Report on the water main break of July 2015. We have also monitored the actions of GS Construction regarding retaliation after they assisted law enforcement in exposing an overbilling and kickback scheme that sent two DeKalb County employees to jail. We continue to be concerned with the large number of problems this company has experienced with payments after it completes its services.
We request ICEO Lee May and the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners to investigate and explain the reason our county continues to owe $53, 404.72 to GS Construction, especially after the excellent service they performed in restoring water to our county.
Further, we request that you immediately pay the amount owed to GS Construction.
View CBS46.com, Contractor says he wasn’t paid for work by DeKalb County…http://www.cbs46.com/story/30542640/contractor-says-he-wasnt-paid-for-work-by-dekalb-county?autostart=true
DeKalb County Email Secrets
DeKalb County Email Secrets
By Viola Davis, November 1, 2015
Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter submitted an Open Records Request to DeKalb County, October 2014, for several email accounts from the Purchasing and Contracting Department, particularly the emails from the prior director, Kelvin Walton.
We were eventually forced to file a complaint with the state Attorney General (twice) before the Open Records Request was answered. DeKalb County handed over seven discs containing over 20,000 emails.
Several emails will reveal the public was intentionally misled. We have found emails described as “smoking guns” that will show elected officials were informed of policies, procedures, deficiencies, corrective actions on the issues of the purchasing cards (p-cards).
We have emails that reveal the destruction of government documents, auditors being forced to leave premises, and claims of bid-rigging, etc.
Investigators with Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter obtained emails through an Open Records Request that revealed information on serious issues involving the following:
1. Repair of Lee May’s Home
2. Destruction of government documents and bid-rigging
3. District Attorney purchasing card (p-card) audit and deficiencies dated 2010
4. District Attorney’s assistant, Clarissa Brown, and the forfeiture account
5. DeKalb County Sheriff’s office made auditors leave the premises dated 12/30/2011
6. Liens against DeKalb County and claims of violation of False Claims Act
7. Browns Mill Aquatic Center company’s contract and violations
We will present the emails in seven attachments for the public to review for themselves.
Enclosures: Attachments 1-7
We have emails that reveal the destruction of government documents, auditors being forced to leave premises, and claims of bid-rigging, etc. We have media links that relate to the DeKalb County emails listed below.
1. Repair of Lee May’s Home
a. ICEO Lee May’s Home Repair made public 1/8/2015 – http://unhappytaxpayerandvoter.com/iceo-lee-mays-home-repair-made-public-january-8-2015/
b. Channel 2 Investigation reveals possible kickback to DeKalb officials – http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ch-2-investigation-reveals-possible-kickback-dekal/nk3Rn/
c. Investigators probing $4K check want DeKalb CEO May’s emails – http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local/investigators-probing-4k-check-want-dekalb-ceo-may/nnWm3/
d. Interim DeKalb CEO under FBI investigation – http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/interim-dekalb-ceo-under-fbi-investigation/nk2nH/
e. Search warrants issued for DeKalb CEO Mays emails – http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/search-warrants-issued-for-dekalb-ceo-may-and-othe/nnWdM/
2. Destruction of government documents and bid-rigging
a. Grand Jury alleges widespread DeKalb corruption – http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/grand-jury-alleges-dekalb-widespread-corruption/nZYZZ/
b. Grand Jury Testimony – https://youtu.be/uwRlXHtIA-k
c. Whistleblower – Corruption in DeKalb: https://youtu.be/eeFVK9mcJgk
d. Whistleblower against DeKalb employees believes he was targeted – http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/whistleblower-against-dekalb-employees-believes-he/nYyxx/
3. District Attorney purchasing card (p-card) audit and deficiencies dated 2010
a. DeKalb County Commissioners: “We need ethics training” – http://www.cbs46.com/story/30197995/dekalb-county-commissioners-we-need-ethics-training
b. DeKalb DA James will repay county for meal expenses – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo4H8BJr05o
c. DeKalb DA double-bills taxpayers for expensive meal – http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/dekalb-da-double-bills-taxpayers-expensive-meal/nn7Pm/
d. DeKalb employee (Bob Lundsten) indicted on 9 felony count – http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/decatur/2015/04/16/robert-lundsten-indicted-9-felonies/25881691/
e. Former DeKalb commissioner’s chief of staff (Bob Lundsten) indicted for theft – http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/former-commissioners-chief-staff-indicted-theft/nkwWG/
f. Channel 2 Investigation finds retail spending, few receipts – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6ewXxfgyiw
g. Commissioner Resigns – https://youtu.be/t9zm-LVDnMo
4. District Attorney’s assistant, Clarissa Brown, and the forfeiture account
Media links not available
5. DeKalb County Sheriff’s office made auditors leave the premises dated 12/30/2011
https://www.scribd.com/doc/288128601/DeKalb-County-Email-Secrets-Attachment-5
https://www.scribd.com/doc/288128601/DeKalb-County-Email-Secrets-Attachment-5
Media links not available
6. Liens against DeKalb County and claims of violation of False Claims Act
a. 2 Investigates: County admits poor job overseeing government program – http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/2-investigates-county-admits-poor-job-overseeing-g/nmGr2/
b. Kelvin Walton resigns amid federal investigation – http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/kelvin-walton-resigns-amid-federal-investigation/vCwjhD/
c. 2 DeKalb officials accused of accepting bribes placed on administrative leave – http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/kelvin-walton-resigns-amid-federal-investigation/vCwjhD/
d. DeKalb official refuses to answer 343 questions – http://m.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/dekalb-official-refuses-answer-343-questions-fear-/nfDKt/
e. Burrell Ellis’ former secretary takes stand in trial (invokes 5th Amendment) – http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/secretary-takes-5th-corruption-case-fearing-briber/nhSHh/
7. Browns Mill Aquatic Center company’s contract and violations
a. Brown Mills Incident – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdJcJ-fimvQ
b. Teen survivor of near drowning shares his story- http://www.cbs46.com/story/29486911/teen-survivor-of-near-drowning-shares-his-story
c. Witness says lifeguard at county pool couldn’t swim – http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/2015/06/24/near-drowning-dekalb-pools-lifeguards/29196173/
d. County missing lifeguard certifications during near drowning – http://thechampionnewspaper.com/news/local/county-missing-lifeguard-certifications-during-near-drowning/
ICEO Lee May’s Home Repair Made Public January 8, 2015
ICEO Lee May’s home repair was made public January 8, 2015. See page 7 of 8 section IV which states: It is alleged that a Commissioner’s personal property was repaired with taxpayers’ money.
View Channel 2 Investigation Reveals possible kickback to DeKalb Officials – http://m.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ch-2-investigation-reveals-possible-kickback-dekal/nk3Rn/ http://m.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ch-2-investigation-reveals-possible-kickback-dekal/nk3Rn/
Thank you to Jodie Fleischer and Johnny Edwards for excellent investigative work and reporting!
We have spent over four years gathering documentation to expose violations of policy and procedure as well as alleged criminal activity. The primary method to verify our allegations is to expand the FBI, GBI, and Inspector General investigations to include a criminal third party forensic audit into four departments to include:
1. Purchasing and Contracting
2. Public Works
3. IT and IS
4. Watershed
5. LSBE program and the NSP funding
As a watchdog group, we have focused on protecting the taxpayers’ money to ensure transparency, ethics and accountability. We strive to motivate the Board of Commissioners and the Interim CEO of DeKalb County to write and enforce executive policies and procedures that protect taxpayers’ money from mismanagement, waste, abuse and alleged criminal activity. Our actions over the years have focused on our mission pledged to the taxpayers and voters of DeKalb County, Georgia.
It’s time for us to come to the reality that this local government has been in a crisis for far too long. As a watchdog group, we have complained for years about a “cloud of corruption” that gives DeKalb County a bad reputation as well as a black eye hindering economic development and decreasing public trust.
We are requesting a full criminal third party forensic audit to expose the “true” financial picture, shortfalls, and alleged criminal activity within the Watershed, Public Works Department, IT and Purchasing and Contracting Department. We need an answer to the question, “Is there criminal activity that should be prosecuted”?
Until we place restoring public trust as a top priority, taxpayers, property owners, homeowners and business owners recommend the Board of Commissioners immediately demonstrate the value they place in restoring public trust in our local government by enacting the following changes:
• Establish and fund an Internal Auditor.
• Creation of a new anti-corruption unit within the DeKalb Police Department, in concert with the FBI and GBI.
• Support the Board of Ethics and maintain its independence.
We are requesting the FBI, GBI and Inspector General expand their investigations into alleged criminal activity, wrongdoing, and malfeasance to include Kelvin Walton and Nina Hall as well as staff members in the Purchasing and Contracting Department, Public Works Department, IT and Watershed.
Once again, we request RICO classification.
DeKalb Water Main Break: An After Action Report To Prevent Past Errors
DEKALB WATER MAIN BREAK: AN AFTER ACTION REPORT
BY VIOLA DAVIS
DeKalb residents and businesses learned the hard way with the recent water main break and boil water advisory the reason our county must finance infrastructure upgrades. However, the general public needs to understand in laymen’s term how small errors in the recent water main break created a countywide crisis.
We met with the owner of GS Construction, Alessandro Salvo, in February 2015 concerning an issue and conflict with specification W-019 on covering the water main after repair with Watershed and Capital Improvement Project (CIP) administrators.
Salvo started warning DeKalb early in the year of potential problems with the installation of water mains using #57 stone as bedding and backfill. However, the warnings were met with acts of retaliation such as multiple inspections, slow payment, bad references and mischaracterization of the private business to another county, etc.
We wrote a report on the specifications on water main installation and requested a meeting to avoid legal actions, harm to the public and poor media exposure. The report was addressed to ICEO Lee May and Executive Administrator Zachary Williams. We are writing this article in an attempt to explain, in layman terms, the past errors and warnings the general public must know about the water main break to prevent future water main breaks that create countywide crisis to include:
1. What set up the crisis? The following factors are alleged:
a. The biggest factor is the status of the water system itself.
b. There are 5 large mains leaving the Scott Candler Treatment plant.
c. The 5 large mains are as follows:
1. 30” Tilly Mill >Peachtree Corner>Claremont
2. 30” Tilly Mill>under old GM plant>N. Peachtree
3. 54” P’tree industrial to Winters Chapel
4. 48” P’tree industrial>Winters Chapel >Chamblee Tucker>Mercer Univ.
5. 48” Oakdale>N. Crest >Chamblee Tucker>Henderson Mill>Northlake
d. Only 1 of these 5 mains is functioning properly, #4. Number 4 is the main (water main) that caused the crisis last month.
e. The problems with the 4 water mains, 1, 2, 3 and 5, are as follows:
1. #1 has valves turned off and all indications are that the County does not know which valves, nor where they are.
2. #2 has been shut down for some time due to a slip lining failure. It’s the famous line that had a lane of I-85 shut down for months last year.
3. #3 has valves turned off and all indications are that the County does not know which valves nor where they are.
4. #5 has valves turned off and all indications are that the County does not know which valves nor where they are.
f. The proof that there are multiple valves shut off is the fact that the entire County lost water when #4 water main was depressurized.
g. If the system was functioning properly we should have been able to isolate the section at Henderson Mill and Evans for repair while the other mains rerouted the water to the rest of the County.
2. What is the County doing to address this issue? Time to ask questions and demand results.
3. What amplified July’s hydrant hit into a countywide crises? It is alleged:
a. County crews lacked experience working with these particularly difficult conditions.
b. County crews were sent out with inadequate equipment.
1. No shoring equipment;
2. Excavator was too small to reach down to the shutoff valve;
3. County supplied pumps failed. More than 10 pumps were brought to the site including 2 $70,000 8” Thompson pumps. 7 of the 10 pumps were useless, including the 8” pumps.
4. Bureaucratic decision to re-pressurize the main before the valve could be reached, causing considerably more damage than was necessary.
4. Warning: poor water main maintenance, lack of industry knowledge, poor working equipment and poor leadership will make water main repair problems more frequent and the “norm” instead of the exception. It is alleged:
a. We are one errant tunnel bore, one excavator bucket away from an even larger crisis. If a contractor who is drilling/boring or a contractor excavating strikes the 48” main then that will be the beginning of another huge crisis. We will be without running water for God knows how long while it is repaired.
b. If the only fully functioning transmission main #4 is actually struck, the County will be without water for days while it is repaired.
c. In addition, during the repair, the entire County water system will be completely drained.
d. This will cause an even bigger health crisis than the last time.
e. Many portions of the line will have to be sanitized before they will be safe, costing taxpayers’ huge amounts of money.
f. Re-pressurizing of the entire system will cause multiple line breaks that will need to be repaired at great expense.
5. Having thousands of residents and businesses in DeKalb County sitting in this dangerous situation while the County plays political games and favorites with the Watershed department is irresponsible.
6. We immediately need proper leadership at Watershed Management.
7. It is alleged that the last experienced man left at Watershed is XXXX XXXXX. He will be retiring in December. He is the most qualified man for the position based on his experience level with the County water system. Every effort should be made to retain his services.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/276025761/DeKalb-Water-Main-Break-An-After-Action-Report-to-Prevent-Past-Errors