Saturday, December 27, 2008

Moral High Ground

Testimony to City Council presented by Dr. Alvin Rivera

Testimony to Pueblo City Council
Moral High Ground
December 8, 2008

Madame President Barbara Vidmar and Distinguished Council Members,

My name is Dr. Alvin Rivera. My topic is “The Moral High Ground.” I rarely talk about issues of this nature because it lends one to preaching, and no one likes to be preached to; but, I will offer the council specific ideas in a “public policy context” for taking the moral high ground.

In the Chieftain’s feature article, “Activist practices own brand of `patriotism’” (Nov. 23, 2008), the reporter wrote of comments by two city council members. I was not provided the opportunity by the reporter to respond on their specific comments, so I will now.

Council President Barbara Vidmar said, “I hope that community activists –any community activist—presents fact, not fictions.” This is a serious allegation toward any civic activist, and I believe your comments were directed specifically to me. 

In my personal history of organizing and presenting testimonies, they reveal I have always intentionally presented the truth before both Houses of the U.S. Congress, Colorado and Maryland state legislatures, county and city governments, library boards and school boards in the same states. While working in Washington, D. C. for the Carter Administration, I prepared testimonies as part of a team-effort for the Assistant Secretary of Education and her Deputy in the U. S. Department of Education. Later, serving as a senior staff member for a Presidential White House Commission during the Clinton Administration, among the duties I traveled around the country receiving testimony that we prepared for Presidential staff.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Rencent Denver Post Article - Divorced from truth in Pueblo

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_11189912

12/11/2008 12:30:00 AM MST

Councilwoman Vera Ortegon had this to say about the firing of Pueblo’s city manager:

“This is a divorce. And this divorce is about the cap on the toothpaste, the toilet seat, too many shoes in the closet, the honey-do list; it’s about the little issues in his tenure, and at this point we don’t feel it’s appropriate to bring it up in public,” The Pueblo Chieftain quoted her as saying Monday.

Nice to know that city leaders are acting with such maturity.

It has become all too convenient for officials to cite “personnel matters” in refusing to disclose why, sometimes at whim, they boot the administrators who actually run their governments. Ortegon seems rather flip given her part in canning Dave Galli after he served the city honorably for 22 years.

And get this . . .

Among the council’s undisclosed list of “little issues,” sources say, was Galli’s role in allowing Barack Obama to rally in downtown Pueblo three days before winning the presidency. While the event may have irked the Republican-dominated council and a gaggle of cranky merchants, most in the crowd of 15,000 saw it as a boon for the economically struggling Democratic stronghold.

“The council is composed of frustrated country club wives who’ve become bored with torturing their husbands. Their attitude about the rally was like, ‘Honey, do you know what they did to me by closing the spa last weekend?’ ” says Joe Koncilja, a Pueblo lawyer, developer and Obama supporter. “The way they’ve lied about what they’ve done to Dave is unbelievable.”

Galli, 49, wouldn’t comment on his firing, citing a confidentiality pact with the council.

The lifelong Puebloan worked his way up from a city accountant, then deputy city manager, then city manager for the past four years. He is respected for his integrity and for keeping the 700-worker city solvent in tough times.

On Oct. 29, Galli got word that Obama’s campaign wanted a permit. Such requests from campaigns come last- minute, requiring quick decisions.

Galli did what a city manager should. Manage.

He granted the permit to shut Union Avenue for security sweeps and construction of a stage for Obama and risers for the news folks who followed.

The rally on the sunny Saturday went without a hitch as throngs crowded three typically empty blocks to see the candidate stump with his family. The event brought kudos for a city that has made headlines for job losses and poverty.

Still, a few downtown merchants — mostly Republicans — griped that the rally made their shops inaccessible.

“I have lost my wages today because of you, Obama,” read a sign at Amore Antiques.

Council members chastised Galli for granting the permit, urging that he reimburse merchants from his own budget.

Weeks later, they forced him to resign — a move that will cost taxpayers at least $90,000. This in a city that has lost its airport chief and public works director in the past month, and from a council considering pink slips for its parks director and city attorney, both of whom Galli refused to fire.

“My colleagues didn’t like that he was loyal to his workers,” says Councilman Ray Aguilera, in one of the more depressing comments I’ve heard.

For her part, Ortegon denies the rally was among the mysterious “little issues” she cites for axing the top administrator.

“Letting Dave go was bogus and a total miscarriage of justice,” Aguilera says.

Let’s just hope Pueblo’s next manager remembers to put the toilet seat down.

Susan Greene writes Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach her at 303-954-1989 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Public Comments-City Council-December 8, 2008

Status of Grand Garden project and the transparency of public projects and no bid contracts.

Public Comments
City Council
December 8, 2008

Grand Garden and Miscellaneous

Good evening City Council.  I planned to speak about the Grand Garden, a project that would cost the public millions of dollars and extremely valuable property for very little value in return.  But inside sources have indicated that the Grand Garden development project is dead and that it just won’t happen.  So, I don’t need to speak about it.

Any future plans for the River Walk area and other projects should have more public input and less doing the standard procedure of doing business behind closed doors.  I contend that when dollars and terms and conditions of a public project are being negotiated, the public has the right to know that a true value will be determined for both parties.  Too many of the City contracts/agreements with contractors/developers do not delineate what is required to be done and therefore there are no consequences when expectations are not met.  It all boils down to the fact that policies, procedures, and processes need to be updated to meet the requirements of the environment in Pueblo today. 

The solution to improving the relationship between the public and the City administration is transparency.  The actual facts and justification the decisions on which important issues are based on need to be made public.

The public has the perception that no bid contracts for professional and technical services are negotiated behind closed doors. The selection of contractors are not based on being the best qualified and the amounts awarded to the contractors are perceived to allow excessive profits.  Again, for the public to trust that the City administration has the best interest of its citizens and the use of their tax money in mind when negotiating and awarding no bid contracts the processes and procedures used need to be made public.  A possible procedural example is:  1. Determine prerequisite qualifications for work to be done.  2.  Evaluate a minimum of three qualified individuals/organizations.  3.  Select the best price/ performance individual/organization. The results of steps 1 through 3 should be available to the public.

Resolutions 5 and 6 in the Consent agenda for tonight are examples of how no bid contracts can add up to millions of dollars spent each year without public knowledge.

Respectively Submitted

Ted Freeman  

Monday, December 01, 2008

Pueblo Citizens for Positive Change(PCPC) meeting

December meeting

Pueblo Citizens for Positive Change(PCPC)
PCPC will hold their monthly meeting on Wednesday, December 10, at 6:30PM.
The location is the: Barkman Library
                        1300 Jerry Murphy and Bonforte Blvd
In these times of economic distress from the individual, city, county, state and federal government priorities and prudent spending must be made.
The PCPC purpose is to effect the efficient use of city and county taxes. 
The Public is welcome.
For more information contact;
Ted Freeman, 544-4479 or 369-4469