Sanitation Saga

We are coming very close to time for the decision to be made about what they are going to do with Sanitation. We are asserting our position that Sanitation be kept in-house, as a City service, with proper controls and oversight. We do hope the Mayor, along with the only voting members of the Board of Works members; Tony Toran, Steve LaDuke, and Chas Hunter, will make the proper decision, and allow the Sanitation Department at least one year to operate under the sub-committee recommendations.
The intent to privatize sanitation, sprung by Garner after campaign promises to correct the mismanagement and inefficiencies that caused the department to falter, is a huge disappointment that just adds to the accumulating list of disappointments our Mayor has developed for himself over the last two years. However, he still has an opportunity to redeem himself, if he will only give due credence to the findings and recommendations of the sub-committee selected to review the Sanitation Department’s fiscal condition, and to propose a plan for the department to recover, and even prosper, within a very short period of time. They have accomplished their task, and they are to be commended. Particular thanks goes out to Steve Price for his diligent examination of the numbers game.
More or less, they have done the job James Garner promised to do himself… if elected. Well, we (the voters) did out part, why hasn’t the Mayor done his part, and stood behind the promises he made in his campaign? Virtually all the rhetoric we heard concerning his aptitude for business has turned out to be nothing more than empty words of your typical Political bulls##t..
Indeed, it’s his lack of business savvy that led to the bumbled attempts to hand off a sanitation contract of privatization without following proper protocol.
We called his hand when a contract with Industrial Disposal (ID) was imminent, but was wrapped up in an illegal meeting. Suddenly, the ID contract “fell through”, according to official accounts. Although, I never heard exactly what the 'official' problems were that led to the fallout, I would venture a guess that there was a bit too much scrutiny of the processes that led up to the contract, and most likely the anticipation of scrutiny of its contents.
Suddenly, the privatization proposal then warranted the appointment of the aforementioned sub-committee, and a full out bidding contest was initiated and carried out. Hurray for small, sweet victories!
However, the problems, obviously, still didn’t stop there.
Due to the many mis-steps made thus far in Garner’s short tenure at the helm, it has been imperative for concerned citizens to keep close tabs on the business end of New Albany’s City operations. Especially given radical changes to city services, the financial irresponsibility, and the long-term ramifications, of Mayor Garner’s proposals, all atop his incredible knack for taking a bad situation in hand, and making things worse, we feel a compelling responsibility to closely monitor all activities.
Unfortunately, our eagerness to become involved and informed has not been met with enthusiasm or appreciation, but rather, with animosity and defiance.
Clearly, we have tread where previous citizens have dared not tread…into the realm of Governmental oversight. Something the ‘powers that be’ in New Albany are entirely unfamiliar with, and conspicuously uncomfortable with.
In return, we have been the recipient of much advise, and admonishment.
It never fails to amaze me who pops out of the woodwork, so-to-speak, when we have taken our inquests too close for comfort in examining the workings of the current administration. It also becomes very clear where the real power lies, and who the real decision makers are.
Obviously, they presumed that we had managed to blow a huge hole into some inner-sanctity of City operations when we produced our information concerning the Sanitation bids, FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES. The subsequent behavior of certain individuals, both from within and from without(proclaimed), the Garner administration has been deplorable.
Attempts to interrogate Council members, accusations of "felonious" behavior, pointing fingers at Council spouses, and proposing the intentional spreading of outright lies and unethical conduct, reasoning there must be some aim at personal aggrandizement, is all quite despicable.
We must have hit a very exposed nerve, as the entire Garner entourage simultaneously, blew a gasket. Stomping their feet, and insisting the information must be wrong, apparently because the Rumpke bid was the very last to arrive... within mere minutes of the deadline, it barely made it in!!! hmmmmmmmmm.
We applaud the cries for adoption of Ethical Behavior rules, but we strong suggest the fishing expedition be taken a little further upstream if you want to search for the slippery buggers. Without such codes to hold the entire administration, along with every Board member, and every Commission position, to some sort of code of ethical standars, many decisions and actions are apparently undertaken at free will.