Costly personal contracts consume city coffers In the past three weeks we have taken a look at growth in city government, from the numbers of promotions, the numbers of hires, and the increase in cost of city government resulting from those additional salaries. These stories have generated a lot of E-mail. Residents are expressing concerns about being able to maintain this level of payroll, since the City will be facing a shortfall of revenue, as a result in part of the passage of Amendment One. Personal service contracts Digging deeper, I have discovered another interesting (but not previously discussed) cost of doing business at City Hall – the personal contract agreements existing with ‘outside contractors’ to provide services to Pompano’s city government. Of course, the most talked about personal contract is that of C. William Hargett, Jr., the former city manager. Hardly had he left city employment when it was learned he negotiated a sweetheart deal with the City for continued part-time consultant employment. We also learned that he, himself, wrote the contract and Interim City Manager Phyllis Korab obediently approved it on May 8, 2007, before his chair had cooled, very shortly after he left the City payroll. The contract called for Hargett to be paid $125 per hour – plus expenses. The contract was for a specific period of 90 days and was to expire on September 30, 2007. Ah, if only things should be as we are told they are. Hargett’s duties were to be involved in meetings, negotiate with the FAA on the Airpark, look into the 2007-08 budget, and help in the Fire Fighters Union talks. But alas, the contract didn’t expire on September 30, 2007. Hargett’s contract was extended by new City Manager Keith Chadwell for another 90 days, with the same $125 per hour compensation. The new expiration date was December 31, 2007. Well, not exactly. It could be extended again until the completion of the “Scope of the Work.” Hargett’s record is clear, but perhaps a bit misleading. He was ‘successful’ working with the FAA – but it was strictly a mop up job to complete the final negotiations. He ‘participated’ in the 2007-08 city budget, but Brian Donovan, the new assistant to the City Manager, had that budget completely under control. So in reality all that was left for Hargett to do was to be the chief bargaining agent for the City with the Fire Fighters Union. Chadwell apparently was not aware that the Fire Fighters despised Hargett. During the negotiations, they rejected all of Hargett’s recommendations and thoughts. Union leaders have told me all they want is a decent wage increase, cost of living benefits, and an increase in the DROP program from five to eight years. But Hargett’s marching orders from Chadwell were to try to eliminate the DROP program. The rationale for that is not clear, because the DROP program benefits both the participants and the City. Hargett was unsuccessful, and now to avoid an outside mediator being brought in to resolve the impasse, commissioners will want Chadwell to give the firefighters what they have been demanding. It would appear that Chadwell’s retention of Hargett has been a big waste. And not cheap one at that. It was an expensive big bust that netted the City pretty much nothing. Invoices obtained from city hall records, show Hargett has been paid $22,031.25 as follows:   5/17/07 - $ 750.00   5/30/07 - 468.75   6/15/07 - 406.25   6/22/07 - 1,312.50   6/26/07 - 625.00   7/20/07 - 3,500.00   8/27/07 - 3,156.25 10/15/07 - 4,531.25 10/30/07 - 2,656.25 12/01/07 - 3,500.00   1/04/08 - 1,125.00 That’s some pricey part-time income – nearly $3,000 a month. But Hargett’s is not the only sweetheart personal contract deal with the City. I asked the City to provide me copies of all personal service contracts, and they produced three (some with amendments), not counting Hargett’s. Those three are much less well known – indeed, hidden and controversial – sweetheart deals with individuals who have been providing part-time services. T.C. Broadnax TC Broadnax, the former assistant city manager who resigned to become the new assistant city manager in San Antonio, Texas, also had a personal contract with the city of Pompano Beach. Broadnax left Pompano officially as a city employee on December 6, 2006, but started his new position in San Antonio in November 27, 2006. That part looks a bit suspicious, but the overlap could be attributed to unused vacation or sick days or compensatory time off. But it’s the time between December 6, 2006 and April 17, 2007 that raises questions. Broadnax’s personal service contract was initiated and authorized by A. Richard Bowman, Acting Director of Pompano’s Office of Housing and Urban Improvement. According to an engagement letter dated April 17, 2007, the personal service contract was to commence on April 18, 2007 (while he works full time for the City of San Antonio) and would terminate on December 31, 2007. He was to provide general consulting services to the city of Pompano Beach in seven specific areas. Broadnax was to work on (1) Community Block Development Grants (CDBG) and HOME Consolidated Plan and Amendments; (2) CDBG and HOME Annual Action Plan and Amendments; (3) CDBG and HOME Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report; (4) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS); (5) State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP) Activities; (6) CRA projects, development agreements, and Request For Proposals (RFPs); and (7) Project planning and development. All work was to be done on a task assignment basis and would have to be authorized, in writing, through the Acting Director of the Office Housing and Urban Improvement. Broadnax would be paid an hourly rate of $100 for services rendered, plus a maximum of $250 monthly for expenses, plus airfare that would be based on best available coach travel status. The first problem found with this arrangement was that Broadnax was paid $7,500 on January 23, 2007 – while he was working for San Antonio and a good three months before he was retained as a consultant and before his personal service contract took effect. By what authority was he retained and paid prior to his personal service contract taking effect? Broadnax was also paid $2,000 on June 12, 2007; $1,500 on July 11, 2007; $2,350 on November 7, 2007 and $3,000 on January 8, 2008. Not a bad seven months’ part-time income of $16,350. It’s easy to speculate about the possibility of skullduggery because some suspect that Broadnax was one of the reasons Hargett was able to fulfill his employment obligations. The loss of Broadnax was probably a serious blow to Hargett’s support team, and Broadnax was not easily replaced. Finding a way to keep him available was likely essential to Hargett’s getting the job done. But the question remains, how was it done, and was it done legally? Two Building Dept. Contracts Any skullduggery in keeping Broadnax available and working for Hargett pales in comparison to what’s going on in the Pompano Beach Building Department. It has two part-time plans examiners/inspectors who are under contract to provide plans examination and structural inspections. These two are not considered employees of the City but are employees of their respective consulting corporations. One company, Bush Consultants, Inc., is a Florida for-Profit Corporation, owned by Maurice F. Bush, and has a business location at 6448 Johnson Street, Hollywood, Florida. On July 8, 1997 this contract was ushered into existence by then-Mayor William F. Griffin. At the time, due to an active building market, there was a need for part-time help. Bush had professional skills and abilities to conduct structural plan examinations and conduct mandatory structural field inspections, in accordance with the South Florida Building Codes. Bush agreed to perform the work with compensation at $25.00 per hour. Three years later on September 26, 2000 the contract was amended and Bush’s compensation was increased to $45.00 per hour. Then on March 14, 2006 the contract was again amended and Bush’s compensation was increased to $75.00 per hour. Coincidently enough, on the same date of July 8, 1997 another contract was ushered into existence by then-Mayor William F. Griffin. This time it was with SCM Consultants, Inc., owned by Susan L. Cogswell, located at 5201 NW 18th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This, too, was a Building Department service contract for the services of Clark Cogswell, who, like Bush, was qualified to conduct structural plan examinations and conduct mandatory structural field inspections, in accordance with the South Florida Building Codes. The agreed compensation was $25.00 per hour. Susan Cogswell, not surprisingly, is married to Clark Cogswell. Coincidently enough, this contract was amended on the same dates as the one with Bush; and the compensation was increased in exactly the same amounts. I use the word ‘coincidently’ because I can’t imagine monopolistic collusion, preferential treatment, or price fixing or rigging being tolerated by members of the City Commission. These two individuals continue to offer services to the city. Taking a close look at the money paid from 2001 through 2007 to these respective ‘part-time’ employees and their ‘consultant corporations’, it turns out that Maurice F. Bush, and his Bush Consultants, Inc., were paid during fiscal years: 10/10/06 — 10/12/07 -$254,025.00 10/19/05 — 10/4/06 - $216,772.50 10/6/04 — 09/30/05 - $122,287.50 10/7/03 — 09/24/04 - $108,652,50 10/4/02 — 09/23/03 - $90,292.50 10/10/01 — 09/23/02 - $89,009.50 That bears a closer look – no, it bears scrutiny. In 2006-07, Bush was, according to his contract, being paid $75 an hour. In one year and two days, Bush must have turned in 3,387 hours. That’s 9.23 hours a day, for 367 days, including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. If you figure only seven (and most government workers get 16) holidays and 52 Saturdays and Sundays, Bush must have worked 13 hours a day, five days a week. Not bad, since City Hall is open for only nine hours a day. WHO IS APPROVING THIS GUY’S TIME SHEET? Is it Jerome Sanzone, Pompano’s Chief Building Official? It seems to me that, at the very least, an explanation is in order. Also looking at the money paid to SCM Consultants, Inc., for Clark Cogswell during the same fiscal years: 11/1/06 — 10/12/07 - $99,322.50 11/18/05 — 9/29/06 - $94,575.00 10/15/04 — 9/30/05 - $62,865.00 10/7/03 — 10/1/04 - $62,910.00 10/4/02 — 9/23/03 - $59,220.00 10/10/01 — 9/23/02 - $61,447.50 Cogswell’s time for 2006-07 is a more respectable 1,324.3 hours over 49 ½ weeks. That means that he worked an average of 5 ½ hours every business day during that period. I again will respectfully point out to you that this is for ‘part-time’ work. To sweeten the pot and cut down on their expenses, each of the two individuals is provided with an automobile for use to perform any requested field inspections. Employees of the Pompano Beach Building department have talked with me and informed me the number of Building Permit requests have fallen off sharply because of the slowing economy and the lack of sales of homes in the area. Full-time building department employees are standing around doing nothing, while the Chief Building Official Sanzone keeps requesting these two part-time employees come into the office – and do what? Perform ‘paper shuffling’ or ‘do nothing work’? At $75 an hour? Again, on the surface, this appears at best to be government waste and at worst something that bears serious investigation. Ignoring the rules I made an inquiry to Ed Snyder, head of Business Tax Receipt division, (formerly Occupational License Division), to see if any of the four personal service providers paid the Pompano Business Tax. Surprise, surprise. Can you guess which one was required to have a license but didn’t follow the rules that we all must follow? In an E-mail received by Snyder, he wrote, “I have determined that Mr. Cogswell, Mr. Bush and TC Broadnax are not required to obtain a Business Tax Receipt, since their businesses locations are outside the City of Pompano Beach. I was unable to find any documentation as to Mr. Hargett’s business location and unless there is evidence to the contrary and since he lives in the City, it would be my position that he is required to obtain a Business Tax Receipt.” Snyder continued, “In order for Mr. Hargett to obtain a Business Tax Receipt it will be necessary for him to complete the necessary application and pay a fee of $300.63 which includes a zoning certificate fee and late charges. This fee is based on the assumption that Mr. Hargett started his business immediately after retiring from the City.” According to Hargett’s contract, he was to operate out of his home at 3141 Sahara Springs Boulevard, Pompano Beach, FL 33069 (northwestern Palm-Aire), which is inside city limits. I guess 11 years Hargett spent as CEO of Pompano Beach convinced him he could ignore rules if he wants to. His relationship with the Chamber of Commerce and the ‘in-crowd’ rubbed off on him completely. In his world, rules and regulations are for the little people – a lot like the rationale of Leona Helmsley, and we know where that got her. Will Hargett get his license? Don’t get your hopes up. I have a big problem with this because even if there were wrongdoings – what does it really matter in South Florida? Honest residents continue to look for honest government officials – but never quite find them. Committing wrongdoings seems to be the norm. Take a look at the record. Is there any possible effective deterrent that will keep government officials honest? Elected officials seem to be immune – as Ken Jenne was sentenced only to one year and a day, which means he will be out of prison in less than eight months. Hollywood City Commissioner Keith Wasserstrom received only 60 days in jail for his contract rigging conviction that involved millions; while former US Rep. Larry Smith received only 90 days for pilfering his reelection campaign accounts. It would seem that in South Florida, the crime is not in the commission but in getting caught. I guess the new motto of the South Florida golden rule is: he who has the gold – gets to keep his gold and ours too, and make up the rules. And I think I’ve blown my chances of getting a personal service contract from Chadwell.