LETTERS

We can no longer afford business as usual at City Hall

Posted 9/4/14

To the Editor:

At times, the way the City Council conducts business is amazing. I, like many other taxpayers, have questioned the hire of the city council auditor. After reading the posting for …

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LETTERS

We can no longer afford business as usual at City Hall

Posted

To the Editor:

At times, the way the City Council conducts business is amazing. I, like many other taxpayers, have questioned the hire of the city council auditor. After reading the posting for this position that specifically called for the council auditor to have a background in accounting, I was dismayed to learn the person chosen had a psychology degree. Ms. Vella-Wilkinson, at the last council meeting, went to great lengths to describe the matrix used in this selection process and proceeded to tell us all about her qualifications to lead this search but never once did Ms. Vella-Wilkinson outline Ms. Avila’s qualifications to be city council auditor. I found that most telling.

Ms. Travis’ only defense of the hire was to invoke the old cop-out “the women made the decision,” so the men who question it are sexist. What an insult to every woman who has broken the glass ceiling. Both men and women want to be judged on their abilities and not their gender.

Now we are left with the situation that the council auditor is not legally hired by virtue of a city ordinance that states the city council must confirm the hire. How did both Mayor Avedisian’s personnel department and city council’s counsel not know this?

I hope Mayor Avedisian and Ms. Travis answer this question shortly. The taxpayers deserve a full accounting.

I would also ask for an explanation why Mayor Avedisian allowed his cousin in the MIS department to just get a 40 percent raise ($20,000) while city workers have had their wages frozen for three years and why Mayor Avedisian created a new head custodian position at the police department that pays $70,000 (salary and benefits). The first city worker to be offered this plum job is the husband of the mayor’s campaign manager. Now you know why we have had 14 years of tax increases under Mayor Avedisian. Keep in mind both Ms. Travis and Ms. Vella-Wilkinson voted to approve these expenditures. 

Roger Durand

Warwick

Editor’s note: The cousin to whom Durand refers is Christiaan van Dijk, the grandson of the mayor’s late father’s cousin. According to the mayor, van Dijk received a pay raise – the amount is not disputed – when the MIS division was reorganized and his responsibilities were increased. As for Ed Carpenter, the head custodian in the Police Department, he has worked for the city for 10 years and was transferred to the post from the Building Department. He does not receive any health benefits, according to the mayor.

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