Corruption Probe News Conference

[DowntownNow]

Councilor GT Bynum has been calling for an independent performance audit of Public Works since taking office, it was one of his campaign promises.  He stated he has been working with the Mayor's office to conduct that audit since April of last year...thats 9 months!  KJRH reports that he has been working with the Mayor and her Chief of Staff, Amy Polanchek, "who have been receptive" - but apparently done nothing.

It further states that his attempts to conduct that independent audit have met with resistance from Public Works officials...I'm sorry but who they hell do they think they work for?!  The public wants and demands a public audit...make it happen and damn those that are resisting...makes one believe there is more hidden than whats been found so far.

If the Mayor, who is so fond of spending tax dollars on any and everything else (ballpark, Jones Lang LaSalle, new City Hall, seasonal ice rink, Great Plains Airlines, etc etc), can't see the need for an independent audit - if for nothing more than to reassure the people of Tulsa that things are being done so this doesn't happen again and that there are no other potential problems within public works - then she needs to go.

[DowntownNow]

You are correct TulsaSooner on all points, but the simple fact of the matter is, the Mayor doesn't need Public Works blessing to conduct an independent audit, she simply has to contract and order one and instruct her department heads and officials to work with the auditing firms to provide any and all necessary information.  

Its that simple yet for some reason, given the years of questioning of Public Works, she has yet to do it.  Makes one wonder why.

[TulsaSooner]

I don't think the Council needs anyone's blessing either, for that matter, if they have the votes to get it done.  I could be wrong.

[DowntownNow]

TulsaSooner, the Council does not have the power to enter into contracts on the City's behalf.  They can request, but the utlimate decision lies with the Mayor as she is the contracting authority.

[TulsaSooner]

quote:Originally posted by DowntownNow

TulsaSooner, the Council does not have the power to enter into contracts on the City's behalf.  They can request, but the utlimate decision lies with the Mayor as she is the contracting authority.

This is true.  I just think that if it were a huge, top priority they could vote to support it (which doesn't mean much, but they do it all the time..see: OSU hospital)and the Mayor would have to act on it.  They didn't do that and the Mayor hasn't done that because there probably was no obvious need like there is now.  I think they refer to that as hindsight being 20/20.  

But it will be done now and it's obvious that it needs to be done now, however, if there is somebody out there that wants to cheat the City and the systems in place by fraudulently doctoring invoices, it will be tough to catch no matter what processes are implemented.  I don't doubt that there is certainly room for improvement though, and I think everyone will welcome that.

[DowntownNow]

TulsaSooner, I believe you are referring to the annual financial audits conducted by BKD.  These are not performance audits that would have looked into the practices by which contract bids are reviewed and rewarded, discrepancies between contracts and invoices, change orders, authority, inspection, standards and performance.  Simply a performance audit appraises internal controls, and the efficiency and effectiveness of procedures and processes.  It does not evaluate financial performance.

[TulsaSooner]

No, I am well aware of the BKD audits, believe me.  []

The audits I referred to earlier would be performance audits and I mentioned those that are performed by the City's Internal Audit staff.  I'm pretty sure those are performance audits, they're just not done by an independent auditor.

[DowntownNow]

TulsaSooner, the questions regarding Public Works have been around for years.  This Mayor obviously wants to be a strong mayor, rarely paying any attention the Council.  The fact that some councilors have seen a need for this audit should be enough for her if she is truly a Mayor interested in whats best for the citizens.  The simple, underlying fact is that a Mayor that was more in touch with the common citizen would have taken their voiced concerns of Public Works into consideration when pushing her Street's package and if what you say and has been reported that an independent audit has been langering around her desk for quite some time, she would have acted on it already.  

The Mayor spent over $350,000 on a contract for Jones Lang LaSalle to come in and attempt to market and sell parcels of downtown real estate which so far has proven fruitless...I think she could have easily spent the $221,000 on this review and been further ahead in the eyes of the public and the coffers that are out of $4.2 million in suspect contracts and work.

Having the proper checks and balances and showing that you dont cower under pressure from those who work under you (public works officials) along with taking the citizen's interests to heart is what makes a good strong mayor.

[DowntownNow]

TulsaSooner...The unfortunate thing is that this hit a federal indictment level.  Had this been caught by the City beforehand, perhaps a City Auditor's investigation would have been sufficient.  But now that it has reached this magnitude and the City was blatantly unaware, this erodes the public's confidence in the City being able to police itself.  Hence the call for a third party independent audit.  If that comes out okay, then the public's confidence is boosted and hopefully the City has in place the necessary checks and balances needed to prevent further corruption.

[DowntownNow]

I've got to say though that based on this Channel 2 News report, I dont have a lot of confidence in Mayor Taylor getting this argument.

http://www.kjrh.com/news/local/story/Councilor-says-performance-audit-needed/yWcAbakdgkWQM5V7zD9nrw.cspx

Based on this you'd have to ask Mayor Taylor that if the proper checks and balances were already in place and GT Bynum is incorrect, how did the City not catch it but the Feds were able to?

More out of touch everyday.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

on the news they said this was revolving around projects that commenced in 2006/2007.  Maybe the investigation went back that far....dunno.

I did notice that some of the projects put on hold as a result of the bribery scandal included Vision 2025 streetscaping improvements, which often translates into "Acorn Lights".

Interesting that funding for energy-hungry lighting such as Acorns comes easy, but the taxpayers are left holding the bag for the electric bill indefinitely.

[DowntownNow]

This was posted on the TW story "City Halts 49 Projects Over Indictment" and I couldnt believe it if this is what people think.

"It is going to be difficult obtaining the badly needed audit of Public Works. Charles Hardt has always resisted an independent audit of his department and it now seems obvious why."

Why does everyone think that just because Charles Hardt refuses an independent audit that we as citizens cant get one?

Its simple...the Mayor, if she so chooses, can at any time contract an independent performance audit, she doesnt need Charles Hardt's permission. His is a position serving at the will of the Mayor, the Mayor serves at the will of the people. The fact is, and GT Bynum has gone on record, there has been a move for this audit for at least 9 mos, if not a lot longer. The issue was raised time and time again during the Mayor's Street campaign...if she gave a flip about any citizen she'd have ordered the audit already and maybe we wouldnt have the feds doing the job we expect of our city leaders. If they can find it, I'll be darned to think our own city officials couldnt unless they just refused to look.

Tulsa...you want an audit? Demand it! Hold your city government accountable. Call your councilors and demand an independent performance audit.

[Wrinkle]

I don't think Hardt has any say at this point. He's likely not going to survive this anyway. Expect announcement of his 'retirement' soon, after he has time to get affairs in order.

Had another thought a minute ago. What if Mayor Taylor's placing TTA figures on paid leave was her first best effort at targeting what she expected to be the Federal offender?

...then, there's the TFD scandel.

If anyone starts looking into all the Boards, Authorities and Commissions, it's hard to say what will turn up.

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by Wrinkle

I don't think Hardt has any say at this point. He's likely not going to survive this anyway. Expect announcement of his 'retirement' soon, after he has time to get affairs in order.

Had another thought a minute ago. What if Mayor Taylor's placing TTA figures on paid leave was her first best effort at targeting what she expected to be the Federal offender?

...then, there's the TFD scandel.

If anyone starts looking into all the Boards, Authorities and Commissions, it's hard to say what will turn up.

On these points I agree. Though I doubt there are ongoing investigations into the boards, authorities and commissions...there ought to be. Independent audits won't find what they're up to. In fact independent audits probably wouldn't have uncovered this scandal.

Only in a town chock full of Republicans, run by conservative businessmen and party functionaries could it be asserted that a Democrat is to blame for a culture of corruption. She's barely a Democrat at that.

[DowntownNow]

An independent performance audit would have had a far greater chance of catching this than not doing anything, even while everyone is screaming "we want an independent audit."

The audit would have looked at everything I described above.  It would have taken into account anomalies present such as discrepancies between approved contract bids and inflated invoices.  Upon finding a discrepancy, an auditor, to be thorough, would have investigated the reasons for the discrepancy in order to find ouf it the best practices were utilized and efficiencies or detriments found that could be later corrected.  It also would have provided a 3rd set of eyes pouring over invoices, contracts, inspection reports, etc.

Simply, when there's a question, doing something is often times better than doing nothing at all.