One year later... let's grade KT...

[shadows]

Didn't I read somewhere that she is providing the citizens a new city hall several blocks from the center of governments.  

With a dozen more coffee shops,   A dozen more bars,  Then there are the dozen plus plush chair conference room for closed meetings outside the FOI domain.

Tearing down the only building that could be used as a center piece in the river development.

When one reads about the BA fire department responding to the 11 year old boy the thought comes to mind that the mayor thinks the Tulsa Fire Department is not intelligent enough to operate an ambulance any more than picking a Chief of Police from its ranks.

They are predicting severe weather today so I would assume the new tempered glass siding on the new city hall should be covered because when it is hit with a sharp instrument it turns into a hail storm of glass.

She is performing well for those who put up the million dollars to get her elected.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by rwarn17588

She's not paid $100K a year. She deferred her salary.

Does that change anything?

Did she defer her salary or decline her salary?  I was under the impression that she declined/refused it and would never receive it.  Are you saying that she has a "deferred compensation" and will eventually draw this salary after she leaves office?  That sounds like simply a tax deferrment/avoidance plan to me.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by Cubs

But when she was running, her big issue was reducing crime ..... and we all know how that is coming together ... I mean NOT coming together.

I second that point.  I was lying in bed the other night and listening to the nightly serenade of police and emergency sirens swirling around my midtown Tulsa neighborhood.  Seems to me that over the past year or so, the vehicle sirens I hear each night have become more and more frequent.  Some of my neighbors have made the same observation.

I have noticed an increase in police patrols through my midtown neighborhood lately, but this is just a factor of recent incidents and not anything KT did.  It is also probably due to the fact that some of my neighbors have good friends on the force, and the police are just returning personal favors.  I am not knocking it, I am grateful.

[rwarn17588]

<Steve wrote:

Did she defer her salary or decline her salary? I was under the impression that she declined/refused it and would never receive it. Are you saying that she has a "deferred compensation" and will eventually draw this salary after she leaves office? That sounds like simply a tax deferrment/avoidance plan to me.

<end clip>

No, it's not deferred compensation. It's just that her salary, instead of it given to her, simply goes back into the general budget.

[Conan71]

I saw in the paper this morning that Mayor Kathy has retained her own personal attorney on the police chief issue.  She's declining to say how much she's paying for his services (really not our business) but also declining to say what his role is (IMO should be our business).  If I remember what the story said correctly, her own attorney is working with the city's attorney.

Another out-sourcing: The attorney the city contracted with for $50K is based in OKC.  I didn't know Tulsa had such a shortage of compentent attorneys.

Oh yeah, I forget: we don't have good architects, engineers, facility managers, or police chief candidates here either.

Her out-sourcing mentality is one issue I have come to loathe about her, but I'll give her another year to see if she's really capable of moving our city forward.

[Wrinkle]

quote:Originally posted by rwarn17588

<Steve wrote:

Did she defer her salary or decline her salary? I was under the impression that she declined/refused it and would never receive it. Are you saying that she has a "deferred compensation" and will eventually draw this salary after she leaves office? That sounds like simply a tax deferrment/avoidance plan to me.

<end clip>

No, it's not deferred compensation. It's just that her salary, instead of it given to her, simply goes back into the general budget.

She declined her salary for only the FIRST year, which is now over. Until stated differently, she's now officially on the dole.

[Wilbur]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

I saw in the paper this morning that Mayor Kathy has retained her own personal attorney on the police chief issue.  She's declining to say how much she's paying for his services (really not our business) but also declining to say what his role is (IMO should be our business).  If I remember what the story said correctly, her own attorney is working with the city's attorney.

Another out-sourcing: The attorney the city contracted with for $50K is based in OKC.  I didn't know Tulsa had such a shortage of compentent attorneys.

Oh yeah, I forget: we don't have good architects, engineers, facility managers, or police chief candidates here either.

Her out-sourcing mentality is one issue I have come to loathe about her, but I'll give her another year to see if she's really capable of moving our city forward.

I believe this violates the Charter, which says the City Attorney provides legal advise to the City.  The Mayor is not being sued in reference to the police chief selection process, nor is there a personal reason to need an outside attorney for a department head selection.

If the Mayor believes our Legal Department is so incompetent that she needs her own attorney assigned to her office outside of the Legal Department for day-to-day operations, now needs an attorney for a department head selection, why do we have a Legal Department.

The Mayor is also trying to use the Sheriff's Office to handle the PGA this August.  Another outsource.

[RecycleMichael]

Gee Wilbur...you sound worried.

You bragged about the services of an outside negotiator that the police union brought in when you were fighting for your pay raises. Are you suggesting that the police union can hire anyone they want but the Mayor can't?

When the police sue the city and say that they can tell the Mayor who she can hire, something is wrong. It is clear that you are afraid of someone outside finding out how screwed up the department is.

The citizens of Tulsa deserve the very best employees, including department heads, they can get. We elected her to run this city...if that means going outside, so be it.

[Cubs]

You all are ignoring the crime .... that was supposed to be the big reason we needed to get rid of LaFortune, because he wasn't handling crime .... but rates under KT are no better, probably worse

[Wrinkle]

As I understand things, TPD has termed this a 'friendly' suite. But, they are insisting the City Charter prohibits the Mayor from outside selection when conditions exist as they appear.

I would expect the Mayor to be able to choose this person without regard to the stipulations apparently in force.

So, the answer would seem to be a modification to the City Charter. Yet, no one has brought that issue forward for suggested Charter changes. Why not?

It's not like there hasn't been time. Sheesh.

Is someone fighting these fights for the fight? Or, legal fees?

Ms. Taylor would also seem to have no grounds for hiring a personal attorney, except for her own personal advice, not as representing The City in court. That is also a Charter issue.

[Conan71]

Mare Taylor has established a track record of doing lots of things outside the box and the city as well.

RM- did you get an un-deserved speeding ticket or what?  You are really bitter about the TPD $$ negotiations.

Not exactly a "friendly" suit.  That is usually a term reserved for civil suits where, basically, someone sues a friend's insurance company because they got bit by their friend's pit bull when they tried to grab their crack pipe back from the pit bull.

In this case, no one is seeking monetary damages, just for a judge to rule that Mare Kathy is not abiding by the city charter (and basically flaunting it, since she is one of the wealthiest women in Tulsa, and that should make sense to all her minions subjects.  If we don't get it, then we are all just ka-razy).

Speaking of which, I wonder if she got tired of being one of the poorest, least influential people in Broward county and that is why she brought her schtick here. Or maybe they just saw through the transparancy of her BS and decided she wasn't worthy of local celebrity status.

Afterall, everyone knows the Mayor is just a "celebrity" position these days anyhow.  Charles Hardt and the city council really run this place.

[RecycleMichael]

No conan, I haven't received any speeding tickets. I have no complaints with the police department and think they are all very professional in their jobs.

My beef with the pay raise fight goes way back. I did not appreciate the tactics employed by the union, in essence, hiring outsiders just to discredit other departments as a means to get their own higher pay.

I think it is very bold of the Mayor to fight this fight. The easy thing would be to just appoint some insider to the job, but I think she truly wants to fix problems within the department. The fact that she is willing to forego her salary and now spend her own money to address this issue is admirable.

Remember, the police union has campaigned against an incumbent Mayor each time they have run for re-election. Their history shows they are never satisfied and will do anything to get their money. I am surprised that so many conservatives like you who are generally opposed to other employee unions don't see this as why unions get a bad name, especially when it is your money.

I don't have anything against the three officers who are applying and know two of them personally. I think they are great in their jobs, but I also believe an outside hire for chief is in the best interest of all Tulsans right now.

[Wilbur]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

Gee Wilbur...you sound worried.

You bragged about the services of an outside negotiator that the police union brought in when you were fighting for your pay raises. Are you suggesting that the police union can hire anyone they want but the Mayor can't?

When the police sue the city and say that they can tell the Mayor who she can hire, something is wrong. It is clear that you are afraid of someone outside finding out how screwed up the department is.

The citizens of Tulsa deserve the very best employees, including department heads, they can get. We elected her to run this city...if that means going outside, so be it.

First of all, I was talking about the hiring of outside legal counsel for the Mayor, which I believe is specifically outlined in the Charter.  If there are sections of the Charter you would like to see as optional, why don't you provided a highlighted copy with provisions you would like to be optional.

Why everything for you always turns into police pay is beyond me.  The discussion thread has had nothing to do with police pay.  And while you alone are on that topic, please point to the charter provision that prohibits the police union from hiring an arbitrator.  While you are looking, please point to any prior post of mine that shows support for the FOP to hire an outside arbitrator (I'll save you some time, I have never discussed the merits of that issue and I don't ever recall that being a discussion thread, or why it would be).

I personally don't have a problem with the Mayor looking outside the City for a new police Chief.  Nor am I the one in control of the press or the many citizens within this city who feels the Mayor is outside the scope of the charter by looking outside for a new chief.

A lawsuit against the city and a lawsuit against the mayor personally, are two separate items.  To my knowledge, no one has brought suit against the mayor at a personal level in regards to the police chief selection process.  Thus the reasons questions are being raised about her ability to hire legal counsel outside the city attorney's office.

[RecycleMichael]

My apologies, Wilbur. I confused you with another poster.

Fixing the police chief issue is very important and goes a long way in calculating what kind of grade we give to the Mayor for her first term.

[Conan71]

No, I'm not a big union person.  I do, however, think pay is an important morale issue when it comes to public safety that's why I don't get in too much of a twist about it.