Former County IT Manager Speaks Out Against Commissioners’ Political Meddling
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 3/1/10 @ 2:37 pm - Filed Under Featured, Local Politics
Another ex-county employee lashed out against the commissioners as former County IT Project Manager Phil Pease penned a letter describing (sort of) the issues surrounding his resignation. As usual you can expect the typical establishment-biased coverage of this in the traditional media. If anything they will interview Commissioner Nelson Peters or Bill Brown for a passing sound bite. Here at FWP we try (probably futilely) to tilt the playing field back towards the individual citizen and taxpayer by bringing you a different perspective - one that is anti-establishment most of the time. You can download Pease’s the full letter here (PDF).
During more than 4 years serving as a Project Manager for Allen County the most prominent impediment was not a lack of processes or poorly articulated needs from requestors nor was it inadequate funding. In point of fact the largest impediment was a pervasive undercurrent of various forms of punishment should questions or actions not remain in alignment with the power structure.
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It widely known that the top leadership in local government (elected officials) are largely driven by political motivations, so what do you think happens when some foolhardy employee seeking to introduce efficiencies winds up shedding light on areas not necessarily in alignment with said political motivations?
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6 Responses to “Former County IT Manager Speaks Out Against Commissioners’ Political Meddling”
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Jeff:
Having read Pease’s letter, I cannot find a single verifiable fact or action (other than the end to his employment). Some of us did not see “A Few Good Men” so Code Red is not something to which we can relate.
In my many years of working for others, however, I can relate to the fact that his ideas and actions did not always meet with the approval of his superiors. It matters not who was right or wrong, the General always has authority over the Private . . . it is called “chain of command.”
Now that his letter has reached to the internet, Mr. Pease may be surprised when potential employers find it during a background check and reject his employment application. Companies do not hire whiners.
I agree with gadfly, Mr. Pease’s letter drones on about his “code red” but provides no detail as to the “efficiencies” he was trying to introduce, or what ideas he and the “power structure” parted ways on. The letter reads more like a disgruntled employee with an axe to grind than a concerned citizen trying to make county government run like a business.
To Gadfly:
If you have never seen “A Few Good Men” I highly recommend it, excellent flick.
I would disagree on the concept of right and wrong you mentioned, as the operation of any orgainzation delivering a service is not rigidly milateristic hence right and wrong do make a difference; however you are more than entitled to your opinions :-)
It is interesting to note the somewhat “Code Red” tone in your last statement, makes one wonder why you used an alias?? Oh yeah, you haven’s seen the movie so Code Red has no meaning (Redbox or Netflix it, worth the time)…
To Jon:
I appreciate your input; however it was the absence of an Axe to grind that kept me from further droning into the details specific to my situation.
I don’t have animosity or hostility towards anyone in County government, individually they are a great group of folks to work for & I am glad for the opportunity to have worked for Allen County.
The County has made great strides in the past few years in implementing policies and moving forward, it would be a shame to see the practice outlined in my letter stifle or slow down that momentum…
My goal was simply to highlight a practice that might not be beneficial nothing more nothing less.
Phil,
Don’t get me wrong, our current system of county government leaves so much room for political bullying and corruption it is silly, the ability of the commissioners to plug contractors into endless supplies of money is astonishing and provides incumbant commissioners with to much power. But why write the letter if your not going to mention the details of the issue itself?
Wow, Phil those are some big words. I had to look a couple of them up in the dictionary! I think that your comments would have been more effective if you would have kept it at a level closer to the simpleton way of thinking around here. I think that you lost many of the readers early in your letter. The fact is we are just a bunch of Hoosier rednecks and the “political” leaders that won a popularity contest are part of the Good ‘Ol Boys and Girls Club. No one ever claimed that they were smart, or know how things run. They just have to make sure that they grease the wheels of those that helped to get them elected. They do not have to make good decisions or make a profit. They just spend money, and when there is not enough, they just raise the price for services or tax us more. I think that you expected too much from them. You came from the corporate world where the company is expected to make good decisions so that they can make the company and stockholders that they work for a lot of money and everyone is happy. Government does not work that way, and in fact, they thrive to make poor decisions. We see the rants on this and other blogs and news outlets all of the time. Illogical spending habits, duplications of services and projects, the “turf” wars of the elected “officials”. The only time that they worry about people being happy is when it is election time. Then they will go out of their way to listen to you and tell you whatever they can in hopes of getting your vote. They do not have to keep their promises. They know that they have four years for you to forget about it and then the whole process starts over again.
As for Jon and him asking for examples…Well, I know that you have been around the block a few times and I am sure that you have seen your own governmental waste, mismanagement, and fraud. Phil was just trying to make a point about trying to open people’s eyes to some very poor practices and management of County government. He became a casualty of the Good ‘Ol Boy and Girl network when others started to ask similar questions. So, I will throw you a couple of bones and you can run with them if you like.
#1 Now that Ed (Phil’s former boss) has returned from his “training” (I think that is what he and Nelson were quoted as calling it) at the Olympics, which was partially funded by an unnamed vendor. I am sure that he will be able to bring all of that “training”(cough…cough…it is hard to see how this was justified, but being one of the Good ‘Ol Boys friends helps) to the County and put it to good use. The full article describing this can be found in a back issue of the News Sentinel.
#2 If you search back through the archives of this site you will find a post about a large(6 large figures) sum of money that Ed(again Phil’s former boss) spent on email archiving and how the hardware and virtually none of the software were used. Fast forward to December and low and behold the County is now upgrading the unused hardware and buying new software (rumor has it the old software is no longer supported). This also cost the taxpayers a large(again 6 large figures) sum of money. I can only assume that A) the Commissioners and County Council are not smart enough to figure out how much they have spent on this or B) Ed, being friends with the good ‘Ol Boy and Girl network gets a pass for this wasteful spending of our tax dollars. The full amount of these purchases can be retrieved from County Purchasing. Just be sure to look back approximately three years or more for the original purchases.
Personally, I call for a vote of no confidence of our current administration and urge everyone to get out and vote in the upcoming elections.