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Portsmouth's new eye-catching directional signs are a good idea. They'll help visitors - and probably more than a few longtime residents - discover city landmarks and services. But it appears there's an equally compelling need to provide clear directions to city employees on the proper way to handle tax dollars.
Last week, the City Council approved a $149,000 increase in a contract that City Manager Kenneth Chandler completed with a Baltimore sign company last fall.
The trouble is, the council's action was a bit late. As The Pilot's Dave Forster reported, the city's procurement staff had already authorized extra payments - despite the fact that the council is supposed to sign off on any contract increases of more than 25 percent.
It would be easy to shrug off the failure to get authorization as a simple mistake. The cost of the project is about 50 percent more than the original contract but still within the $500,000 originally budgeted. And the signs, despite what detractors say, are a small but important boost to the city's appearance.
But the sign snag is part of a troubling pattern that raises questions about oversight of city expenditures.
Earlier this year, for example, The Virginian-Pilot reported that the city had been using the same marketing firm for four years - paying it more than $1.6 million - even though there was no contract and the job had not been bid. The city later opened the work to competition, then awarded the contract to the same firm.
More recently, city officials mistakenly lopped money from Sheriff's Office salaries provided by the state, rather than from sections of the budget over which the city has control. And the entire incident was yet one more reminder that the council doesn't have a firm grasp of how the sheriff uses money provided to his department by the city.
These problems illustrate the need for the council and the city manager to monitor expenditures more closely -and to ensure that city employees are aware of the limits on their ability to spend without prior approval.
Recent departures in the city's finance department are only a partial explanation for the latest trouble. What the city needs is an auditor to follow the paper trail, head off problems and generally ensure that taxpayers - and their elected representatives - know where the city's money is going.
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If
the myopic fools that run this city don't start paying attention and start making some wise decisions, Portsmouth could find itself in the same position that Vallejo, Calif., and Prichard, Ala are in. You see, both cities were told years ago that if they didn't address their fiscal policies and liabilities they would be unable to meet their obligations. Sound familiar Mr Mayor? We need to get rid of the failure that we call a City Manager, get rid of the failures at the school board, get rid of the incompentent city council. Of course, this wont happen anytime soon. Until Louise Lucas stops picking up voters in her bus, feeding them lunch, and telling them how she and the city leaders are looking out for them. We, the citizens of Portsmouth need to take back control of this city and vote these people out. It can start in November when one councilwoman is up for re-election.
Nothing but hatred from your post
Unfortunately, your message is shrouded in undercurrents of racist rhetoric. You know the new code word for taking back our country or our city are for those that long for the good ole days when a black man knew his place. Sorry those days are dead and gone. If you have constructive feedback to offer, then offer it but your blanket get rid of all the black folk won't work. The population is majority African American. You may have to pack up and leave if you can't stand to be around these people anymore. An independent auditor will tell us exactly what is going on with our taxpayer dollars. The city manager depended on department heads and his CFO to be people of integrity to tell the truth. Apparently, this did not happen and I am sure he has learned a valuable lesson. It is indeed his responsibility to seek and get accurate information otherwise, he needs to have heads rolling.
Madam
I never once mentioned race and how you can conclude racist undertones from my post escapes me. Last time I checked, there we whites on both the council and school board. My wanting the city manager gone has nothing to do with the color of his skin, it has to do with his job performance, specifically, poor perofrmance. My comment was get rid of them all. Additionally, my comment about the Lucas bus also mentioned nothing of race, as I have seen all races exit them. The poimnt of the post, which you obviously missed, was that we keep doing the same thing, but expect different results. That, by the way is one definition of insanity. I live in Portsmouth and I could care less what my neighbors color is I only care about their charactor.
Economic Development?
Taxpayer funded "Economic Development" fiddles while Rome burns ... hum, city "leaders: ponder the grim reality facing Portsmouth and the rest of the nation. What to do? What to do? Hey, how about putting lipstick on a pig!? Yeah, THAT'S IT! Blowing a half million on new signs, now THAT will help Portsmouth grow a tax base! Next up? Painting the street gold to cover up the crumbling infrastructure and create great photos for the new marketing campaign ... and the band played on while the Titantic slipped beneath the icey waves.