We paid for what we already knew
Herb Levine chimes in on The Steele Report
-- Herb Levine, 07/24/05
-- herbert.levine2@verizon.net
-- reprinted from The Venice Taxpayers League Newsletter, July, 2005

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I've been reading and re-reading the papers filed by the Steele Investigation Agency concerning allegations of sludge dumping at the Venice Municipal Airport by city employees and the report becomes stranger and stranger the further one reads. It's almost like opening a can of worms or a jar of flies.

Even worse -- it's almost as if the whole story hasn't come out yet. Unless someone called a halt to the investigation before a local version of Inspector Clouseau fell in the pool and had to explain why his clothes are all wet. This report ends up telling us that there was sludge dumping on airport property. This report also cost us -- the taxpayers -- over $13,300. Our money! And the amazing thing is that it wasn't a secret. Quite a few people knew about the illegal dumping and we still paid a private investigator over $13,300 to tell us what we already knew.

There was a meeting held on Monday, August 18, 2002 and guess who was there? City Manager George Hunt, City Attorney Bob Anderson, Maintenance Foreman Skip Pettit, Union President Dennis Rodriguez, Lead Operator Troy Evans and, of course, our mayor, Dean Calamaras.

Mr. Evans presented pictures and the locations of the mounds of sludge dumped at the airport. They were given dates as to when this had happened. Evans also said that he had talked with the EPA about the illegal dumping.

Hunt responded that all he saw were pictures and the mayor asked where the EPA was. We waited two and a half years to look into it! It's already going to cost us around one million dollars for what we just pleaded guilty to doing. What's this one going to cost?

Dean Calamaras has been mayor for a long time during which he's had quite a few accomplishments. Accomplishments that include a sweetheart of all sweetheart contracts along with a lot of fringe benefits going to the Venice Golf Association. Absolute filth being spouted by members of council during meetings without a rebuke from his chair. The purchase of 140 computers without monitors, worth possibly $500 or $600, yet we paid $1140 each, and of course his close connections with the present and past owners of our local hospital.

All of the above, plus a lot more, all under his watch.

It is time for a change.

Herb Levine is the President of the Venice Taxpayers League.