Amidst what we'll write off as a one-day lull in Emerald City election news, we'll go back to our news article queue and spotlight Tuesday's Scott Schwebke story, which puts the Standard-Examiner print edition readership focus on the State Auditor's August 18, 2011 report, a topic which has been rattling around Weber County Forum since at least late August. Heres the pertinent SE Story btw, for what it's worth :
Although this story was lightly covered by the SE once before, Tuesday's version is something that we can only characterize as a Schwebke-enabled Godfrey Administration attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the SE's hard-copy readership. To illustrate the weakness of the Godfrey administration's present attempt to shift the blame away from itself, we'll focus on these three telling story paragraphs:
Being the curious type, we cast about on the web for a standard finance definition of the term "significant deficiency," and Lo & Behold, here it is:The administration's failure to get permission from the city council for the expenditures is labeled a significant deficiency and does not comply with state law or municipal ordinances, the report states.
However, the report's use of the term "significant deficiency" is incorrect because it is reserved for financial issues instead of administrative or procedural matters, said Mark Johnson, the city's chief administrative officer.
"They used the wrong terms," he said.
SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY, in finance, is an internal control shortcoming in a highly important control area or an aggregation of such deficiencies that could result in a misstatement of the financial statements that is more than inconsequential.What we've witnessed here folks, was a series of instances where Ogden City's "internal ("procedural") control shortcomings" failed to identify the administration's serial unauthorized misappropriations of funds over fairly extensive time periods. Yes. The State Auditor used the "right terms" and not the "wrong terms," contrary to Me Johnson's idiotic ramblings. It's procedural defects which the definition contemplates, and it's therefore with a heavy heart that we say that we have no alternative but to label Mr. Johnson's lame excuse that these reported "gaffes" were "merely procedural" as grossly and wholly inaccurate, mendacious and assbackwards.
Adding further insult to injury, the fundamentally dishonest Mr. Johnson also offers as an additional lame defense, e.g., a political variant to the idiomatic "no harm, no foul rule". The essence of this flimsy additional blanket excuse for the administration's bad conduct, we suppose, is that since the Council and one private citizen already covered the administration's derriere after the fact, we should just ignore the bad conduct and cut Boss Godfrey & Associates a free pass.
So what about it, O Gentle Ones? As we approach that wonderful day in January 2012 when the Ogden City Municipal Building screen door will slap a departing Boss Godfrey on the a$$, is there anybody here on WCF who'll be willing to cut the little guy a free pass?
(Didn't think so, but felt compelled to ask.)
14 comments:
This article leaves a distinct taste of "more of the same to come" which can easily be accommodated by voting for Mike Caldwell or Brandon Stephenson. Sockpuppets in power is a thing of beauty. Rules, procedures, legal process and authorization are not required. Who do you think will be "consulting" Mike Caldwell or Brandon Stephenson after they are in power?
Susan VanHooser is simply the right choice for Ogden City. Anyone who is not able to see this with clarity surely must have their head buried so far up a hiney, they can't even see the light of day.
Hmmmmm..... looks like Mr. Johnson has issued his own version of Mr. Patterson's classic "our hearts are pure."
Allow me to offer a little free campaign advice: we are currently engaged in a primary campaign here in Ogden. Primary campaigns are a little different than the election that will follow when the field has been winnowed to two. In the final election, candidates and their supporters, if they're of a mind to, can let go with scorched earth rhetoric if they like. Once the election is over, win or lose, it won't matter.
But not in primaries... not if they're shrewd anyway. The people you're having such fun denouncing now as being idiot sockpuppets with their heads shoved so far up their behinds.... etc. are people your candidate, Ms. Van Hooser, is going to need if she makes it through the primary to the run off. She'll be after their votes. She'll be after their support, their contributions, their willingness to campaign for her. She is not going around denouncing anyone who happens not to be at this point supporting her as a mindless moronic sockpuppet with their head shoved so far... etc etc etc. She understands very well, I think, the difference between how to campaign in a primary when you're going to need the votes of those who are supporting other people in the first round later on if you go through, and how your campaign options broaden during a run off.
Alas, BJ, you seem not to.
Just a little free unsolicited campaign advice.
Good to see, Bob, that you're at long last "getting it."
Godfrey drws his support from Tom Monson. Please pray about this and try to show some respect.
"At long last?"
??
Whoa! Jonny Ballard just scored his first vote in th WCF mayoral preference poll! Now he's tied with John H. Thompson and Brandon Stephenson with one vote each!
Go, Jonny, GO!
Tom Monson sux
Thank you Bob for the educational experience. So basically it's the Sockpuppets, their corporate money and FOM's (friends of Mike) versus Susan VanHooser? What's new about this scenario? This only goes to show that the sockpuppets are loosely organized, unified, disciplined and each just hopes they get the chance to "build" on the foundation this administration has laid. (debt, debt, debt)
Have it your way, BJ. I suggest you watch how your candidate campaigns during the primary. She knows what she's doing. She discusses her own qualifications for the job, and she questions the record, or the policy stands of her opponents in the race. She does not attack those members of the public [aka voters] who are not supporting her at the moment.
There's a reason for that.
We wouldn't have these public stories about Ogden city government if people would just accept the fact that the
Godfrey administration knows what is best for Ogden. How dare a taxpayer question the might mini mayor or his policies. It's enough to make a person want to attack the person bearing bad news. sorry no news here. Move along, nothing to report, all is well.
Bob, Susan is a professional and uniquely qualified candidate and will be a real asset to Ogden City as Mayor. I am not affiliated with her campaign committee, related to her in any way or associated with her in life. I am an observer of Ogden politics and I am pointing out obvious differences in these candidates. It seems to me you are same. No?
No Pass Ever! I'd like to see him hang by his nutts if he had any.
Thats right.
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