Lake Worth Golf Course where all prospects
met the public on 4-5-2009
We didn't hire Ms. Congeniality to run our city and make decisions to get us back on track. We hired a woman with 18 years experience who knew how to run a city. Our city deserved the best--a person with the skills that were needed and in her words, to conduct "medical triage" in a system where everything had to be fixed. We didn't hire someone who was out-going and bubbly and acted like a Miami Dolphin cheerleader. We hired someone who loves to work, who put her nose to the grind-stone who put in 17 hours a day for this city and made great progress getting our city healthy once again. Pretty good vision I would say.
Ok, so she told a few people off. She and I didn't always agree but we didn't hold grudges. She took on the Unions and this was a big thing and certainly something that was professional suicide. I immensely admired her for that. Perhaps her manner at times was less than we would have liked afterall, we are not all born from the same mold. People get easily offended and take everything personally. This is the real world and not everyone fits into our niche for Ms. Popularity. There will always be disagreements among people--always.
While Susan Stanton was here,
- She reduced the general fund by 19%. Personnel expenditures were reduced.
- She saved us money with PBSO by $1.2 million with minimum reductions in service.
- She negotiated and reduced the city's contribution into the Police retirement Fund by $200,000 in 2011 and did it again this year.
- She reduced the city's contribution to the General Employees Retirement Plan in 2011 by $1.3 million.
- She has been heavily involved in the casino and approved the financing plan that was introduced by the Chair of the Finance Advisory Board.
- She ensured that the beach redevelopment was on schedule with the County
- She negotiated and successfully got us out of the Palm Beach County water deal that saved this city $3.5 million.
- She recruited and hired some of the best and top professionals in their field such as Steve Carr, Finance Director.
- She lowered our electric rates.
Her overall rating in her last performance review on April 11, 2011 was 3.504 (highest being a 5) in-spite of the fact that Maxwell and Varela gave her an overall 2 points. And that is exactly what it was last night. Reasons to fire her were given in generalities. Amoroso never said a word--just voted to terminate. I expect a whole lot more from my elected "leaders" who showed no leadership last night. They took the easy way out--to fire a highly qualified city manager and gave absolutely no concrete reasons to do so.
Now, because of politics, we are back to square one just like we are every 3 years or so in this crazy little city with a commission that now wants to change the vision and prosperity of Lake Worth and not telling us all what it is.
50 comments:
I would bet anything that Scott was a bully when he was a little kid. any takers?
Didn't Stanton have the reputation as being a terrible bullying type of person? I don't understand the backlash on Scott when he just did everyone in the city a big favor.
Lynn's fairy tale list of Stanton's accomplishments mean nothing compared to her real record.
My list was FACTUAL. So, why don't you list all of your facts. Personal attacks are not going to cut it with me. LIST THEM and be accurate please. I don't want second hand information but personal knowledge, not your "fairy" tales.
He did everyone a big favor according to? Who are you? He has cost the city at least $85,000 so that he can have the privilege to hire a new city manager that he can jerk around.
Helen M.
If Waterman was re-elected the door to the City Manager's office area would still be locked, the benches would be gone in the hall, the speaker system would not work and our city history would still be off the walls. Stanton controlled the old commission and allowed select folks into her inner world. Meetings with Cara Jennings were common and city boards became a joke. Commissioners were just her rubber stamp. The public was treated like dirt and Stanton was fine with that. She stopped going to neighborhood association meetings and did not want to hear she was wrong. She knew what was best and we would all have to accept that. The people spoke on election day and said enough. She can now move out of her rented apartment as she has no real roots in our city. I think the new commissioners needed to start fresh with a city manager that could be trusted by all of us. Stanton, no matter how much she tried would never be trusted by a majority of the residents of this city. New leadership is a good idea given the mess we are in.
Thank you for your opinion. I will say that the election was not about Stanton. Not one candidate ever said that.
Stanton did stop going to NA meetings and I approved of that 100%. The city manager is not a political employee. She needs to stay out of politics and leave that to our elected officials, all of whom do a lousy job from time to time. This new commission is now in the ranks of "lousy." Fine distinction after only 3 weeks.
Bully king Scott Maxwell. We have no one to run in Dist 1. We never have had anyone worth a damn.
The election was about two narcissists, Stanton and Waterman. Waterman was rejected by the electorate, and Stanton was rejected by those chosen to lead. Now to get to work solving the problems of the city. This new commission has started off on the right foot, and now if they can find a way to continue this momentum, the city will be light years ahead by this time next year.
Thank you Susan Stanton for staying with our City as long as you did to put some order in the chaos; and good look to Lake Worth in finding someone who will put up with our constant shenanigans.
It is the best thing for our city and people, we need a person who is kind, caring, approachable, and bottom up, she was a mean angry person who treated so many with disrespect, our city and its people all deserve better. Andy, Pam, and I am sure Scott saw how she behaved for years now and didn't like it, I know even Joanne didn't like all her ways too. She did not treat most people very respectfully. I think it is time now to use our strong mayor as our strong city manager, let her do Stanton's job, pay her a little more and don't hire a new CEO, we do not want that or have that waste, I would rather see them pay Triolo an additional $20K and not hire a new CM for $150K, it is a complete waste of money for the people, we talk about saving on here all the time and all the waste, well, stop wasting so much on high salaries, let Pam do the work and give the city more of a presence. Stanton will be fine, she brought this on herself, she is a strong person who will get beyond this, she obviously was not happy here any way, otherwise she would never heave treated so many people in such a mean and angry way. It is a win-win for all, I wish her the best, but I am happy for our city so we can move on, so we can feel comfortable going back into city hall and talking as normal human beings to our leadership. Thanks Andy, Pam, and Scott for showing real leadership last night, it takes guts, but you did what the people in this city wanted, Stanton had many chances to change and improve, and she didn't, so it is time for her to move on and our city to move forward.
Pam Triolo 52.66% 1,585
Rachel Waterman 45.35% 1,365
It's what SOME of the 1,585 people wanted. It was definitely not the 1,365 who voted for Waterman. So, it's NOT what the people wanted--it was what SOME of the people wanted--some who have no clue.
You seem to have a personal grudge. Get over personalities and you will be much better off and so will the city.
Two wrongs do not make a right here. Hopefully though, our city can heal and move on and continue to move forward in a positive way, our city has been getting better now for many years, even before Stanton came, we have a lot to be proud of here, the downtown, beach, Snook Island, Tri-rail, 23 Mil grants improvements, Arts Council, etc. This was not Stanton's doings. It was all about respect more than anything and Stanton never showed too much toward many citizens here, that is why she is gone, the new leaders want someone who will be more respectful, bottom line. We all deserve a better CM, no one is perfect, Stanton wasn't for sure, she did have some good qualities, but they were not enough to keep her, her personality and attitude toward most of us was her downfall. I am happy that she will be gone though, we deserve to be respected and treated with dignity, she did not treat many of us with dignity, she got what she actuated herself, she was the cause of her own demise. Hopefully she learned lessons so to improve and secure her future position. It is all about growth on all ends.
The commission did the easy thing by firing Stanton. It was all political. Now let's see how they lead going forward.
Cold, Cool and Calculated - The Firing of City Manager Susan Stanton was brought on by her own self, no on else to blame but Stanton herself, she was mean, cold, cool, angry, and calculating, she reaped what she sowed. It was ALL about her attitude and personality.
Sorry Jenny. She was fired because Maxwell is a bully and the new sheep followed him with the backing of Mary Lindsey and the troops who are filled with hate.
Lynn,
To the best of your recollection, how many from the audience went to the podium to defend the CM? (One -- You?) Extrapolate that to the electorate as a whole and it may well indicate that a majority of the voters actually were for the termination of the CM.
If we had known about it in advance as it was apparent that some did, it would have been different. The difference here is that some work in the Sunshine and some don't. No one had notice of this except for some of Maxwell's friends, etc. IMO and I'm sticking to it.
Stanton was doing the best she could to get the city turned around.You dont have to be liked and you dont have to be bossed around to do the job she was doing.The commissioners that voted to fire her will learn from this and it will cost the city plenty.And they wont be elected again.She was the expert at her job, not the commission.Good luck with finding a new CM as qualified as her or would work as hard as she did.
I bet if Lynn did a poll or survey here on this blog or if the PB Post did one, you would see more than 75% of the people in this city would be in favor of Stanton's dismissal, it is not a surprise that this would happen eventually, she was not the right fit for this city. Do a survey Lynn!!!!!
Stanton had a huge ego, she never would admit she was wrong, she was a bully and mean, she had too much attitude and was reactive. She could not go on like this forever, in time such flaws always catch up to one. Hopefully she learned some good lessons in all of this. She is a big girl and she will survive!
Stanton was never the right fit for the City of Lake Worth, she is too top down and too no-nonsense, she belongs in big business or a very large city, this small town needs someone bottom up and who has a kind and caring demeanor like our current mayor.
So you collect a bunch of meaningless, forged signatures for whatever is the latest "save" campaign without being able to verify even 1/2 of the signatures collected but whatever petition they blindly sign is what "the people" want.
But yet somehow you can twist the most recent election results into something the people didn't want. Huh?
o.k. but then why didn't anyone in the chamber speak up on behalf of the city manager? There were people there right? You yourself said the room was packed? Anyone there had the opportunity to defend her and they chose not to. Wonder why?
I didn't like that she wanted to raise taxes and give us all these assessments, she was greedy, like a king in the Medieval times. She may have been good at fighting the unions, and rightly so, but it was one evil against another, she is greedy too, spend spend spend, she never offered to take a 10% pay cut for herself and her staff who made over $100K, she did not cut the waste, she was top down, and she was very shrewd and nasty to so many. It was all about her, not the city and its citizens. Raise taxes, give more assessments, I want more money!!!!!! Greed and ego, some say ego means edging out God, did she let the power go to her head too like so many who do when holding titles like hers making so much money from the public?
I think we need to give the mayor and commish some credit, they must have realized that things just were not jelling with Stanton and wanted to get more done, with or without her, they work with her daily, not all of us citizens, we do not need to interact with her, they must know a lot more than us about her and the issues with her and felt they couldn't accomplish all for the best of the city with her as the CM. I think we need to look at it all from more than one perspective, the leaders we put in office saw something that many of us on here did not see and needed to take a stand so that they could better work for the people. Time will tell as they say. I am not sure how many know that Stanton actually had meetings with Triolo and Amoroso after they won and before they took office to make sure that her job was still going to be secure, is that ethical? I know that one of them said that it would be secure as long as she worked with the commissioners to move the city forward, so maybe it was time if she was not being cooperative, we do not know all the dealings between them all, we only see a small part of that in the commission chambers, give thanks to Stanton and also the commission it is a done deal, a hard decision, hopefully at least it is best for our city in now even making it even better. Thanks Susan for your hard work and good luck with your future. Stanton is stronger now and a better person because of all of this.
There appears to be a tremendous disconnect, and short term memory loss, by McVoy, Mulvehill, Lynn and others with regard to history and reality. This mantra being spewed by the three aforementioned iconic leaders of the community regarding backup material and pre-notification of intent is so far off base as to be laughable.
I seem to remember another commission meeting not that long ago when Nadine Burns made a similar motion at the end of the night. I am certain that others also remember, and I will wager that Paul Boyer sure as hell will never forget those few moments. Nadine had no backup material. Nor did she provide any notice to either the Commission or the Community, but at the end of the vote, Boyer was a "former" employee.
So this B.S. being bantered around by the "Progressive Caucus" is just that, total and unadulterated manure. Scott made a motion that he felt was in the best interest of the community, and it just so happens that two other Commissioners felt the same. Now get over it and start trying to pull the community together.
At each of the fundraisers that I attended for Pam and Andy the question was asked about when Susan Stanton would be fired. People that supported Pam and Andy wanted change in elected leadership and a change in the City Manager. I applaud them for moving quickly and listening to the people. Hopefully, this will be the first giant step in bringing prosperity back to Lake Worth.
I'm not a fan of Stanton, but I agree that terminating her contract last night, a month into a new administration, in what appears to be a Sunshine violation, with no malfeasance by Stanton, with a big chunk of time to go on her contract, etc. was wrong.
I didn't vote for change, and the only person new that I voted for was Andy, to have more of my dollars wasted and to have continued disruption and mess at City Hall. If there were decisions that she made that the new commission did not like, i.e. fire assessment (which I also do not like) then repeal it. Honestly, even with Stanton's issues the City has just taken a giant leap backwards.
9:28 What is her real record? Tell me.
Michael 10:55 I don't get it. ...Talking as normal human beings to our leadership - What? Stanton prevented you from talking normally? And Scott is not mean and angry? Please, be honest with yourself.
Anon @ 12:39 Did you mean Maxwell ...You said, "Stanton had a huge ego, she never would admit she was wrong, she was a bully and mean, she had too much attitude and was reactive." You could have been describing Maxwell you know. HIS ACTIONS ARE THE SAME!!! THAT IS THE PROBLEM!!!
So the anonymous posters on this blog say they would have been at the meeting last night if they had known this was going to happen. Why aren't these anonymous posters at the Commission meetings and board meetings on a regular basis?
The majority of people at last night's meeting were there because they attend almost every meeting, not because they knew about some secret plan. When this motion was made, the room became very quiet and the looks on people's faces showed their surprise.
The City Manager created this situation with her own actions and the time came when she had to face the consequences. The list of accomplishments attributed to Stanton does not give credit to others invovled. Nor is there a list of problems/issues/failures which could include the multitude of open-ended contracts given to LW staff which have major financial implications for the city, the extra costs associated with the casino/beach projects which may fall upon the taxpayers to provide, and the uncontrolled spending which has been commented about on this very blog. We need to be honest and look at both sides, good and bad, rather than blindly take a stand.
Anon @ 12:52 Because the audience was stacked! It was not on the agenda! That is what the three wanted. They did not put it on the agenda because supporters for the city manager would have made it a point to be there.
Carolyn, I respectfully disagree with you. Susan Stanton was the perfect fit for this City on a personal as well as professional level. A trangendered as city manager, how perfect in a gay-lesbian city such as this. She did what the commission has allowed her to do.
Some intellectual giant said: "They did not put it on the agenda because supporters for the city manager would have made it a point to be there."
What planet are you people from? No reputable company would ever notify a high ranking individual that they are going to be terminated days in advance. And can you guess why? Because of the immeasurable harm that same person can to records and computer files, that's why. I must say that I was surprised that police were not on board to escort Susan to her office, collect her keys, and usher her to the door.
So please, get your collective heads out of your incredibly naive a**es and understand that this is a corporate decision that must be made without advance notice.
Sounds good, anonymous above. However, the City of LW is NOT a business. It is a government that is into public services. So, don't give the corporate line of bull. The bottom line is bullies took over the pulpit. I guess that is why you were surprised that no deputy was there to escort her out the door--you mean from this people friendly respectful commission? Heavens!
Lynn,
The City of Lake Worth is a business, the CM is the CEO, and the Commission acts as a Board of Directors. If you believe differently, then you really do need to take a break, collect yourself, and come back to reality.
You know it is very disturbing to me hinting that there was an agreement before last nights meeting between the Mayor and 2 commissioners.You, yourself Lynn have stated higher up in this Blog and i quote" Personal attacks aren't going to cut it with me....I don't want secondhand information but personal knowledge, not your fairytales." So if you have personal knowledge of violations of the Sunshine Law with last nights vote please file them and charge the Commissioners and Mayor. If not stop spreading your own fairytales and causing more rift in the city.
You know what's disturbing to me? You coming over here and posting anonymously. Anyone, and I say ANYONE with half of a brain could see the deck was stacked. Anything wrong with your brain? Stand up for your convictions and post under your real name. Otherwise, take a big hike.
This really does call for an investigation, and possibly legal action, to determine if Sunshine violations occurred. It is simply inconceivable that such a step could have been taken without advance consultation among the three who voted to fire Stanton. Explanations are in order.
At 4:08--The city is not a corporation. PERIOD. A corporation is in business to make a profit for its shareholders. A city government administers local affairs, taxes residents in order to pay for city services. It is not organized for profit. I'm not going to get into this argument with an anonymous poster who seems to know it all and questions my reality. Take a hike.
The problem with Sunshine violations, and it certainly seemed to be that way last night, they are nearly impossible to prove and what's more, judges don't even understand Sunshine. Without one of them talking, and that will never happen, it will remain in the corruption we have going.
Steve 4:22pm poster. You are correct about the Sunshine violations. I wonder what the city attorney has to say about that.
I bet if they were taken to court one of them would tell the truth.4:08pm poster.You are wrong.I wouldn`t challenge Lynn`s knowledge.
Re Sunshine: I wonder what the threesome's phone records would show. Notwithstanding the difficulty of proving the case, the point is to depose them under oath. Explanations are in order.
Lynn,
Please stop using your heart and begin using your brain. Previously you have said:
"At 4:08--The city is not a corporation. PERIOD. A corporation is in business to make a profit for its shareholders. A city government administers local affairs, taxes residents in order to pay for city services. It is not organized for profit. I'm not going to get into this argument with an anonymous poster who seems to know it all and questions my reality. Take a hike."
Question: Just where do you believe that you receive many of the dollars required to run this city? Answer: The electric and water utilities. How are these administered? As a 'for profit' corporation. Without this profit, city wide services would either be cut to the bone or taxes would be even higher than they are now. The city, whether you like it or not, is structured similar to a corporation (just how many times have you heard your Commissioners say that Stanton was the CEO of the city?) in that it has a CEO and a Board of Directors. The Board is responsible for setting the direction of the City (or Corporation) and the CEO is tasked with making those instructions become a reality. These matters of minutia that you attempt to bring to the discussion are only that, minutia and mean nothing.
I have been in the business world for many, many years and have done my share of hiring and firing. I understand that the termination of a high ranking individual has perils, as they have access to both personnel and accounting files. A former commission (the one that terminated Boyer) and the current commission conducted themselves in a manner that protected the city as a whole when they gave no advance notice of Stanton's impending dismissal. You and the other progressives can feel hurt if you wish, but that is how the business of terminating a high ranking individual is conducted in the world outside of your wishful reality.
WHATEVER, anonymous at 6:13. Let's argue next about the sun setting in the east.
Maxwell was a punk and these new commissioners followed suit. End of story.
Lynn,
I post here anonymously. My choice. You don't have to publish it and sometimes you don't. I'm not abusive but disagree with you from time to time and don't post just to say that I agree when I do.
That being said, I was at the meeting. I was surprised when the motion was made. At first, only you got up to defend Stanton and anybody who reads your blog knows your feeling about her. I don't get it.... but that is you.
I was not going to speak at first but decided the motion maker needed some show of support from those who agree with his motion so I spoke. I know of at least two more who felt similarly.
I agree with the above opinions that state very obvious reasons not to telegraph a major decision like this.
I have been present when the commission has fired several of it's employees, of which they have few. Mostly city attorneys but a couple of city managers. I also witnessed the commission "fire" volunteer board members for cause.
I stated that night that this is a policy decision and Scott bent over backwards, even trying to limit comments to "thanking the City Manager for her service". They shook hands as she left the chamber.
Since I don't go to every meeting like you do, your implication is that I was one of the "stacked" ones. I HAVE wondered how long it would take for the motion to be made. Then once made, would it have gone down in flames which has happened before?
The important thing to remember is that many people voted for a different direction. We have become too "progressive" with too little progress.
Our former commissioner touted that "she was the most progressive candidate" running. Apparently, that's not the kind of progress we are looking for.
While I can only speak for myself, it did not appear to me that the room was stacked. After I spoke about what I came there for, during public participation, I left.
I hope they give Joe Kroll a good look for the job. He was well liked by residents, respected by the city employees and as a bonus, he would most likely get Martin Cybulski to come back.
Time to starting treating everybody with respect and allow true progress.
Joe--nice guy but definitely NOT QUALIFIED to be a city manager. I had problems with him just doing the job he had.
all you stanton haters keep on saying we voted to go in a different direction. What the hell is the different direction? Please elaborate. Just give us a list. What does this have to do with Stanton anyway?
Susan Statnon got rid of a lot of the dead-weight at City Hall. She terminated employees based on department managers recommendations in order to reduce the budget. Of course this was unpopular. She had to deal with arrogant citizens who believed that they knew more than she or those who felt her direction was not the way to go. I was one of them at times. She had to put up with dis-loyal employees who were soon gone. She got her own staff some of whom left because they could not take the pressure. We have some very good employees in place now, a talent that Stanton has--hiring the best. It took her time to get a good team in place and people she could trust.
Being a nice guy certainly is a wonderful trait but it is not one that gets the job done. This was all political from Scott who had a new commission that would enable him to finally remove the city manager. Not admirable. No one asked me for my opinion. Scott is my commissioner. I never heard from him neither did anyone I know. So, who did he listen to or take direction from?
In my opinion, the reasons why Wawterman lost were
1. the personal attacks on her finances and character
2. the opposition aligning her with Cara Jennings with no knowledge of the truth. It definitely was not so in the General Election.
3. Voting for the budget and raising taxes.
Please remember, she lost by 222 votes. No one can tell me, on either side, the direction that they wanted to go that all of a sudden seems to be so paramount for making this dasterdly decision to fire a qualified city manager.
What is this VISION of which you speak? We already got rid of the anarchist. The Shuffleboard courts went back into the hands of the city thanks to Susan Stanton and we were reclaiming city buildings from those $1 a year tenants. Socialism was out the door and prosperity was right around the corner. We were about to be ready for the turn in the economy.
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