The City of Lake Worth Utilities Director, Rebecca Mattey, and the Acting City Manager, Steven Carr, informed the City Commission yesterday that the Utility Director will be leaving the City of Lake Worth on May 25, 2012.The Utility Department consists of Electric, Water, Local and Regional Sewer services. Ms. Mattey has provided the City with a transition period that is three months longer than the notice period her contract required. This longer period will provide adequate time to ensure there is a well planned and executed transition period so that the operations of these critical service areas are not adversely impacted.
Palm Beach Post Article.
Good riddance, she was in way over her head. Without Susan to protect her, the gross incompetence would come to light and make it that much more difficult for her to find another job. Not to mention she decides to quit less than a year before the transition to a new Utility provider. I would like to know how much her total severance package is.
ReplyDeleteDitto and Amen to above! Mattey would probably be fired for her part in the whistle blower lawsuit,and an audit would/will certainly bring to light her gross incompetence.She does not want a fireing on her record.And can we PLEASE get a competent attorney for this city? Humphries lied trough her teeth on several issues. Our Commissioners believed her-to the detriment of the taxpayers.And P.S.-Why is Joe Kroll still slinking around city hall?Joe lied about the dump,joe lied about the railroad silencing,Joe lied about Bryant park,Joe lied about 2nd avenue south and the one way streets. Joe blames all of this on Stanton telling him to do these things.I guess he is both weak willed AND a liar!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo, is it true Lynn that utility director contract was rewritten by former city manager to provide for a 2 month transition period?
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that if the best manager ever and the best director ever consciously rewrote an open ended contract with a 2 month notice clause, then why isn't 2 months good enough now?
Look's like the only way for utility director to get out fast with severance was to hold the over a barrel.
Sad, very sad!
Not knowing when her contract was written, I am looking at it differently than you are.
ReplyDeleteA two month requirement gives the city extra time to find a replacement to a $130 mil dollar business. If she were allowed to give a standard 2 weeks notice, we would be put in jeopardy with no one at the helm to run our valuable asset.
Even two months probably won't be enough time. She worked out an additional 3 months to stay on, if needed, and work out the details of her severance package. This 2 month clause is FOR Lake Worth's protection, not the other way around.
So why does she get a severance package to quit?
ReplyDeleteI don'y know lynn. Maybe i see a conspiracy in everything that is done at City Hall, but this whole Utilities thing bothers me.
ReplyDeleteIs what Mattey negotiated really an extended stay at twice her current salary? When was this negotiated? How is 2 months different than 2 weeks on a specialty position like this?
Your thoughts?
I don't know the details of this "severance" deal. Just guessing, perhaps it is about benefits, during that period of extended time that we request her to work, be credited to her and not lost. I have no idea but I am sure, in due time, we will find out.
ReplyDeleteI just wonder what kind of relationship/bond was created between the Utility Director and the previous CM during their tenure in LW. As in many political circles, many underlings follow their bosses to pursue other adventures.
ReplyDelete"This longer period will provide adequate time to ensure there is a well planned and executed transition period so that the operations of these critical service areas are not adversely impacted".
ReplyDeleteIs that some kind of sick joke? The entire operation is adversely impacted 24/7. Has been for years and until a real leader is hired will continue to be.
Curious--
ReplyDeleteMattey is not following the CM anywhere. The CM is looking for a job. The Commission put her in a difficult position as after she decided to transgender, Largo fired her and 300 other cities did not hire her. She came here, a very liberal city that, as it turns out, fired her too with no stated reasons other than she was "mean" to some people and staff. The commission took the attitude, an eye for an eye.
Lynn, I heard you did a public records request yesterday for the information on Rebecca Mattey's leaving. Is that true? If so, how did you know it was officially done before the City Commission? Her negotiated extra three months will cost the City approximately $40,000.
ReplyDeleteI might have done a public information request but I heard the official news right along with everyone else today. The Commission was given the news yesterday.
ReplyDeleteTo further elaborate--Scott Maxwell leaked it out to Wes Blackman last week who put the leak on his blog. I then contacted a commissioner to verify and was told it was true. I then put up a brief statement on it. Check with Maxwell.
ReplyDeleteI put in a public information request when the rumor was immediately confirmed. I was told several days later by the HR director that there was no formal resignation by Mattey. I then dropped my public information request.
Lynn did you check with Maxwell?
ReplyDeleteDid you?
ReplyDeleteThe King is not dead. We will all have to suffer because of this mean and dangerous egomaniac. It is apparent that certain people cater to their own kind. King Maxwell and negative Court Jesters.
ReplyDeleteD.
Mattey is an excellent utilities director and we will suffer for losing her. Steve Carr is in charge of the city's finances and can determine the value of keeping her in place until May, better than any of you. I'm always amazed at the plethora of utilities and finance experts we have in our city who are running copy machines and scraping big macs off the grill for a living. Maybe you all should change career paths.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you'll find many MEN or women in the utilities dept who did not see Rebecca as their leader. As far as the "whistle blower" idiocy . . . she did the right thing as an organizational leader. He was a nice guy, and smart. But once you pull something like he did, out you go. He has made use of the remedy available to him and if he has a case, he will win. If he doesn't, I guess we'll have to read posts about the injustice of it all for the rest of our lives .
Sounds like you been sucking up to staff or you're high... one of the two. Mattey wasted millions through corruption or plain incompetence... she couldn't even get a estimate for the upgrade that wasn't off by 20 million dollars... so "losing her" ...is like losing cancer. Trying to get employees to lie for her when a security breach occurred backfired and led to her being forced out. And once she lost her cover (Stanton) she cut and ran but not before conning the city out of more money. They should have let her go and told her to write when she finds work. And she didn't lead anything except a trail of costly and corrupt decisions that cost all of us millions. Being feared because you are ruthless, dishonest and unprincipled isn't exactly a flattering circumstance.
ReplyDeleteI was actually referring to a REAL CITY LEADER (Triolo maybe), not Matte but you guys have proved my point. The city has no bonafide leader. That's why there's so many problems.
ReplyDeleteWe had a real leader in Stanton until King Maxwell fired her. (APRILS FOOLS) Stanton sucked!
Stanton did what she was employed to do.
ReplyDeleteTriolo is a ribbon cutter trying to find her way.
Maxwell is King.
No, I'm not sucking up or high. Hopefully the next utilities director will get an upgrade estimate that you (grill scraper or copy machine technician?) will confirm is correct based on your many years of electric utility experience. Maybe that will make you a little less bitter and nasty. Maybe not.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous accusations of corruption, incompetence, and dishonesty are weak. Anyone can do that when the subject matter defies the scope of their knowledge and expertise. And ruthless? I like! Ruthless leadership with brains is a very fine combination we had in both Susan and Becky. But, oh . . . men don't like that too much, do they?!
Maybe we can get us a really good director from FPL, since we think we're going to sell to them. Wouldn't that be convenient? And one would never assign dishonesty, corruption, or incompetence to FPL.
FYI, Stanton is highly respected in her field. It won't be easy to find another city manager who thinks she sucked. They know better. They all operate the way she did. They're dealing with elected officials who know very little about running a city. Triolo is a perfect example. We're constantly training these people and it takes a year for them to figure out what's going on if they're smart. She's not. We're in trouble here
"Forced out"? I heard that she resigned. Why would be be paying her extra to stay if she was forced out?
ReplyDeleteWell, why is she leaving if it is not a forceful nudge out the door? Is it the whistleblower law suit? Did they find the missing millions? The people want to know.
ReplyDeleteNo, of course you aren't sucking up to staff, you probably are staff and pretending to be a woman when you're really a man. Hm, let's see, who could that be?
ReplyDeleteMatty dropped 20 million off the upgrade because she was confronted with facts and figures she never expected from the public. Most people don't know anything about the utility (please include yourself) which makes it perfect for thieves who can easily dup the public while grabbing millions in cash and passing it onto friends. That too is well documented.
So it appears you don't get around much or you wouldn't know there are no anonymous accusations of corruption. It's all well documented on LWM and on other blogs, the waste clock on LWM is still there. And if you question that, then show everyone here how brilliant you are and show us how the waste clock is wrong. That should keep you busy for the next few years.
And paying her for an extended stay is the result of staff manipulating a host of fears that the transition might not be smooth and Carr is easily influenced as prodige of the Stanton/Matty team, and guess who controls utility staff creating those fears? "He who controls information, controls everything." Guess you didn't catch that either.
And how would you know if Stanton is respected or disrespected in the real world? Certainly, if 300 other cities didn't hire her, it doesn't look like she is very well known or respected. So let's just hope we don't get any city manager that thinks Stanton was great.
Well, I get around a little bit! And now I think . . . you're not a grill scraper or copy machine tech. You're a pretty smart guy who just has trouble presenting facts that haven't been clouded with your opinion. And that doesn't make you wrong. It just makes your "facts" unreliable.
ReplyDeleteBut I like you, so I'm walking away now. muah.
Oh, one more thing . . . Susan is respected by those in her field. That means other city managers, not the elected officials who hire them. Elected officials with political courage are in short supply, as I'm sure you would agree. Wish you would have run in district one. Too bad.
Susan might be respect by her colleagues, other cm and some others but she did not earn respect from the public at large here for the most part.
ReplyDeleteWho exactly IS the public at large? A force of malcontents and political disruptives who know how to run this city better than she? Give names. And don't bother telling me it was everyone who voted for Amoroso. He said that he would evaluate her and give himself 6 months to analyze. Triolo, also, never said that she would fire the CM. These people started off in their official capacity by one big LIE. It will take a miracle with me to get it straighten out. Not returning phone calls is not the way.
ReplyDeleteIf Stanton was soooooooooooooooooo well respected by all her peers it would have been easy for her to get any number of glowing referrals. Right? Elected officials may not be the best evaluators of cm talent but they would rely on and listen to any referrals from her peers, right? How long was she out of work before the progressives hired her? Everyone knows the utility department is the #1 issue for the city. Is the utility dept. better off know than it was when Matte or Stanton started? What have they done to improve anything related to the utility? It's still a train wreck. Adios to both of them.
ReplyDeleteThere won't be any miracles or straightening out of anything just to please you Lynn or anyone else who disagrees with what happened, it happened, it is over, been about a month now or more, and we need to move on. The problem with you not getting your phone calls, e-mails, or requests easily from the city leaders or staff is because you have maybe lost respect from most of them, both staff and the comm and mayor. From what I hear from many staff members and elected officials you drive them all crazy with your requests, e-mails, and calls. Maybe take a breather and step back from it all, go on a cruise like Mr. Timm does for 2 or 3 months, take a break, it is healthy for you, you might be too involved in all the city matters too much and with this blog and all, it may be affecting you. You might earn a little more respect if you stepped back and removed yourself from all city matters for a bit, otherwise it might make you crazy. You will feel so much better, I know you care a lot, but stepping back might really feel better, it might help.
ReplyDeleteI write a blog so why would I step back? Just to make you happy not hearing another perspective? Don't read my blog.
ReplyDeleteRequesting public information is my right under the law. If this is annoying any employee, which I doubt, then they do not have the right attitude towards their jobs.
I feel just fine. So don't worry about how I feel. It is people like you that keeps me going.
Don't worry about it. They don't return my phone calls either. This is just more of the same. Who is the sanctimonious azzhole above who talked down and didn't even sign his stupidity?
ReplyDeleteH.M.
I had the same problem, I have never gotten McVoy to write back to me or call me, is he just too busy or is he selective? Joanne was for sure the same her last term, she never would give me the time of day, I think that they just get tired of people writing to them and if you do it a lot that bothers them more. I do think though that it should be our elected officials obligations to write back to their constituents, I recently wrote to the new mayor and comm and the only ones that responded to me were Triolo, Maxwell, and Amoroso. Personally, I think all should always respond to the public, it has become a sad day that our government officials and politicians are not as responsive to citizens much any more.
ReplyDeletePerhaps those particular commissioners represent you or you gave to their campaigns? They all forget that they represent 36,000 people. They need to be able to take the compliment right along with the criticism. It's not about just certain people in certain sections of our city such as College Park or some of their vocal supporters who hang at City Hall that they respond to. One of the biggest complaints against Jo-Ann Golden in this last election was that she NEVER acknowledged an e-mail. She lost big time. These new commissioners are not taking any lesson here.
ReplyDeleteIf you frame your e-mail politely and refrain from hostility, there is no excuse for a commissioner not to return a call or an e-mail inquiry. NONE. I think they should be doing this every night--devote an hours to it. Afterall, it is we who put them there and it is we who can knock them out.
I agree with this 100%. Good luck Bernie.
ReplyDeleteThis commission has not turned down the fire assessment. What a crock. The difference here is that Stanton said the city needed the tax. They went along with Maxwell to gang up on the CM. Now that they are in power, they will probably vote in a fire assessment and go right along with the agenda that was originally proposed.
ReplyDelete