Monday, April 8, 2013

Michael Bornstein One Year Anniversary in Lake Worth

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Serving at the pleasure of the city commission who serves at the "pleasure" of the public, City Manager Michael Bornstein has been employed with the City for nearly one year. He was voted in as City Manager on March 29, 2012 and his contract began on April 16, 2012 for a term of three years with an option of an additional term of two years.

Mr. Bornstein was awarded a base salary of $135,000 a year plus all sorts of fringe benefits: 12 sick days, 15 vacation days, 10% of salary to a retirement plan, $1,000 towards insurance, full health insurance and full reimbursement for various seminars and conferences, dues and subscriptions, cell phone and air time along with $500 a month for his personal automobile. 

According to his contract, the City is to review his base salary on an annual basis around April 1. There is no mention of an annual review but we are to assume this will be done as the Vice Mayor, Scott Maxwell, made a public spectacle out of giving the former city manager an annual public review, (lynching) the first time a public review had occurred. Surely there won't be selective discrimination. We are also sure that all the trees being cut down to a pulp in this city without his knowledge won't be held against him.

We shall soon find out if Mr. Bornstein will be treated differently than was Susan Stanton. He already is as far as the door and lock to the executive offices.  If you recall, Scott Maxwell also made another notably weird and unusual public demand of Ms. Stanton that was meant to harass and belittle, ordering her to keep her door opened and unlocked so that every Tom, Dick and Harry crazed person could enter her offices at will. This was done as soon as he was on the majority dais.

A  new state law back in 2011 imposed fines of up to $5,000 on county and municipal officials, and even threatened them with removal from office if they enforced firearms and ammunition restrictions other than those spelled out by state statute. Stanton complied with the ill-thought out demand that was a real threat to hers as well as staffs' safety by the then commission (Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso) but was fired a short time later. Bornstein now has two-way glass on the doors; the door is locked at all times.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are no comments to date posted for this story in this blog written yesterday. Why? The majority of the people like Mr Bornstein and think he is doing an excellect job.
Everyone knows Lynn has been mad at the commissioners ever since they fired Stanton. Get over it.

Lynn Anderson said...

Most of the time, there is little comment. When there is comment, it is usually from someone who disagrees with me.

"The majority of people do like Bornstein"--he is a likeable guy. HOWEVER, his likeability has nothing to do with nor does it excuse the commission's act in firing Stanton who was a highly experienced city manager.

P.S. I will continue to remind people of this commission's decisions that have not always been in the best interests of the city.

Anonymous said...

Scott Maxwell constantly bullied Stanton the entire time she was there. Someone should have slapped him down. Then we got Triolo and Amoroso who were manipulated by Maxwell. After that, it was all she wrote for Stanton. She was treated like crap by a commission that played dirty. This is about the discrimination by Maxwell and treating people differently from those he likes to those he hates. Maxwell kept crying about code enforcement and Stanton retooling that department and what has he done about slum and blight? Not a damn thing. Hasn't now and he never did.

Anonymous said...

Maxwell didn't gut the code department. Stanton Golden, Mulvehill and Jennings did and that's one of the many reasons Stanton was fired.

Lynn Anderson said...

You forgot to use your missive, "asshole."

You continue to spread the myth that Stanton GUTTED code enforcement. I have written about this over and over again. Can you ever learn? Can you ever do any research and just learn the facts on this matter? Do you have any idea how many are in Code right this minute? Do you have any idea how many were in code when Maxwell and the trio fired Stanton? Get your facts and then come back.

Anonymous said...

Lynn, not for nothing, but why won't you let the Maxwell bulled Stanton thing go?

He didn't bully her, he simply didn't drink her kook aide nor dd he put up with her lies and obstruction of information.

Susan had and continues to have a clear pattern of behavior that is not helping her win friends or influence others...am reading and hearing stories from California that sure seem to mirror the behavior both here and Largo...it looks like she may survive the summer, as she has alienated many in that immunity as well.

Maxwell wasn't the problem, Susan was then problem.

Lynn Anderson said...

Strong leaders will create enemies. Stanton did this with Maxwell. First she was a woman. 2nd she was transgendered. Thirdly, she didn't take his crap. And one of the major problems she encountered was standing up to the Unions. Voila! These combinations were deadly for Stanton in spite of her ability.

You site one example of her wanting her own police chief in Greenfield. What else is going on out there? This is a city with major problems like LW.
When you have financial problems in a city and you take actions to reverse the problems, some politicians will hate you. that's the way that it is. Hopefully she will be allowed to focus on her job and politics won't get in the way once again.

Anonymous said...

Code enforcement was never "gutted". It always had at least 8 officers. What does "gutted" mean? Can you please be a bit more specific? As in: in 20xx we had x number of officers. In 20xx the number of ACTIVE EMPLOYED officers was reduced to x.
Rumor is that Maxwell came on to Stanton and she rebuffed him. He didn't take it too well.

Lynn Anderson said...

One more thing here--the interim city manager of Greenfield is the city manager of Soledad. He took this job after Stanton was hired instead of him as CM for Greenfield. I would bet that there is a lot of good old boy politics going on to share a police chief even though Stanton believed it was no longer in the best interests of Greenfield. Once again, politicians thought better than a seasoned city manager.