Thoughts from the 6/20/17 Council Meeting

Chief:

When you say “you all” I am assuming you mean those of us on this forum who are of an opposing opinion to city management and council. For what it’s worth take it from someone (me) who is a fourth generation Middletonian who has refused to abandon my home town, even when, more recently, the grass has looked a lot greener elsewhere. My property has been targeted by vandals and thieving drug addicts. I keep loaded firearms in my home for personal protection because I feel that the city’s police force is overwhelmed and unable to provide adequate protection. This condition has come about in part because of poor judgment and lack of informed leadership in the city building. You are not the only one who has to “live it everyday” … we ALL do, and we all feel the loss of our former All American City.

My family is neither affluent nor poor, prominent nor obscure. But good citizenship was always important to us. Not everyone can or should be in public service. We may have been in the stands at times but we have been in the trenches just as often. I am here and now doing what I can to raise awareness and enlist others in fighting for what we/they think is right. As to your accusation that the people in Middletown “don’t want to jump in and do the work” ... I think you must be unaware of the shabby treatment by city officials of citizens who have volunteered their time and effort to improve or correct some smaller (but not insignificant) problems that they have observed. And this volunteerism has been done with the knowledge of the city and well within any city regulation of such activity. The city was not concerned about these little problems until they decided to displace the volunteer(s) with a bureaucratic committee who then either ripped apart volunteer work or took credit for it themselves. And the city probably had to pay another bureaucrat a salary plus benefits.

I do not claim any special privileges for having been here virtually my entire life. Every legitimate concerned citizen should have equal rights and privileges regardless of station in life or duration of residence here. And that includes the right to be fairly represented by our elected officials and to voice our opinion of their performance. It’s my opinion that those rights have been usurped, and reserved for a privileged few … some of whom may be in or closely associated with the city building.

We (the “you all” group) are not and do not wish to be living in the past as you suggest. My post which, I think, is what you are responding to, does not mention our stellar past or use it as a comparison to the present. But since you brought it up … good point! There is no comparison!

The more RECENT past is where the REAL PROBLEMS have occurred. That’s when the city government really screwed up and Doug is ever present in 90% of the screw up. Though I can not understand how you continue to miss the obvious here’s a partial list … AGAIN … HUD, Section 8 and the heroin epidemic; loss of industry, jobs and tax base; academically poor performing schools in expensive new buildings; lack of funding for roads while Doug’s accounting department plays shell games with funds; our best amenities, golf course, pools and parks are given away or torn down; city owned blight not torn down; misuse of funds for blight to illegally raze commercial buildings by falsely claiming they are residential; razing repairable abandoned homes while ignoring unsafe housing occupied by addicts and on and on … PLUS the loss of our good reputation to become the financial and moral laughing stock of the region, state and possibly the nation.

Up to now I’ve said very little about Doug’s initial position with Middletown as City Prosecutor mainly because the mistakes he made there might involve you and I didn’t want to lose the dialog we had established with you on this forum.

But now, here it comes!!! The police, the law director, and Doug (as Prosecutor) I believe, have colluded to carefully hide police misconduct on a number of occasions.

First, the illegal recording in the city jail of privileged lawyer/client (city jail inmate) conversation. Boy that could really help (the City Prosecutor) Doug’s case. Wasn’t the city sued over this, Chief? Do you know how much that cost us taxpayers?

Next, the property room!! It was found virtually empty, no records were kept or could be found of transfer of materials in or out. There should have been files for evidence in current court cases. What had happened to confiscated drugs? The officer who was in charge of the property room was accused by the city but she proved in court that she had followed direct instruction NOT TO MAKE OR KEEP RECORDS for the property room. This was settled out of court likely to avoid public scrutiny of city/police misconduct/incompetence. How expensive for Middletown tax payers was this? How is the property room being handled now? The public should be demanding to know, especially the status and whereabouts of recent volumes of confiscated drugs.

Next, remember the incident where a man was run over and killed by a police cruiser? That was settled out of court too and was expensive ($750,000 worth of our tax dollars). Next, Jimmy Cunningham!! How many times was he suspended then almost immediately returned to duty with a promotion and raise? Didn’t one suspension involve excessive use of force? We were told that the reason for another more recent suspension would never be revealed to the public. Why should we, who provide his pay check, have information about his conduct withheld from us? What are you hiding? … And Chief, there’s always more. Have you personally looked through the court records? I promise you some eye openers!!

Our elected city government is responsible for ALL of the above debacle and it occurred without voter approval and it was often done out of sight and beyond our control. I think that deserves, in your own words to be “despised and criticized.” Council’s actions appear to me to be UN-American, and often unconstitutional! We wanted a new manager but we had no choice about who it was. And Council chose Doug even though they were aware (or should have been) of his blatant mistakes, incompetence and refusal to abide by the rules of the Federal HUD Program. He really was and is just continuing the flawed policies of his predecessor, Judy G. Newly elected Council are always quickly indoctrinated to be bobble-heads for Doug’s five year plan to finish off our city. No matter what new council is elected they morph into the same good ole Council that Doug has under complete control.

Most voters have lost interest, the city is demoralized after being robbed, ignored and their protests considered beneath Council’s attention. But some of us haven’t given up and Doug, we intend to keep pointing out your mistakes until some changes are made and continue to be made. Or, until you are replaced. Achieving that may require the total replacement of council and mayor of this city. And Council, that is within the realm of possibility!

P.S. Chief, didn’t Doug ask you to respond to us for him?? He’s too chicken to do so himself because he knows we are right. And the same goes for all of City Council. Sad for you to have to bear the brunt of criticism for them. And it’s a shame that you must do their biding in order to keep your six figure job.

P.P.S. The Java Johnny meeting was poorly attended because it was not advertised to the public. Only a few bloggers knew about it. Most of the topics and questions the bloggers had would have been directed to Doug. But Doug purposely gave no notice of his intention to show up. And some of us would not attend such a small gathering because we want to avoid city harassment for having exercised our constitutional right to speak our mind.

Chief,

The announcement that this is your last post is one of Doug’s tactics when he doesn’t want to answer some tough questions (usually questions that have gone unanswered after a decade of asking).. And we are sorry that you have decided to take this tact. Open dialog, even when highly contested is always more desirable than a one-sided argument. Wouldn’t you agree? You have respect from this side for all your genuine concern for our city and the honest effort you make to initiate and continue improvements when it is within your power. Chief, I know that some or most of the following was not under your control.

However, you have misread my words and put your own (or Doug’s) spin on them. I think you are being defensive about things that are not there and you are reading them into my post.

I did not use the words “highly paid bureaucrats”. The word bureaucrat was used in reference to volunteers being replaced by bureaucrats that would add to the city payroll. You chose to ignore the point … the city mistreatment of legitimate offers of volunteers to help the city at no cost to the city.

And no mention was made of any “fluff positions” in my post. Perhaps it is you who is recalling that past. I think that Doug may have fed you some incorrect figures regarding the large number of city building employees in the past. I believe that Judy Gilleland was the first to employ over 400. Don’t we currently have close to 400 employed by the city? If that’s true and IF we have reduced the number of city employees by 300, then we would have had to have 600 to 700 employed in the past in order to have 100 or so remaining employees which would not even be sufficient to man the fire and police departments. Yet a check of employment records will show we never ever had that large a number employed by the city at one time. I believe it was Judy Gilleland who first incorrectly claimed that inflated number of staff.

The take over of management of all Section 8 by both Butler and Warren Counties (1662 vouchers in all) from the city was in the very recent past, 2015 I believe. We are not “infatuated” but rather appalled by the recent loss of millions of $’s in management fees! The Section 8 population is still in residence in Middletown and that includes the drug addicts along with welfare recipients. When Doug, as head of revitalization, said if city council gave him the power he would straighten out the Section 8 problem. However, his methodology was contrary to the rules set out by HUD and was the direct cause of Middletown’s losing Section 8 management and fees. That makes it recent and relevant today. We want to insure that the city operates with thoughtful consideration and within the boundaries of the law and the rules set forth by federal and state programs. Mistakes are more easily forgiven if they are not repeated.

The closing of our swimming pools is not amusing and will not illicit a chuckle from people who could have enjoyed them. I remember that some pool patrons quit attending because of unruly conduct by others which management could not control and neither the city nor the police department would offer a solution or provide assistance. They preferred to punish all of us by throwing away another amenity. Mention of this past problem is relevant today because Doug keeps saying that in order for the city to be attractive we need more amenities. We had great amenities … Under Doug’s watch Weatherwax (our fantastic golf course), Sebald Park and now Bicentennial Commons were thrown away. How do you replace that? It would require millions upon millions of $’s.

The jail recordings. For years, some of us asked at the city building for information about this criminal activity and we were stonewalled, for years, and told nothing could be discussed about an ongoing court case. Then after so many years of this story suddenly the excuse changed to “that case occurred TOO LONG AGO for us to discuss now.” So none of our questions were ever answered after ten years of asking. We still don’t know how many suits were brought or how much it cost the city to settle them after ten years of asking. The city could avoid being constantly questioned by being open, honest and transparent about city operations, mistakes (which will happen no matter how careful) and their subsequent solutions. This is relevant today because we do not want the city to repeat such costly mistakes and have the tax payers pay for them again. City revenues are too scarce to waste. Has anyone been held personally liable or responsible, as the supreme court ruled in matters of this sort? It is illegal for tax dollars to pay the cost of settling civil rights violations?

The property room. We kept asking about this because, for years, it was so difficult to get any information. The citizens deserve an explanation of such a serious matter. If there had been transparency from the start there would be no need to continually question the city for years. Thank you for your forthcoming answers about how management of the property room has been changed, improved and monitored. Just wish we had been enlightened much sooner.

The man who was run over by the cruiser and killed. The officer was speeding, over 100 mph. Drunk or sober that man in the street could not have avoided being hit. The officer claimed to be on the way to an emergency call, but witnesses said that he did not have his emergency lights or siren engaged. And the records show the emergency call situation had been rectified by the time of this incident. Even more tragically, the legitimacy of the emergency call was questionable and so this whole tragic scene might, or should, never have happened.

Jim Cunningham, who is now a lieutenant, from my point of view looks like a bully with a badge. He impresses me as a hot head operating like a loose cannon. His “energetic” style of policing is in my opinion another regrettable police incident looking for a place to happen. And it’s most irritating that he has been rewarded with promotions and raises while receiving virtually no significant discipline for numerous infractions. Why has the city recently refused to reveal to us the nature of one specific infraction unless they fear the public’s reaction to it? This has been going on for years! Continuing to question this sort of situation is relevant now because it should stop and should have been stopped years ago.

The meeting at Java Johnny’s was not advertised to the general public at all. Had it been, there might have been a good turn out. I mentioned when you proposed the meeting here on your forum post that it needed to be advertised to the public. I was thinking that we might reignite public interest in improving our city. But that suggestion was completely ignored. So the general public was totally unaware of this opportunity. Doug’s attendance was unexpected and he knew some on this forum said they would not attend in order to avoid harassment by the city for speaking our mind. ….

As a separate matter, you are to be commended for your efforts to relate to our communities by setting up opportunities for them to interact with you and your department. We will not find a better ambassador for Middletown anywhere. Your obvious kindness will hopefully inspire others. You are making great strides in human relations! And you should be proud!

As to Mr Adkins’ skill level for relating to the public … there’s a lot to be desired. Could you give him a 101 course on diplomacy? You should be his boss instead of him being yours.