A PR person for FPD and it's troubles.
Last night towards the end of the Council meeting, the COO Keezer announced to the council that the Mayor has hired J Flagg (https://jflaggconsulting)
as a consultant for a Police Management study.. a general level
look-see at how the management is structured at FPD. It's not an
in-depth look, rather a snap shot look at management. He went on to say,
she is well regarded and has worked in many Mass cities and around the
country. One might have thought she has tons of experience in evaluating
police departments.. but a quick search on her would indicate that
she's just a PR person hired to deal with the corruption at FPD. From
her web site:
Are you a high-profile businessperson, elected official, or citizen faced with a situation sure to garner media attention and/or scrutiny?
Are you trying manage a growing problem and getting conflicting advice from others whose motives are unclear?
Do you need guidance in dealing with press inquiries and don’t know how to respond?
Then you’ve come to the right place.
At J. Flagg Consulting, our job is to help you through what can be a very difficult and stressful time by using our experience to develop a successful communications strategy that will guide you through the media storm.
Call us before the press calls you!
And when the COO was asked what the Mayor has to say about the 2.5 page article in the MWDN did on the lawyer who is an assistant to someone at FPD double dipping, the COO said no to any comment from the Mayor and that the current arrangements are with-in legal requirements and that the Mayor is satisfied with the current arrangements. See the meeting at http://207.172.210.8:5002/cablecast/public-site/index.html#/watch/1?channel=1. The COO starts at 2:32:30 and goes to 2:36:43
It should concern everyone in Town that this type of flagrant abuse of tax dollars is being swept under the rug by the Mayor and ignored by the Council. How many more stories can the press write to get the Mayor to recognize, FPD has some issues that need fixing?
Here are a few companies that offer services to communities evaluating their Police Force, if the Mayor and COO really want to clean up FPD.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 3:17 PM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
Is this some kind of joke? Did the COO really think no one would catch on to this? Shame on the district councilors for not asking for some type of resume or some references for this women.
Where does the money for this audit come from? Can they use civil forfieture money to pay for this audit?
Now that we know this woman is not what the COO implied she is, what are next steps?
Does the district council have to approve this expenditure? If not, how do we stop this from happening? And how do we get a real audit done?
Doesn't this type of process have to go out for bid? Did that happen?
I smell a rotten fish here.
all good questions that I have myself. The COO is defending the decision (like any good solider would) but his credibility seems to be tarnished.
I guess I should blame the Council, they had no idea he would be talking about the consultant, but it does beg a larger question, who is doing the vetting or fact checking on anyone that is hired or appointed.
And not the first time we've seen someone appointed or hired or elected, that just doesn't have the right experience or is part of the Democratic Town Wide mob that infiltrates every board.
I have the contract that JFlagg signed with the City, thanks to Mike Cannon. I will post that here. She very well could be the next Brian Siminoe, a friend of a friend who just hangs around. Lets hope they don't give her a badge or gun.
FYI.. the Civil Forfiture funds are frozen and under investigation along with many other parts of the FPD.
I have the 24 page contract if anyone wants it. But in essence, she's on for 8 months, at 20k to interview the top brass, former Police chief and others at FPD, community leaders.. I wonder who that will be.. and other individuals. And to review any and all relevant documents such as Polices and Procedures and Internal Affairs. Oct 1 she gives the Mayor and COO a report. She will have an assistant at City Hall as well. Keezer et all, singed it on or before 7.9.18. She signed it 6.25.18 so this has been in the works for a few weeks. I think there is a 25k limit before you go out to bid.
I wonder who approached who? Did Keezer work with her before? But her resume is thin at best in diagnosing the problems at FPD. Why won't a more experienced company be looked at for help?
This is hogwash to put it mildly. How come no one on the council is calling them on this. how could they sign a contract with someone without getting the approval of someone other than themselves? This is a perfect example of why government requires checks and balances, neither of which appears to be in place in our fair City. Shame on the mayor and the COO, but I am appalled that the district council is letting this slide.
Seems like they wrote this contract to keep it under the bid amount, and when she bills them for more than that $20k, does anyone have to approve that payment other than the people who wrote the contract in the first place? Smells rotten to me but so does the lack of response from the DCs
I believe she has to get permission from the COO to bill more than the 20k, but the contract says she may look into other areas that are not covered under the contract.
I agree.. the lack of response from the DC and the lack of fact checking shows that they just trust whatever come's out of anyone's mouth. We have to wait another week before there may be a discussion about this at the DC meeting, but as the Charter explains, the Mayor can hire anyone she likes.
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