Sunday, January 30, 2011

Blogger responds to the Dean administration's rather nebulous and problematic hire in challenging budget times

Nashville's women's health news blogger, Rachel Walden, would like an explanation from Mayor Karl Dean's office on their decision to throw $60,000 at former Bredesen Parks Commissioner Jim Fyke based on vague rationales:

The Finance Director is quoted in the article saying things that make it explicitly clear that this was not an existing job opening, one with clearly defined responsibilities and needed qualifications, that other people were able to compete for.

“We’ll assign him projects as they arise on a case basis.” Because they were “just talking” (hello, good ole boy network), and thought he could help.

You know who actually knows what they’re supposed to do and could use more money? Who would just love to have somebody around to do whatever needed doing, or at least the $60,000 a year?

The Nashville Public Library.

Or the Metro Department of Health.

Or schools, or any number of other departments with real missions to help real people. Real services that people of Nashville need and deserve, in department that struggle to do everything that needs doing with the limited-and-being-cut funds available.

Interesting that over a year ago Tennessean columnist and Dean supporter Gail Kerr telegraphed the idea of Metro government re-hiring Fyke to the newspaper's expansive readership.

While Rachel does not want to go too hard on Fyke himself but focus on Mayor Dean and his Finance duputy, Rich Riebeling, Fyke does not have an uncheckered rep here at Enclave. How could he in good conscience take that much money when year-after-year Metro departments are asked to slash their budgets?

2 comments:

  1. Buck Dozier did this at the fairgrounds. He hired retired Metro Policeman Ken Sanders as the assistant director of the fairgrounds. The job was never posted and that job never existed before. Sanders was drawing a pension from Metro as a cop, yet Dozier hired him full time at $40 an hour. Because Sanders could not draw a full time salary and a pension, Dozier did not run his salary through Metro payroll. Instead he ran it through Taylor Payroll Services. Sanders attends golf tournaments with Buck on Metro time according to Buck's emails listed on Enclave.

    Sanders only works 19 hours a week now, but who knows how much an hour he is being paid? How does being a policeman qualify you to run a fairgrounds? How many others were hired and their pay hidden on Taylor Payroll Services? I like to see a list of those folks.

    It will be interesting to see if the woman who accused Emily Evans of unethical behavior has an opinion on Rich Riebeling's new hire and Dozier's old one.

    Remember that CM Erik Cole's wife was given a $100,000 Metro job with the Arts Commission. It is part of the good ole boy network, the check just goes to his wife. Erik Cole never disagrees with the mayor now. What qualifications did she even have for such a job? She is the daughter-in -law of Ed Cole from TDOT. Sounds like a little palm greasing to me. And what about Gerald Nicely? Didn't he recently return to Metro's payroll from TDOT?

    Metro is full of these types of jobs. We need an independent audit and some real action to be taken. No wonder we don't have the money to pay for things when we spend it on made up jobs for our friends.

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  2. ANONYMOUS, Do you know who to contact to do a federal investigation about all the unethical tactics that Karl Dean and his pals are using to gain personal revenue as well as giving the spoiled brat mayor we have his way. He and Richard Riebeling are bound and determined to find a way to try and get rid of the fairgrounds. That is the only reason Fyke was hired. Seems like Mr. Dozier is working for the mayor and getting paid out of the fairboard funds. I'm sure you know Mr Reibeling has bugeted a loss of 1.5million a year for the last 3 years, not to mention paying a private security firm $350,000.00 a year to secure the fairgrounds. Why do we need a private security firm, we have the metro police and the fairgrounds doesn't need security on a daily basis. This is just a VERY small fraction of the corruption and BS trickling down from that scum bag mayor, it makes me sick. They have got to be stopped.

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