- County Sheriff Sued for Ignoring (Another) Court Decision
Posted October 23, 2007
The editor of Prison Legal News filed suit this week to force
Fulton County sheriff Myron Freeman to allow prisoners in the county
jail to subscribe to his prisoners' rights magazine. A federal judge had
ruled in 2002 that a similar ban by Freeman's predecessor was unconstitutional.
Details from Monday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
And how much, one wonders, will defending (and then losing or settling)
this additional - and completely avoidable - federal lawsuit cost Fulton
County taxpayers?
- Cost to Taxpayers of Defending Nichols Approaching $2 Million
Posted October 11, 2007
It looks like county taxpayers not only will be paying for the county to
prosecute the guy, but for defending him in court as well.
Details from an Atlanta-Journal Constitution story.
That fatal bit of incompetent county security a few years back is
certainly going to cost taxpayers a heap o' money. Reminds us of that
old bumper sticker that reads "Think education is expensive? Consider
the alternative." Ditto for "competent county security employees."
- Elections Officials Pondering How Much to Fine Fulton County
for Inadvertently Destroying 93,000 Voter Registrations
Posted September 26, 2007
Whatever the amount of the fine, it's going to be a whopper.
Details from a story in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
And we wonder why some people applying for library cards frown at us when
we tell them their libraries are operated by Fulton County government. Well,
it's good to know that fines for overdue library materials can help pay off
those fines (and lawsuit judgments and settlements) the county is forced to
pay for breaking the law. Unfortunately for county taxpayers, the price of
incompetence is often a steep one.
- County Spends Thousands Re-Hiring Highly-Paid Retired Employees
Posted August 16, 2007; additional link inserted August 19, 2007
AFPL employees have long marveled at the fact that they occasionally
receive emails mentioning the officially-retired-but-still-on-the-payroll-as-a-"consultant"
Bob Brandes, former head of the county's personnel department.
Now we learn this double-dipping phenom (getting a pension plus a salary or
"consultant's fee") isn't all that rare in Fulton County government.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has
details, not on Brandes' nice little gig (which it doesn't mention),
but on the county largess enjoyed by another high-level county administator.
What's especially galling - at least for those of us still toiling away
at low-level county jobs - is that these consultant fees for handsomely-paid
rehires of retirees are funded by administrators freezing vacant positions
created for the day-to-day delivery of county services. Every vacant position,
at any level, means that some county employee somewhere is doing two
or more county jobs, and getting paid for only one of them.
August 19th Update: The AJC published
this editorial on August 17th about this particular method being used by Fulton County
officials to squander taxpayer dollars. Our sentiments exactly.
- Discrepancies of Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
Discovered in Records Kept by County Jail Employees
Posted August 16, 2007
More proof that, at the very least, the county continues to hire employees
whose math skills clearly aren't adequate for conducting the county
government's day-to-day business.
Details from yesterday's front page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- County's Former Chief Jailer Sentenced for Accepting Bribe
Posted August 9, 2007
Details from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- More Lawsuit-Potential Problems Uncovered at County's Jail
Posted June 28, 2007; updated June 29, July 15,
July 16, July 19, July 27, and August 8, 2007
Details from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, with an AJC
update here.
July 15, 2007 Update: Predictably, the
sheriff's lawyers, instead of acknowledging the possible link between an
understaffed and/or untrained jail staff and excessive TASER use on jail
inmates, is denying that the federal judge has any business demanding an
accounting of recent TASER use incidents at the county jail.
Yet another lawyer-generated smokescreen, paid for by county taxpayers.
Details from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
July 16, 2007 Update: Another AJC
story on questionable TASER use at the jail by jail staff.
July 19, 2007 Update: The judge's answer
to the county sheriff's objection to being asked about TASER use at the jail
is described
here.
July 27, 2007 Update: The county sheriff
has fired one of the jail's deputies for misusing her TASER, then lying
about it to investigators. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
story notes that the firing happened only after a federal judge insisted
on an explanation of the incident (among others reported to the judge).
So much for effective "internal" controls over jail personnel in Fulton
County - not to mention effective training and trustworthiness of
at least some of the county government's (armed) jail employees.
August 8, 2007 Update: Another jail deputy
accused of misusing her TASER
resigned August 1st.
- County Inspector Accused (Again) of Demanding Bribes
Posted June 18, 2007; updated July 5, 2007 and July 10, 2007
Details from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
July 5th Update: The county inspector
arrested in this case later claimed that accepting gifts from companies
the county government regulates is common practice, despite the county's
rules forbidding it.
Details.
July 10th Update: The arrested inspector
pleaded guilty at his court appearance on the bribery charge.
Details.
- County Jail Clerk's 'Oversight' Could Cost Taxpayers in Lawsuit Settlement
Posted June 29, 2007
Willie Lovett & Co. are at it
again, generating a legalistic smokescreen in an attempt to cover up
obvious county employee incompetence - a futile maneuver that will only
result in a more expensive settlement later on, like it did with the
library discrimination lawsuit.
- County DFACS Official Indicted for Child Abuse
Posted June 25, 2007
More
publicity about the caliber of employees on Fulton County's payroll.
- Plea Bargain in $2 Million Scam of Sheriff's Office Funds
Posted June 12, 2007
Details from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Aide to Former County Sheriff Took Bribe
Posted May 15, 2007
Details from today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- The Dollar Cost of Incompetent Security Guards
Posted March 23, 2007
The lax behavior of certain security guards at the Fulton County courthouse
that allowed Brian Nichols to escape from custody and kill four people
is resulting in the most expensive trial in Georgia's history. Everyone's
read about the exhorbitant cost of Nichols' defense, but the cost of
prosecuting Nichols is expected to cost taxpayers twice that much.
Details.
- County Jail Food Service Contract Awarded to Highest Bidder
Posted February 22, 2007; updated July 19, 2007
Details from today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The extra cost
to the taxpayers that would have resulted from the original contract award:
$850,000. (That figure doesn't include the costs of re-bidding the contract,
now that the hanky-panky has come to light).
We note that it was an unsuccessful bidder's complaint - not questions from
the commissioners - that has spurred the so-called investigation into the
questionable contract award. So much for the county commissioners'
diligence in overseeing the awarding of lucrative county contracts.
Also unsurprising is the claim by county employees that they were told to
doctor the bid evaluation documents. There are plenty of library employees
who can remember feeling pressured (back in the Hooker/McClure era) to
distort their evaluations of library materials vendors bids to suit the
preferences of a certain former board member.
We have to wonder about the chances of any "investigation" by the county
attorney turning up any wrongdoing by her employer. After all, this is the
same attorney who steadfastly denied in multiple court hearings that there
was any race discrimination going on in the county's library system.
Meanwhile,
distortions of fact continue to emanate from the county jail about the
staffing situation there, a problem that's repeatly surfaced in the course
of yet another (expensive) federal court case involving Fulton County government.
July 19, 2007 Update: Half of Fulton's
commissioners want to renew the current contract, the other half want to
give it to another vendor. That leaves the contract in limbo, and the
status quo intact. Details from the Atlanta Journal
Constitution.
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