POLICY MATTERS

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Why are there no policies for communication, RFP’s, candidate requests for citizen councils?

Why no policy for setting the agenda?

Who benefits from the lack of Council Level Policy?

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The duplicity and hypocrisy of belief with certain Indiantown Village Council Members is becoming overwhelmingly blatant.

To demonstrate this point TAM is going to do a little exercise in truth.

So buckle up gang ~  we are going down the Rabbit Hole one more time:

First, let’s take away the identity of the person we are about to discuss. No, I do not mean a good old cancel culture on them. I mean – let’s not use their name just yet. Next let’s put their words in context without knowing who said it. Once we do that you can see the duplicity of their position with much greater clarity.

For example, one of the resounding arguments being made is we need an EXPERT to tell us what to do.

Then in the next statement declare that a candidate’s experience for a Board seat doesn’t matter because the “board” needs more “ethnic diversity” than they do knowledge. This idea “they can ‘learn’ like everyone else” is as complete polar opposite in logic as a position can possibly travel.

This is true especially when the argument is being made to vote for the persons “Ethnicity” or “Race” over a person that actually has professional experience and “expert” credential with the subject matter. Somehow that smells of racism. Favoring one group over another based-on skin color or ethnic background is the definition of racism. We simply have to ignore that the other is a property owner and an “EXPERT” and had they been of the right ethnic persuasion then they could be considered.

If you think that I am just making this up. Here is an excerpt taken from Indiantown Currents & Ms. Barbara Clowdus in a post she made on FaceBook.

….. The council also rejected Councilwoman’s Susan Gibbs-Thomas nomination of Mike Garrett, an Indiantown resident builder, for one of the open slots on the village’s Planning Zoning Adjustment (PZA) board. The PZA reviews all developers’ plans and recommends action to the village council based on their review.

Mayor Janet Hernandez countered by proposing landscaper Amilazar Lopez of Booker Park, instead of Garrett. She appeared to be offended at Gibbs-Thomas’s questions as to Lopez’s experience and qualifications to serve on the planning board.

“He doesn’t have to know anything,” Hernandez replied. “He can learn, just like the rest of us.”

Councilman Anthony Dowling pointed out that the board already had a non-resident developer, Daniel Sehayik, who was elected chairman in December; therefore, he argued against adding a builder, even though an Indiantown resident. ……..

You can read the full quote in context at Indiantown Currents Facebook page.

It shines light on the heart of the belief structure used by those attempting governance. Somehow, race is a more important attribute than experience when lending insight to rules, expenditure and considerations made by the Government in Indiantown.

Here is a real-world example shared by Tom Campenni in his Friends and Neighbors newsletter:

Here he is quoting Janet Hernandez, “Many people were telling them not to do these things. But the real experts are sitting in this room. She has spoken to other elected officials who have been doing this for years and they are amazed at the speed of completed projects. Even if residents are telling her not to do things, they are getting done.”

Actions speak louder than words. This Council cabal being orchestrated by Howard Brown is beginning to show the cut of their jib.

Remember too that these, “copy and paste experts”, are in an industry that has rushed to circle the Village for their next bite of the municipal pie. They have declared that feeding time is open. There are self-declared and paper wagging experts for this and experts for that. It seems that all it takes is a favorable recompense for consideration or a long-standing happy hour relationship at the place municipal regulation junkies gather.  Remind me to stay home that Friday Night!

There are several if not a majority who, like Howard Brown, are from places that have no idea what this Village is about. They see you and the money and the land as game pieces that can be moved around at the expense of others.

Beyond that, Howard Brown and a large majority of the “Village Employees” do not even live in the border of the same place they pretend to care about and have responsibility over. Their playing Simm City with your hard earned money is wrong and is DUPLICIT.

TAM has said for a long time that we need policy in place for matters like this that are subjective and open to corruption, collusion and consideration. As an example; We have been advocating for almost a year for a formal process and policy for setting the agenda. The current process favors the Village Managers ideas, goals and cronies as well as his golden child and cohorts. It does not favor an open in the Sunshine process that Citizens can observe. It does however create a very heavy handed top-down agenda that is out of control.

It seems too that a policy for recruitment, qualification and acceptance of potential citizen review and advisory boards is needed too. We have demonstrated why above.

Then there is the selection of consultants. There needs to be a defined scope of work and a policy to go out for a competitive bid for such services. Many times, competitive bids are not even taken. It is the relationship that Howard Brown has had with these consultants for the past several years that make the grade. No RFP. No real scope of work consistent with Council Policy.

No, first appears a perceived need. Then a perceived expert. Then a vote to do what Howard The Expert tells the Council. How else would the Council know what to do? By their own admission they know nothing and need an expert to lead them.

Your Council has become an over inflated ego of self-importance and has relinquished all oversight and accountability straight in to the hands of the man behind the curtain, Howard Brown. You might as well just have a lottery drawing for your next Council Election. Outside of Susan Gibbs-Thomas there is very little leadership of confidence on the Council.

There is however a gristmill of platitude and Social Justice diatribe. There is a lot of following going on and minimal leadership. Fresh ideas and long-term vision escape the behavior of several. They rely solely on the guidance of the one person that is really in control by his own design.

The Council brought a shark to town and now it his feeding time. As Jackie Clarke asked during the hiring review process, “What Race is he?”. Identity politics and Social justice warrior agendas seem to be driving this fledgling Village.

So long as Howard is allowed to escape directive via the lack of Council driven policy, then there will continue to be exorbitant waste of tax payer money. Beyond that there is a huge risk for abuse of power, collusion, kickbacks, cronyism and just plain old gain for personal sake at the expense of the people of The Village of Indiantown.

Each member of the Village Council needs to ask, am I being led down a path that I did not choose? Who is leading us there? Where are we going?

Even if you did choose the path, maybe you should consider doing the leading and not the following. Because as it stands now all you are doing is following Howard and his expensive tribe of progressive consultants.

The Council has created a system that places the power in the hands of the Village manager and not the Council. There are seven (7), count them, seven (7) more ticks that can be made against property taxes.

There are fee’s, assessments and local municipal taxes that are in the tool kit for your Village government.

Feeding time is drawing near. It is your money that they want. As long as there is a chance of getting more from you, there will be an effort to do so. That is why you need leaders that are of and for the people. The position of Council member is not a dictatorial one. The position is supposed to be there to help protect you and I from the animal that is being raised called runaway government and tyranny.

Each member should ask them self if they really are leading with authority or are being led by design. Why don’t you create the policies that your Experts are supposed to follow?

Then hold them accountable. But to let them tell you what needs to be done and how to do it is foolish. It is also not why you were elected. If you cannot do that because you think you need an expert, then get out of the way and let the adults lead you out of this mess.

As long as the political scene continues to resemble a Junior High School Student Government, Howard and his cronies will continue to get richer. Indiantown will continue to pay for them. The Heritage of this rural community will be plowed under and the new seeds being planted will look more like St. Lucie than Indiantown.

Even if you disagree with the way TAM delivers the message, please take the time to review what other “experts” are saying about the state of affairs in Indiantown. Because if you do not know what the people you elect are doing, then you will end up being the one that asks how things got so expensive and bad for Indiantown in the not too distant future.