After listening to Mike’s temper tantrums this week, especially about monitoring these numbers like a hawk, and the lies from his finance office, his hypocrisy is beginning to show.
His comments yesterday about audits and the CVB Bid tax weren’t even close to reality. He wants to audit a $2.9 million dollar tax so he can get a million of it for what? Cheerleading & Dart tournaments?
This is were his hypocrisy kicks in. He wants to audit such a minute amount of money (that is apparently working as it should) but hasn’t let the public see any expenses or audits when it comes to the Events Center. Finance Director Tracy Turbak even admitted on Tuesday that he doesn’t even know if he has change order files but knows what the subcontractors were paid, maybe. How is that? You don’t know what the change orders are, and you have no idea how much money Mortenson made, but he can get you that information, as long as the Argus wasn’t suing for it.
I agree with you Mayor Huether, let’s audit the CVB, and let’s release that audit the same day as the EC building expense and siding settlement audits get released. We could throw one big audit party. I’ll drive the black Mariah.
But all this audit and tax talk has also got me thinking about the mayor’s possible opposition to the car rental fees for the development foundation. While we may both agree on this, I have a feeling the Mayor opposes it for two reasons. First off because he wants it all for the city and secondly he was pretty much left out of the negotiations when it came to Foundation Park and the GOED. As the rumor goes, “Foundation Park is moving forward in spite of Mayor Huether”.
Seems there is a lot of things that are moving forward these days ‘in spite’ of Mayor Huether
Technically, this post is incorrect. The mayor didn’t ask for the CVB to be audited. He did refer to a City Council audit that was performed in 2014 and produced a recommendation that the CVB develop measurable standards for evaluating the effectiveness of “BID and, by extension, the CVB” (including the 1% hotel tax, a separate pot of tax money). He pointed out yesterday that the CVB has yet to make any changes in response to the City Council auditor’s recommendation.
You are correct Michael, he asked for action on the existing audit. My assumption is that there has never been action because the council probably doesn’t feel like anything is broken. Just because an audit may present recommendations, that’s all they really are. I know a few years back when the Pavilion was audited by an outside national company, there were several recommendations that were never followed.
I do think they could put more in the venture fund, but that really is none of the administration’s business. That is up to the CVB and the Bid board.
Huether audit perspective is spend it all till it’s gone. Then, spend what you don’t have reducing your bond rating. Finally, initiate false spending beyond your term forcing the city into default. Meanwhile, lie like hell proclaiming the city is solvent with high profile jobs and lots of time to play tennis.
D@ily brings up a great point, what is the city’s current bond rating. Last year Turbak was at a city council meeting and said one of priorities for this past year was to “rebuild” the town’s credit rating. How bad is it if he slips this one in?
Another good observation by D@ily: “spend till it is all gone…” Sounds like a play directly out of Washington D.C.’s playbook. And I am not talking Washington Redskins.