TFD Scandal Results in Slaps On Wrist by Taylor

[DowntownNow]

Posted by the Tulsa World today:

TFD probe results in shake-up
Two officials have retired, while three others are reassigned.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090212_11_A1_Twotop765564&allcom=1#commentform

This is once again the ban-aid, "let's move forward from here" fix that Taylor is becoming known for.  She had her legal department conduct their own audit, and in the end, not one person is fired over this flap.

Instead, two high ranking fire officials are allowed to resign (probably with their full pensions intact) and three others are re-assigned to other duties within the department, one of whom will retain a high ranking position as a Captain over several stations.

Again I ask, where is the accountability?  This was not simply an accounting error as the Mayor and the TW like to report.  This was blatant and well thought out fraud on the part of public officials that allowed merit increases, falsification of certifications, threats to public safety and deeply impacted the public trust of all those involved.

But let's slap em on the wrist, tell em not to do it again and go on.  Doesn't teach many that there are consequences for actions.

And just to note...this is the same thing that was done with the TDA/HUD audit (no one has been put forward by the administration as being at fault), the MTTA issue and the Public Works fiasco.

[altruismsuffers]

Maybe this is why she wants $135 million from Obama's "stimulus" plan?  With $55,000,000 for a Regional Training Center - A regional fire training center to provide fire and homeland security training for Tulsa and surrounding communities.

Mayors want in on the pie

[DowntownNow]

Perhaps Altriusm...but if you look at the Stimulus wish list...Mayor Taylor has asked for some of the largest amounts of money compared to similar cities of Tulsa's size.  It's almost absurd, but I guess if you think big and get even the smallest portion of what you asked for, you're ahead.

Of course, they could look at the list, see the amounts asked for in comparison and laugh out loud til the next city on the list.  Hopefully not.

[sgrizzle]

MTTA is still in progress with two people off work and Public Works involves two people no longer employed, although there is further investigation on that too.

I'm not going to support or agree with the decision because there is no real information. Training records were wrong, that is all we really know. I have taken cases where I have to take the same class every year. After awhile, people just sign off that they did it, because they can almost recite it from memory. That's not following guidelines but it is far from worth revoking retirement.

[Conan71]

I stand by my assertion that the TFD "scandal" was way over-blown to take the attention off goings on down at public works and other departments.

What ever happend to the issue of $1.5mm or so of HUD money the city "lost" and was going to have to re-pay?  That's vanished like a fart in the wind.

This TFD deal is nothing but a smokescreen.  I don't see any evidence presented that this has harmed citizens or been a major rip-off to the taxpayer.  Does it follow set procedure, no.  Scandalous?  Hardly.

[DowntownNow]

Grizzle...Perhaps that is the case in some instances but here the State was contacted by one of the department's own paramedics, their allegations were enough to support an investigation that found and I quote here "The state probe indicates that some firefighters admitted that they could not truthfully account for all of the continuing education units they reported. The units are required for recertification...The firefighters told investigators that they were instructed to use dates from a provided list, even though they couldn't account for their class attendance, and that a date was fabricated for a hazardous-materials class that some medics recorded but did not take."  

Chief LaCroix also stated that this has been going on for 12 years within the department...he has served for 7 of those as Chief.  He further stated in a Tulsa World article the following:

He said some firefighters told him they alerted their supervisor.

"I'm disappointed that this never got to me," said LaCroix, who has been chief for seven of the 12 years in question.

"That's the way it goes, and I will have to live with whatever happens because when it is all said and done, I'm responsible," he said.

LaCroix said the firefighters were apparently following a long-time practice.

"I'm not an EMT, or a first responder," he said. "All I knew was that I was being told that we were doing our job. With me not being a part of the process, I didn't know how the process actually worked, but I should have known."

Knowingly and intentionally asking your subordinates to falsify their records and go the step further to provide them the dates and materials with which to falsify those official records is criminal and should be prosecuted.  Further, the CEU's they acquire are one basis of merit pay increases.

[DowntownNow]

Conan...so long as citizens continue to demand accountability in all these issued, no matter how overblown (which I dont believe this has been at all), attention will still be paid to the mounting other issues.

In fact, the Tulsa World reported today that the Council will consider its own investigation of the $1.5mil that was found in the TDA/HUD audit.  They have not received the requested information from a stalling mayoral administration therefore are considering their own which they can do.  

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090212_11_A5_Afterf111298