Mayor's Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart linked to "dubious financial transactions"

[strider]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/investigations/city-has-nothing-to-show-for-dubious-million-dollar-deal/252642808

"City has 'nothing' to show for dubious million dollar deal."

and from yesterday's Florida Times Union front page:

"Audit: City wrongly paid lobby firm" written by Christopher Hong.


I couldn't find a link, perhaps someone who subscribes can.

[spuwho]

Ouch.

[Noone]

Stay Positive.

[mtraininjax]

Yikes - I saw this and know Wight Gregor too, she's gone now to North Carolina.

Shows how ineffective Brown was at not only leading the city, but also managing it. I fear there will be other issues that have yet to come out....Stay strong Kerri!

[strider]

Here's the TImes Union article:

http://jacksonville.com/news/2016-06-21/story/audit-finds-city-improperly-paid-lobbying-firm-more-317000

Audit finds city improperly paid lobbying firm more than $317,000

By Christopher Hong Tue, Jun 21, 2016 @ 2:19 pm | updated Wed, Jun 22, 2016 @ 11:39 am
Exterior of the St. James Building, Jacksonville's City Hall building. Bob.Self@jacksonville.com
Bob.Self@jacksonville.com
Exterior of the St. James Building, Jacksonville's City Hall building.

City Hall improperly paid a prominent local consulting and lobbying firm more than $317,000 that was supposed to be spent on improvement projects in neglected neighborhoods that were never completed, according to a report released Tuesday by the City Council Auditor's office.

The report found the city paid that money to the firm, Infinity Global Solutions, as one of several extensions to a consulting contract it received under former Mayor John Peyton that ballooned from $98,000 to $868,000. It also questioned the appropriateness of a separate no-bid purchase for similar work the city awarded the company in 2007.

Auditors described a revolving door where two city officials who initiated business with Infinity Global Solutions, or IGS, later went to work for the firm after their city employment ended. One of those officials is Mayor Lenny Curry's Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart, who initiated the no-bid purchase when she was director of the city's Housing and Neighborhoods Division. Stewart didn't return a message left with the Mayor's office seeking comment.

I find this troubling:

■ The report notes two Peyton administration officials who initiated business with IGS later went to work for the firm.

Stewart, who also worked as Peyton's chief administrative officer, was hired by IGS as a senior vice president in Sept. 2011, the same month she left city employment.

Greger, who initiated each of the company's four contract extensions, left City Hall shortly after Stewart. She soon began working as a self-employed consultant, and IGS became a client

When reached by phone on Tuesday, Greger declined to comment.

In a written statement provided by a spokeswoman, Curry said he has "complete confidence in the team that I've built around me and will hold them accountable for the work performed under my leadership."

His spokeswoman, Marsha Oliver, said he had no plans to take further actions beyond those recommended in the report.

The audit certainly implies that Stewart and Greger defrauded the public to their own benefit. We already have seen that various Curry appointees seem to wish to ignore the very laws they are charged with enforcing and following.  His stating that he will only hold Stewart accountable for what she does under his leadership is implying he will ignore past bad behavior.  Makes one wonder what Mr Curry will find acceptable under his leadership and how bad that will really be.

[RWNeal]

Shows how ineffective Brown was at not only leading the city, but also managing it. I fear there will be other issues that have yet to come out....Stay strong Kerri!

This happened during Peyton's reign. Alvin goofed up a lot of stuff, but it looks like his folks started the investigations of this malfeasance.

[Noone]

it is happening regardless of whoever is in power.

Visit Jacksonville!

Tom Cline our IG is GONE

[sheclown]

Stay strong Kerri!

So I take it you know something?  Sure seems like she fleeced Jax and then was immediately hired by IGS, no?

Unrelated to her specifically- here's 1/8 of the Laura St trio money.  good lawd COJ is remarkable

This was one of the private reservations that I had with the City getting the band back together after Mayor Brown.  All the same old usual suspects that made this kind of thing a trademark of City Hall for decades back in the saddle again.

Not that Mayor Brown didn't also have corruption in his admin. He did. But it was clumsier, less connected, more acrimonious and therefore less effective.

I VOTE FOR CLUMSIER CORRUPTION!!!

For decades the urban core has been repeatedly financially abused.  And it seems to germinate in the Neighborhoods Department.

Say, where did Curry's bail out come from?  Does something like that have to go through council?

[Noone]

Jim Gilmore is the old director of the Downtown Development Agency. The redevelopment of Hemming Park was actually his baby in the 1980s.  He then went to Jax Beach to head their completely ineffective Jax Beach Redevelopment Agency for almost two decades.

After he left, they worked with the business community and the beaches are booming now.

If you do the party circuit of galas, openings, dinners, and charity events Jim, Kerry and Wight were kind of ubiquitous.

The article claims that Kerry and Wight illegally cleared a shit ton of money to be given to Jim, and then not long afterwards he hired both of them for 'consulting'.

Seems pretty cut and dried.

+1

[strider]

Hmm, I'm beginning to wonder if as a city we couldn't just clean up the City government, get rid of people like Kerri Steward and Kimberly Scott who have apparently been responsible for large amounts of wasted funding and not have to vote yes on the pension tax issue and still get enough "found" money in the budget to do what we really need to do. Just scratching the surface, we can show that these two appointees alone have been proven to have been involved with the wasting of a couple of million.  How much more if we really dig into the funding and the budget?  Did not Lori Boyer say a couple of years ago they found 500 million "lost" since 1999 for the better Jacksonville Plan? How much more was wasted and is being wasted in give a ways and misappropriations?  Before we vote for new funding sources, perhaps we need to insure the current funds are being used properly and the people who are in charge of those funds actually have the tax payers best interests at heart and not their own.

[The_Choose_1]

Hmm, I'm beginning to wonder if as a city we couldn't just clean up the City government, get rid of people like Kerri Steward and Kimberly Scott who have apparently been responsible for large amounts of wasted funding and not have to vote yes on the pension tax issue and still get enough "found" money in the budget to do what we really need to do. Just scratching the surface, we can show that these two appointees alone have been proven to have been involved with the wasting of a couple of million.  How much more if we really dig into the funding and the budget?  Did not Lori Boyer say a couple of years ago they found 500 million "lost" since 1999 for the better Jacksonville Plan? How much more was wasted and is being wasted in give a ways and misappropriations?  Before we vote for new funding sources, perhaps we need to insure the current funds are being used properly and the people who are in charge of those funds actually have the tax payers best interests at heart and not their own.

+1

[mtraininjax]

Well at least ACPS has a new leader with the old one sent packing to JHS, where she will no doubt corrupt that group. Go Jim, we are pulling for you! Make us all proud in the Animal World!

[ChriswUfGator]

Sort of sad that the old saying "he/she ain't qualified to be dog catcher" has to be taken literally around here.

[mtraininjax]

Sort of sad that the old saying "he/she ain't qualified to be dog catcher" has to be taken literally around here.

Yeah the old head of ACPS got fired and had to waddle with her tail between her legs to the Humane Society.

[JaxUnicorn]

I'm with Sheclown....where did Curry get the money he used to re-fund Brown's capital improvements?

Does anyone know the recommended actions of the report?