By: Diane Benjamin
The LAST Coliseum report posted on the City website is for the year ended:
4/30/2015
Usually quarterly reports are filed and posted. I filed Freedom of Information Requests for the first three quarters of Fiscal Year 2016. I got the first and second: https://blnnews.com/2015/12/13/coliseum-continues-their-losing-ways/
Through October of 2015 the Coliseum lost:
$367,691
Of course, those are CIAM’s numbers which have very little resemblance to reality.
The Third Quarter ended January 31, 2016. No surprise – CIAM never did a report!
I sent a FOIA in late February or early March and was told the City would have it soon. I sent another FOIA last week. I got this today:
The YEAR ends on April 30th.
Sounds to me like CIAM left a mess. John Butler was busy shredding documents on his last day. Was anybody from the City watching him? Remember these guys actually believed CIAM was a private corporation entitled to privacy. Existing only to manager taxpayer funds was completely ignored.
The Coliseum is most likely costing a fortune to unravel. The new managers can’t be expected to create reports from whatever documents Butler left, if anything.
It’s going to be interesting to see what the City reports as of 4/30/2016 and then see what the auditors say. Of course, that won’t be known for more than 6 months.
I wonder if the City will hide the reports from citizens. The auditors write a letter to the Council every year stating serious issues. In previous years the SAME problems were listed year after year. The audit letters last year were kept a secret. My FOIA request was denied.
So much for transparency.
Might be so much for ever knowing the actual losses too.
Late reports.
Missing reports.
Inaccurate reports.
Financial obfuscation.
Now document shredding?
In any other parallel universe, this entire situation would have already warranted some kind of an investigation for possible fraud or malfeasance. At the very least, an audit of CIAM’s activities over the tenure of their administration of the Coliseum would seem to be a prudent course of action.
Why isn’t it happening in THIS universe?
Doesn’t anyone care that even the appearance of impropriety makes certain officials (past or present) within City Hall look complicit? Perhaps some of those officials should consult with some their lawyers to confirm that willful blindness is not a valid defense – it just means that you’re stupid!
If that’s the case, why are you working for us? I sure don’t want stupid people running this city.
Don’t even get me started on the Pantagraph. It seems to me that they have sold what little journalistic integrity they had left for a mere pittance, in the hope of selling that worthless little building of theirs.
Disgusting! They should just stop wasting the ink and paper and fold already.
Wait until you see what the city filed today! I’m trying to decide whether to hold it until court on the 25th or expose them now.
Honestly, their being stupid is my BEST case scenario, which would actually surprise me.
But since we’re talking about government, I’ll revert to my default position that says where ever government operates, it’s little brother (thy name is corruption) is never far behind.
In that case, I would be sadly disappointed…in the CITIZENS who allow it!
As far as your case is concerned, could I wager it was some huckleberry version of ‘executive privilege’?
Much lamer!
lulz…so ‘stupid scenario’ at least still has a fightin’ chance!
My guess is they are attempting to justify their actions