St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID B. SHOAR (f/k/a DAVID HOAR) wants some $180,000,000.00 for "projects," this morning's St. Augustine Record repors, including more jail space, a new command center and a new communicatios center.
IF Sheriff Shoar were locking up white collar crminals, we'd be more appreciative of his suggestions. Instead, he employs them, including former St. Augustine Ciy Manager WILLIAM BRUCE HARRISS.
SHOAR called the $180 milion worth of prjoects a "wish list." Sounds like Fanstayland to me. Our County Commissioners and journalists need to examine Sheriff SHOAR's budget with a gimlet eye:
1. No-bid contracts for political cronies.
2. Take-home deputy cars.
3. $1000 per employee bonuses when other county employees were being furloughed.
4. Heavy spending on equipment.
5. Campaign fundraising from developers, for whom SHOAR carries water (listen to the SHOAR-McCLURE FBI tape.
6. Stiffing Open Records requesters and retaliating against them.
7. Relatives on the payroll -- blatant nepotism as a way of life. (DAVID SHOAR's brother-in-law, JAMES MULLIGAN) is SHOAR's press spokesperson/flak. Former Sheriff NEIL PERRY's name is not ony on the "St. Johns County Criminal Justice Complexx," but PERRY's son-in-law (ARTHUR MAY) is one of his SHOAR's apparatchiks.
Call it "The Family Inn" or "All in the Family."
8. Embarassing political deals including his abortive efforts in trying to take over the St. Augustine Beach Police Department in conjunction with SAB Commissioners who wanted to fire officers for reporting alleged misconduct by the Police Chief -- we helped halt the takeover in its tracks, preserving and defending law enforcement officers' First Amendment rights to raise concerns about the Police Chief).
St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR has an "Edifice Complex." $180 million? Let's see the justification (or will Sheriff SHOAR charge the public to read our own records?).
Postscript: A November 6, 2013 St. Augustine editorial asserts the Sheriff's intentions were somehow misunderstood, and that all county officials were asked to provide such capital project wish lists for our children and grandchildren's sake. Perhaps. But such should include less incarceration rather than more, right?
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