Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida

In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!

Thursday, October 04, 2018

SABPD: Money Missing from St. Augustine "Beach Blast Off!" Event, Lax Internal Controls

For several years, local activists and journalists have scrutinized the fetid mismanagement of the City of St. Augustine Beach's annual New Year's Eve carnival, "Beach Blast Off!" St. Augustine Beach Police Department found in its Offense Report:

Money is missing.
Internal controls were nonexistent,

Ms. Hala Laquidara, the double-dipping full-time SAB Events Planner, quit her job the day after her SABPD interview last month.

And the all-white "VIP Tent" is cancelled this year, replaced with a table for ten at Salt Life Food Shack.

No one ever apologizes for mismanagement in local governments. No one gets fired for wrongdoing.

The temptations to theft, waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance flummery, dupery and nincompoopery will continue as long as St. Augustine Beach Commissioners refuse to evaluate City Manager BRUCE MAX ROYLE in public -- with disgraced Ex-Mayor and Commissioner RICHARD BURTT O'BRIEN refusing to do any written evaluation at all.

Here's my e-mail to St Augustine Beach Commissioners:

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: comugeorge ; commengland ; comrobrien ; commkostka ; comdsamora
Sent: Thu, Oct 4, 2018 11:54 am
Subject: CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH THEFT, MISFEASANCE, NONFEASANCE & MALFEASANCE (Request No. 2018-410: SABPD report(s) re: 2016 and 2017 "Beach Blast Off!" Events)

Dear Mayor George, Vice Mayor England and Commissioners Kostka, Samora and O'Brien:

1. You five commissioners failed to discuss at your October 1, 2018 monthly meeting of the St. Augustine Beach City Commission the St. Augustine Beach Police Department's enclosed Offense Report of investigation of missing money from the City's December 31, 2017 "Beach Blast Off!" event. Why?

2. SABPD's Offense Report concludes at page 7:

Due to the lack of internal controls in place utilized to collect money during the event, I was unable to determine the exact details of the loss or identify a single point of how the loss occurred. This made developing reasonable suspicion or probable cause of any suspect extremely elusive and impractical. The following has been learned through the investigation:

- The shortage amount reflected in the audit could be a result of stolen cash, stolen tickets,lost tickets counted as sold, lost unredeemed tickets that were never sold or negligence.

- The ticket booths were open on three sides possibly allowing access to either the tickets or cash from unknown

persons.

- No one was assigned to account, verify and sign for cash when tickets were sold by a booth or when the cash

from a booth was collected.

- No one was assigned account, verify and sign for the starter cash received when it was distributed to the booths.

- The proceeds from each ticket booth were not reconciled at any time with the ticket sales individually or by

booth, due to a lack of personnel available.

- The proceeds from all four booths were collected, stored, tallied and deposited together.

- The tickets were kept separated by booth, which was the only way to account for cash by booth.

- There were no background checks on the volunteers who had access to the cash sales, starter money and tickets.

- There was not a single person in charge of the cash and/or tickets at any booth, all functions of the booth were

worked collectively.

- Some of the individuals working the ticket sale booths were not originally scheduled to work them, and some

who were scheduled worked in other locations.

- The contact information provided by volunteers made it difficult to locate or contact them.

- No one person was alone with the safe throughout the event.

- No suspect could be developed throughout this investigation.

- The time, place and cause of the loss could not be determined

3. Please place the enclosed SABPD Offense Report on the agenda for your next meeting as the first item after general public comment. (Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 6 pm.).

4. Please invite the City's new auditors to attend that meeting.

5. Please invite prospective 2018 "Beach Blast Off!" event vendors and sponsors.

6. Please write or call me to discuss and identify the "lessons learned" from the Offense Report.

7. Please vote to commence a national search for a new CFO and new City Manager.

Thank you.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

904-377-4998

www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

www.edslavin.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Kathi Harrell <harrellkm@sabpd.org>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Oct 4, 2018 8:51 am
Subject: RE: Request No. 2018-410: SABPD report(s) re: 2016 and 2017 "Beach Blast Off!" Events

Mr. Slavin,

My apologizes for not getting this to you sooner. I was out of the office and did not have access to my computer. The report is attached if you would like copies of the audio statements the cost will be $5 per cd.

From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2018 11:06 PM
To: Robert Hardwick <hardwickra@sabpd.org>
Cc: Comm George <comugeorge@cityofsab.org>; Comm Kostka <commkostka@cityofsab.org>; Comm England <commengland@cityofsab.org>; Comm Samora <comdsamora@cityofsab.org>; Comm O'Brien <comrobrien@cityofsab.org>; jack@naplesandspencelaw.com; Jim Wilson <jpwilson@cityofsab.org>; retlyn@charter.net; judgelitt10@gmail.com; waltbog@nytimes.com
Subject: Request No. 2018-410: SABPD report(s) re: 2016 and 2017 "Beach Blast Off!" Events