Afraid Of No One

Again, the Mayor has no say what bills do or do not get paid. That was a mistake that Debbie Cain made. She had more power and authority than she knew. She should have learned her job.

Council did not do their jobs. Why do you constantly single out one person when there are more people at fault? Why are you unwilling to place the blame where it belongs?

I do not condone anyone being paid twice for a job they should have completed the first time. But, I have seen no proof that anyone was paid twice.

As to Pomeroy or any other firm that the Village will do business with, it is the job of the Council to see that contracts are properly enacted and Council MUST approve all changes to a contract. Again, it appears that past councils did not do the oversight that they should have.

The letter that you reference from OPWC DOES NOT state that Pomeroy was paid twice for the same work. The letter is a reminder to the Village that money for a project CANNOT be used to fix problems from previous projects. It did not accuse anyone of wrong doing. Again it would appear that your interpretation of the letter is different then everyone else's. You want to read something into the letter that is not there.

I cannot change the past, what I can do is make sure that history does not repeat itself and insure that the Council does it's job and provides the proper oversight.

Some People Cannot See.

Why do you think O.P.W.C sent the letter? I told them what Russolillo was doing. He was not sending some bills to O.P.W.C because he knew they would not pay to repair faulty work from other projects. He brought them to council as a current project. Believing this, council approved and thought they were being sent to O.P.W.C for their 90%. In reality, the Village was paying 100% to repair something that was not right from previous projects. THIS IS FRAUD!

Two examples:
1. The catch basin at Westfalls, Phase IV, was put in wrong, but Pomeroy was paid. The Village then paid for a suryey and put in an asphalt curb. It was wrong because it was below the problem. Then in Phase V at Powell, part of the money was used to pay Pomeroy AGAIN!

2. The catch basin at Warren and Dibblee was wrong from Phase IV. Pomeroy was payed at that time. When resurfacing was done. Pomeroy was made again for another plan.

Miller, Bale and Strawser were all paid working from Pomeroy's bad design. Bale was threatened that if they didn't fix the basin at Westfalls when they were doing Phase V on Powell, they wouldn't get paid. They told me they would never work in Valleyview again.

You say,''Council MUST approve all changes to a contract.'' You should read the Management Letter from 2000-2001. Don't you believe the auditors?

You forget, council only gets what they are given. A lot didn't get to them, or they were duped into believing they were doing right. It does come down to ONE person. THE MAYOR!

Not Like Before

Maybe they sent the letter as a reminder? If they had evidence of wrong doing why did OWPC not act? The letter does not specify any wrong doing but states that money from current projects cannot be used to fix past projects.

Contracts are put in place to protect the Village and the contractor. The contracts specify what is to be done. The Streets Committee should have been doing their job and reviewing the plans, contract and progress of the project. Where was that step?

I read and reread the 2001 Management Letter, there is nothing in the letter concerning OWPC, streets or Pomeroy. Can you please provide the exact page that you are referencing Ms. White. There is language about paying invoices twice but it does not specify what invoices were paid twice. So, how do you use non-specific statements to back your claims? If there is all this evidence as you claim why did the auditors, OWPC or the attorney general not act. I cannot believe that they would be afraid of a mayor from a little Village. Your claims just don't seem to wash.

I cannot speak for past councils but they had an obligation to do their jobs regardless of the roadblocks placed in front of them. The MAYOR CAN ONLY DO WHAT COUNCIL ALLOWS HIM OR HER TO DO. I am sorry to see that past councils did not realize that, but I can assure everyone that the current council understands this and that is what is happening.

Some want to live in the past and cannot move forward. The checks and balances that should have been in place in the past were ignored or forgotten. Now the Council, Fiscal Officer and Mayor are responsible for their jobs and each insures that the other is doing their jobs. Each cannot exist without the others.

EVERYONE is responsible!

I'll Ask Again

Why, after all the years under Russolillo, would O.P.W.C suddenly send a ''reminder'' to the Village about fraudulantly using project money?

Why would Russolillo try to keep it a secret? Who was getting this money? Who did the extra money benefit? Why did Russolillo not get O.P.W.C or council approval? Where do you think I got information? Why did Russolillo and Brad Smith go to director, Larry Bicking of O.P.W.C and ask ''What have you told Ms. White''? Mr. Bicking told them, ''I give her anything she asks for, It is public information.''

Don't you care what invoices were paid twice and who got the money? And why it wasn't returned to the taxpayers? Why haven't the auditors checked to see where the taxes and pension fund money went? Russolillo always said,''We are in the best financial shape we have ever been.''

Why did Brad Smith threaten me to keep my mouth shut? This happened after the special council meeting, on August 17, 2000,after the Village got the letter from O.P.W.C. He followed me out of the meeting. Why did Russolillo threaten my son,to stop backing me or he had friends who could take care of him? This was at a meeting before I was on council, my son gave his speaking time to me. When my son was leaving the meeting, Russolillo called him into his office and said this.

I won't tell you yet who told me that Steve Wassem was threatened to drop from the mayoral race, but it was a personal friend of Wassem.

Pomeroy and Phase V are in the violations of 2000-2001 Management Letter. Russolillo changed the contract without council approval. It states that Russolillo and Smith saved the Village $10,000. This was not true. O.P.W.C took the money away from the Village because Russolillo was going to use the money to pay Pomeroy AGAIN for things he screwed up in Phase IV. THIS IS WHY O.P.W.C. sent the letter of August 10, 2000.

You say, ''THE MAYOR CAN ONLY DO WHAT COUNCIL ALLOWS HIM OR HER TO DO.''

Not true. 1. invoices from the contractor and engineering company go to the MAYOR not council.
2. The mayor always makes himself project manager.
3. Project manager oversees and makes sure the job is right.
4. Project manager signs-off on invoices IF it is right.
5. There were some invoices not sent to O.P.W.C.

Some things were not right, but enabled Pomeroy to get paid anyhow.In proceding projects after I complained, Russolillo slipped in repairs into new projects.
He and Brad Smith would put them in as Alternatives, with no specific locations. I went to Bale and asked what they were. THEY TOLD ME! [They were from bad designs that hadn't worked from previous projects.] But Bale hadn't known this. They were working from Pomeroy designs. This is why they said they would never work in Valleyview again.

Why would Russolillo do this? Why did he and Pomeroy send fraudulant plans to M.O.R.P.C? Because he stated, ''No one ever complained until now.'' He said the same thing when I complained about Bartel. These statements were in the Dispatch. It was also stated in the Management Letter, to pay back the money to the residents.

Why didn't the auditors refer possible income tax evasion to the A.G.O? What about the employee's taxes not sent to I.R.S.? Pension Funds, not paying the bills?

The past is where the tax payers money is. Do you think that just because something takes a while to bring things to light, it should be forgotten? The auditors KNEW! Now the A.G.O knows.It is very hard for some to admit mistakes. I won't let them forget. Why would a person who had an employee who stole from them and ruined their business, not report this?

Most reasons crimes are not reported is, threats and intimidation. I don't take kindly to either!

Who ALWAYS opens the mail in Valleyview? I guess I am the Micheal Moore of Valleyview.