The Trump administration is so so so bad that it is easy to overlook the fact that there are other levels of government that are even more important to the daily lives of citizens and residents. While we mostly wish deeply for a return to pre-Trump normalcy, I sincerely doubt that is possible. The world has changed too much by far, beset by a rising nationalism, threatening leaders, and a pandemic that is shocking civilization to its heart. We find ourselves hopeless and helpless against a foe with changing characteristics, ones that have never been seen before. Bombastic boasts of vaccines rule the day lately, but still, nothing out there yet and will not be for quite some time.
What to do? Turn our attention to areas closer to home. First, yes, vote to defeat the poisonous Trumpism in November. Then take a look at the Senators, Governors, Congressmen and women, State legislators and vote for those with a heart, those who do not follow lockstep formation that disregards local needs and the facts of reality. It is interesting to note that where the governor is a woman there is much more sense and understanding about the pandemic crisis and , excuse me, but more balls to stand up to Trump and the crazy followers he encourages. Even national governments led by a woman seem to be more successful a la New Zealand.
Here in Florida we have an idiot follower of Trump, De Santos, and hence a more necessary turn to the localities. In West Palm we have a mayor who knows his duties. Keith James is doing an excellent job in hard times. Even the Commissioners have mostly stepped up to the plate. A special callout to the library system of Palm Beach County for their excellent service. Love you all!!!
And then trouble with a capital T. Here in the Village we are moldering away. We have, by a small number of votes, handed in once again by zombies from associations where there are no boards, no reps, no delegates except on voting day, once again installed David Israel in the driver's seat of the Village, much to our detriment. Here we have no open, transparent administration. Here we have no meetings, having seized upon the pandemic as a great excuse to not hold them. Where is the "great" techie mind? Where are the Zoom conferences? Where are the socially spaced meetings? We have the rooms, so why are they nonexistent?
The answer is simple. David is long past his sell by date as far as UCO is concerned. Thank you for your service is what we needed to say and retire him with a socially spaced or Zoom goodbye. Underneath the beautiful lawns and trees of the Village we have a festering pit. We have nastiness and illegal against the by laws actions by David and henchmen, going so far as to have delayed audits, required by law, holding up budgets and budgetary concerns, allowed the finances to fall into some deep black hole out there in space for all we know and has decisively insulted the Villagers and delegates who voted in Ed Grossman as Treasurer.
David has played his oh so old tricks of denying computer access, claiming all sorts of breakdowns and oh so innocent faces. He has denied the Treasurer his designated role in UCO, the information he is entitled to and indeed must have in order to do his job, and who knows the true state of Village finances, of UCO budgets and concerns, of the frightening future we face having to deal with huge financial needs and demands. No one knows, not even the Shadow, certainly not the Treasurer, nor the delegates, and probably not David as he sits there like an earthbound Jabba the Hutt, playing off one against another, and leaving us all out in the proverbial cold as far as knowledge and truth are concerned.
What is truly concerning is the censorship that grows ever more egregious. David plays his personal blog off as a Village blog, a UCO blog. It is manifestly not so. Definitely not so. No one can post on it, disagree with any one of his stances, and if finally a post by an "allowed" poster gets on, then whoops!!! Off it goes. What a crock!! The self declared king of the Village, dictator of the Village for his lifetime has struck again! Trumpism in its local form and government. Feh!!
There are those within UCO who are trying to do their jobs and they are doing a good job, reaching out to Villagers, checking the status of the physical plant, though again, those guardhouses get more TLC than anything else in this place!!
However, be that as it may, we have serious issues that are not being addressed. David apparently is too busy enjoying his solo administration, enjoying the frustration of Ed and the ignorance of the Villagers as to the State of the Village, too busy to allow any 'spoiler' to get in there and make demands. And who suffers? We do. The Villagers. Those of us who have made this our home, plunked down a goodly portion of our retirement funds, fixed up units and now have to contend with that spoiler, a man who rants from the stage, who denies rights to elected officers, does not call for meetings, and shuts all out other than his particular favorites and pets of the moment. Trumpism in its local flavor indeed!
So let us all pay attention to our governing administrations at every level, but let us make sure we do not forget our very government right under our noses. We live here. This is our everyday home in our cycle of life. Time to recall David. Time to demand a voice in the administration of our home. Time to demand answers. Time to demand transparency, honesty, responsible government and budgetary planning. Time to fix the cesspool right under our noses and then go on from there. We do not need a petty imitator of Trump who both glory in their 'talent' for insulting people with rude names and comments.
Time to Be Well and Stay Safe but also to insure that those same standards of wellness and safety are applied to our home. If we are not Well and Safe here, then where do we go? What do we do? And to whom do we turn? It is our responsibility to fix this, to drain not only the Trumpian grown swamp of current DC, but also to drain the fetid pit of incompetence and opaqueness here. That is the way to Be Well and Safe, to Stay Well and Safe - here and wherever we go.
Make our voices loud and clear. Demand that they be heard and answered. Now. Open the Village books. Now. And this applies to all levels in every country. We are all the same, with same needs and fears. All of us must speak up, make our demands heard and be well and safe in our lives. That is our right.
This is the response Ed sent to Bob Rivera in connection with what I wrote about above
TO: Bob Rivera et: all
On Wednesday, May 20th, I informed you that retaining a new auditor is a complex problem. Hiring an independent CPA for an annual clean audit is not akin to buying a sack of potatoes.
I spoke to Olga, and she related to me your comment concerning the 2019 audit delay. The problem has become more severe and shows no promise of any satisfactory resolution. The fact is that Kim Juda resigned due to her concerns about improper deficiencies and the lack of full disclosure regarding UCO finances. She clearly stated her position in that regard, in her letter.
The claim that her resignation was due to my failure to provide information is simply not valid. Make no mistake, I have documented proof regarding every aspect of Kim Juda’s resignation.
You also stated in a prior e-mail that you were concerned about time, etc. No one is more concerned than I am of the entire situation, and no one has tried harder to correct it. I have spoken to many of the officers to resolve the ongoing problems to move forward expeditiously. It has been over two weeks since my attorney’s letter describing all the officers’ duties, and no one, including yourself, contacted me to seek a resolution of this most vexing situation.
You are requesting sealed bids for auditing services. Whoever is prompting you to ask RFPs (request for proposals) by the time of the first Finance Committee meeting does not know the proper procedure when searching for a new annual auditor.
It is my opinion that no CPA would get involved until the books are in order, as is demonstrated by the resignation of Kim Juda, the previous auditor. I cannot and will not put my reputation as a Certified Public Accountant for over 50 years on the line until I can freely examine the books and records and make any corrections. The hiring of an auditor obviously cannot legally happen until my position as Treasurer of UCO is resolved, and I can gain free, unfettered access to the records.
I would hope that the officers read my opinions on the proper resolution of the multitude of problems outlined in the many e-mails that I sent them. I addressed the issues with my lawyer, Max Zaretsky, who clearly stated in his letter that an effort to induce Kim Juda to finish the 2019 annual audit should be attempted. It is my position that an attempt is made after the books are corrected, and all the data needed to perform a yearly audit. Any effort to re-establish her as an auditor is, in my opinion, futile until the concerns she raised in her resignation letter are resolved. As of this date, none of the issues have been addressed by the administration.
Every UCO officer has the opportunity to read the Treasurers’ Report in the UCO Reporter. They are well aware of my ongoing difficulties. Despite my informing them in more than one venue, not one has responded to my concerns.
My involvement in retaining or keeping the old auditor or obtaining a new auditor is clearly stated in the UCO Bylaws. It is my sole responsibility and, one should not attempt to infringe on that right. The officer’s responsibility is to adhere to the UCO Bylaws, which set out the parameters of responsibility. Further to this, the officers should comply with the principles of my election platform, which include the removal of an extra paid accountant and not a bookkeeper who is the clerk of original entry.
In short: The ability to move forward in completing a year-end audit is severely constrained by the actions of the UCO administration. The responsibility for that lies entirely on the shoulders of David Israel who is stonewalling my efforts to resolve the issues surrounding the records. The elected officers bear some responsibility in that they are condoning his behavior by their inaction and silence.
My Finance Committee Meeting is Wednesday, June 24th, @10:00 am. I hope all of you will attend.
Edward R Grossman CPA.
Treasurer
United Civic Organization
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