Old News.

It seems that a Newburyport City Councillor did not see this the first time I posted it. So here it is, a copy of an e-mail I sent to Herzog in October in answer to a question as to why the Daily Snooze has banned me from commenting on their site. Will Courtny was in to this up to his elbows, in July, prior to his sudden departure and never gave me an answer to my charges of discrimination of the Daily News team.

Started here!

From: WCourtney@newburyportnews.com

Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 1:05 PM

To: dan@ddsweeney.net

Subject: Fw: [Fwd: Web Submission: News tip]

Hi Dan,
We're going to bounce some of this off the mayor this afternoon and follow up with you.

Will Courtney
Managing Editor
The Daily News of Newburyport
ph: 978.462.6666 xt. 3229
fax: 978.465.8505 ----- Forwarded by Will Courtney/ET1 on 07/26/2010 01:04 PM -----


---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Web Submission: News tip
From:    "Dan Sweeney" <dan@ddsweeney.net>
Date:    Mon, July 26, 2010 8:14 am
To:      ndn@ecnnews.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Below is the result of your feedback form.  It was submitted by
Dan Sweeney (dan@ddsweeney.net) on Monday, July 26, 2010 at 08:14:17
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

topic: DPS 'Mess'

article: 'DPS Mess' as reported by Katie Farrell
Lovett on July 15, 2010. The Headline
should have been  "City messes up Low
Street Legal Challenge".

It appears that the Newburyport City
Council is unaware as to the legal
process of paying enterprise bills and
the City Auditor, Bill Squillace, failed
to inform the Council fully of the due
process of paying these bills. The person
that the Mayor chose to temporarily
replace Brendan O'Regan on the Sewer
Department side of the DPS, Jamie Tuccolo
spoke at the July 12, City Council
meeting not knowing his presentation
materials nor the reasons that the legal
bills were invoiced and were not paid.
Several misquotes in his presentation to
the council and his follow up to the
Sewer Commission on the 22nd of July are
proof of the demise of the financial
security of the Newburyport Sewer
Department. This may be the intent of
this Mayor by allowing untrained and
uneducated personnel to manage these tri
departments.After all, the Water and
Sewer Departments (and Harbor) are the
only solvent departments the city has.
There are actually millions of dollars at
stake here, if the Mayor can control the
commissions and managers of these
enterprise departments, she can balance
her city budget on the backs of the
ratepayers from two communities.

Acting Assistant Deputy Director, Mr.
Tuccolo reported to the City Council that
legal bills were "swept under the rug"
and "were not presented to the Sewer
Commission for payment". These are only
two mis-statements and false statements
made to the City Council on July 22nd
2010. He also stated to the sewer
Commission that he 'does not remember
saying that these bills were 'swept under
the rug', accusing his previous boss and
the sewer commissioners of negligence.

As a Collection System foreman, Mr.
Tuccolo has no prior training in
municipal finances, nor in personnel
management. He has no degrees and was
hired to a position that clearly stated
the need for a minimal degree. He does
have the ear of a first time Mayor and an
otherwise unemployable acting deputy
director, looking to secure a longer
contract than all his previous
employments combined. Both would not be
in leadership positions if their
education was a factor. And both would
have much lesser incomes today.

The process of paying bills by enterprise
departments has always been processed the
following way;

All Department bills are presented to the
Director (an exception with legal bills
in that they are first sent to the Mayors
office at City Hall, copied by the
executive assistant to the Mayor and then
forwarded to the department for payment)
verified as a proper department
expenditure and then placed upon a
warrant before being presented to the
Sewer Commission for signatures and
returned to the Auditor for payment
processing. No invoices are paid out of
departmental funds without the proper
signatures of the commission. Or at least
under good accounting practices should
not for legal reasons.

A little reminder of the city budgetary
process. The Department heads create the
needed budget and first submit their
request to their commission. The
Commission either adds or subtracts from
this presentation and forwards the budget
request to the Mayor. The Mayor makes
recommendations to the presented budget
and submits the budget to the City
Council. The City Council affirms or
adjusts the presented budget for the next
fiscal year. So all expenditures are
approved by a process ending with our
elected council overseeing the budgets.
And they discuss each expenditure line by
line. Including the expected legal line
items. Following so far? When unexpected
bills or vouchers are presented, the
account becomes expended. When this
happens a request must be made by the
commission to the Mayor and Auditor for
them to file for a transfer of funds,
either from another line item or from
excess reserves to pay these over and
above expenses. A strong explanation of
the need is required and the presentation
usually is sponsored by a councilor who
has researched the issue and can stand
and explain the request. This is the
oversight and balance procedure.

Now, is it just me, or does one see
several failures to this system? First
off, the Mayor(s) had possession of the
bills. Secondly, the Sewer Commission
knew of the legal bills from the Low
Street Sewer Challenge, because they
needed to get permission from the Mayor
to hire a second legal firm to decide the
direction to take after the Judge awarded
damages to the plaintiffs. To be paid
from monies not expected when the FY10
City Budget was approved. Or, to be paid
from the loan or betterment changed?

It is my opinion that 'somebody' is
attempting to cover their tracks at the
expense of others. I think the Daily News
did not do their research well enough to
tell the public how bad things are at the
DPS since the recent changes were made in
MAY, two full months before the fiscal
year and money ran out of the sewer legal
line item.

I would think that the ratepayers in both
Newbury and Newburyport would like to
know this information, after all the
Sewer Commission represents all the
ratepayers that use the sewer services.
The safety of their utility services may
be compromised should this process of hit
and run management continues . My guess
is that the Newburyport Daily News does
not want to let their readers know that
something is wrong in their reporting and
presentation.




Dan Sweeney

13 Drew Street

Newburyport, MA 01950


Tax and Ratepayer

(after he (Courtney)'bounced this off the Mayor' (Holaday) I never heard from him again)Controled discrimination? just as her Loyal Employees are willing to perjure themseves to save their jobs at their own expense? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

And NOW, there are questions of accounting for monies at the ever hungry School Department Budget, not yet agreed upon nor collected. NOT a way to run our finances!!! her Highness 'Wishes' a budget into existance with our funds, Both Tax and Utility......I wish I could run my business that way. Spend then send out bills! And questions at the 'New Sewer Plant' on expendatures. It is catching up, fast, with this Mayor. Costs to be paid by the Ratepayers and Tax rate for 'wishes'.