Mayor's choice for managing director is deadbeat businessman

From the morning paper:

Lawyer and businessman Scott G. Hoh -- Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer's nominee for temporary managing director -- is the owner of a failed business that owes the city $45,000 in delinquent water, sewer and tax bills, records show.

Hoh's appointment is set for a City Council vote Monday but the city's outside consultants say he would only be appropriate for the job if he agrees to a plan to settle the bills by year's end.

Hoh, 44, is managing partner of the Greater Reading Corporate Center at Sixth and Washington streets, the former Meridian Bancorp headquarters. According to city records, it owes about $30,000 in water and sewer bills and about $15,000 in delinquent taxes from 2008 and 2010.

As someone else suggested, put him on the payroll, then dock his wages.

And that guy the mayor wants to be the city's mouthpiece, Michael Dee, a position City Council will not create. He's on the payroll now, working part-time for $24,000 as a "coinsultant." That Vaughn Spencer fellow is so skilled at finding loopholes, maybe he can erase the city's debt. Gotta ask Dee about it.

Mayor Spencer will be pleased as punch if council will let him put three pals on the payroll

Vaughn Spencer has a plan to save the city money.

He wants to get the Reading Area Water Authority to pay half the costs of a smaller Citizens Service Center, restructure the human resources and community development offices, possibly hire an outside payroll contractor, and take back the towing service.

All the mayor wants in return if for council to give the go-ahead to hire three full-time aides to work in the mayor's office at a combined salary of $115,000, a mere bag of shells.

Obviously, each of the new hires would have as a chief duty finding ways to save the city money. Only churls like Councilwoman Donna Reed would complain that Spencer was adding to the bureaucracy in a society that's doing more with less.

Vaughn Spencer, job creator.

Mayor takes the heat for creating jobs

Vaughn Spencer has been a regular whirlwind during his first month in office, setting up a bold plan to coordinate city chatter with the media. Now he's taking the lead in job creation, putting four highly talented individuals to work in brand-new jobs.

They may only be part-timers, lacking benefits, but the pay ranges from $45,000 to $55,000 annually, not exactly chump change in this dreadful economy. And the jobs are absolutely essential to the city purring along a contented kitten -- three special assistants to the mayor and the mayor's office computer coordinator.

Now City Council is trying to throw a monkey wrench into the mayor's job plan, claiming Hizzoner neither sought nor received approval from council to create the new posts.

How petty, how political.

Hasn't new Council President Francis G. Acosta ever heard of the spoils system?

Spencer won't permit watercooler chatter unless it is first filtered through his phantom communications director

Everybody knows that rank-and-file workers, government and otherwise, waste thousands of hours every year gossiping at their desks, posting sarcastic Facebook updates, dishing dirt on how hapless the bureaucrats are, or otherwise venting about their bosses, whom they generally despise.

Vaughn Spencer,m less than a month into his term as Reading mayor, will hear none of it.

Over the weekend, Hizzoner issued a sweeping Media and Communications Policy, designed to muzzle not only department heads who might turn out to be blabbermouths, but also the drones who sit in cubicles all day long, their carpel tunnel getting worse by the minute.

Henceforth, the proles will have to shut the hell up about city policies while on the clock. And all contact with the media by their superiors must be authorized by the city's Communications Director, a position that has not yet been filled by a Spencer crony and, in fact, does not even exist.

Here's what the policy has to say about the requirement of employees to zip it:

In other words, don't say anything bad about the mayor or his policies while in City Hall or you'll be lining up for food stamps.

Already, city firefighters are afraid to talk to the press about a fire.

Oh, for the glory days of Joe Eppihimer!

How far Spencer's muzzling gets depends on council, and already members are in revolt.

Donna Reed, herself a former reporter, wrote in an e-mail:

This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read and certainly speaks to how poorly the administration thinks of our city employees.  Anyone who tries to obstruct or abridge any citizen's (particularly a public servant's) right to free speech clearly lacks the understanding of what constitutes a true democracy and a free press.
 
Please remember City Council has not sanctioned the position of communications "director."  I therefore question the validity and enforcement of this policy and will seek a charter advisory board opinion.
 
I will remain vocal on this matter and continue -- as Vaughn asked of me during his campaign -- to be a proponent for open and transparent government.  Zipping lips is not acceptable policy and certainly raises the spectre of government officials trying to hide dealings from the public.

Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz concurs:

It is important to establish a communications policy but it must be done within the framework of the governing laws.  Beyond the issue of constitutional rights to free speech, I believe the city budget process has been bypassed by a policy being promulgated by a position that has not been approved through the position ordinance.  Through my attendance at the public meetings held by Mayor Spencer, I have found that there is a lack of understanding and adherence of the correct process to amend the city budget, create new positions, and to move forward policy changes.

The mayor (ha, ha) referred all media inquiries to his Communications Director.

You can read the complete jackass document here.