DISHONESTY IN CAPE CORAL
May 24, 2024 | CAPE CORAL BREEZE
The council took great offense when a citizen declared that Cape Coral was one of the most corrupt cities in the U.S. and Florida. Corruption in this case is abuse of power by an elected official or city government for personal gain. Corruption can imply illegality. I will simply use the term “dishonesty.” Have we had this in Cape Coral?… I think so. Here are many examples of what I consider dishonesty:
Using the Consent Agenda to pass the doubling of pay to the Council without discussion via the stipend resolutions. This was clearly dishonest as I define it.
Certifying the election results of Patty Cummings when we have discovered that most Council members were aware that she did not live in her district. This was clearly dishonest.
The city manager stating during a Council meeting that “zero” tax increases were passed last year. Taxes and assessments were increased by over $30 million last year. The truth-in-millage laws define a no tax increase requires the use of the “rolled back rate.” Did the Council approve the rolled back rate? They approved a millage rate that was 13% higher than the rolled back rate, therefore approving a tax increase. They also increased all three of the tax assessments. This false narrative is clearly dishonest.
Councilmember Dan Sheppard stating on the record that everything about him and other conclusions in the Vicky Sprout’s independent report on where Patty Cummings lived was false. The States Attorney’s Office concluded with three still-pending felony indictments against Patty Cummings, which substantiated the report to be true. The council has not dealt with Dan Sheppard’s comments on the dais about his attempt to keep Ms. Cummings on the council. Mr. Sheppard should be asked to resign from the council; not doing so is dishonest. Council is setting precedents that it is OK to not tell the truth on record; there will be no punishment.
Proceeding with plans to rebrand Jaycee Park. What is the motive to do this? Modifying the park was not in the 10-year park plan; it was not included as a project in the Parks GO bond; 7,000-plus voters have signed a petition to stop what the council and city management are spending money to do. Why is this a priority when our GO Bond parks are not done and way over budget? The Yacht Club Park changes are unfunded; why would we focus on spending money of Jaycee Park when it is a neighborhood park that the local homeowners are happy with? Is smells of dishonesty. Through the city’s Project Sparkle for parks, only $15,000 over the next five years is allocated to Jaycee Park. It is clear that they plan to let this park deteriorate as they did with the Yacht Club Ballroom.
The city appears to be entertaining “unsolicited” and sole-source proposals in the form of public-private partnerships. This type of activity leads to suspicion of ulterior motives. Examples are Jaycee Park and Lake Meade. What is the secret plan?
The Boathouse Restaurant at the Yacht Club still has nine years left on its lease that grants them exclusive rights to food and beverage service at the entire Yacht Club Park area. They are also allowed access to all public parking at the Yacht Club. Why is this lease being ignored with all the changes being proposed at the Yacht Club? What discussions are being made with the restaurant that is not open and transparent? Is this honest?
Council members meeting for dinner and drinks after council meetings. Does this give a perception of Sunshine Law violations and dishonesty? I think so.
Limiting citizen involvement by eliminating volunteer boards and committees and controlling free speech during citizen input at council meetings. Eliminating oversight, review and free speech allows for dishonest behavior.
The mayor’s attempt to limit council members from speaking to the press and public so he and city management can control the narrative. How many times have we heard that the GO bond parks are on budget and on schedule when it is clearly not the case?
Spending city tax dollars on our charter schools without public discussion or concern. The city has quietly been supplementing the Charter Schools with roughly $5 million a year in city tax revenue. It is clearly not transparent.
These are all forms of dishonesty, not necessarily illegal, but surely challenges the incumbents’ and city management’s, motives, morals, transparency, and integrity.
Thomas Shadrach, Past Chair of the Budget Review Committee