Dirty Baker's Dozen

Actions To Be Taken For Voters Of Super Ward 7 in Norfolk, Virginia

“The Dirty Baker’s Dozen”

1. Move New Business and Public Commentary to City Council back into the duration and body of City Council Meetings, mandating that they will be part of the televised and historically documented City Council Meetings.  It is simply corrupt to cut off and leave out what the people say to those who are supposed to represent them on City Council. 

2. Institute the recording, keeping, printing, publication, and permanent internet posting of comprehensive, detailed, and specific meeting minutes from every City Council Meeting, available in printed form without charge on request by and to the public.

3. Prohibit closed and secret City Council Meetings.  In the event that it is found that in the past City Council Members or the City Manager engaged in hiding unpopular, unethical, or illegal actions from the voters, accounts of those activities shall be publicized as part of a City Council Meeting in the process of making a public apology and also handed over to the highest and most proper authorities for investigation and prosecution.

4. Pass an ordinance that in the event a person present questions the validity, truth, and completeness of anything a Candidate, City Council Member or any City Employee says anywhere and at any time, that Candidate, Member or Employee shall immediately go under oath and on record repeating their statements in front of that primary person and two third party witnesses requested to assist by that primary person from the public near by or attending.  Refusing to go under oath and on record should be punishable with the loss of position.  This would reduce misrepresentation to the public those hired to serve them.    

5. Move the Freedom of Information Act Officer from under the City Public Information Officer and into an Independent Freedom of Information Act Department.  Hire 3 additional Freedom of Information Act Officers.  Establish that resistance or delay in remittance of documents by any City employee to Freedom of Information Act Department Officers shall constitute an ethics violation mandating investigation, review and possible dismissal.  Provide documents and information requested by the public under the Freedom of Information Act free of charge in electronic form, $3 on CD-DVD, or at 10 cents a page in paper form.

6. Create a Department of Ethics for the City of Norfolk Government staffed by 5 Specialists with investigative authority and punitive Council powers above and over the Department of Human Resources.  Additionally commission the Department of Ethics to monitor and guarantee that the Department of Human Resources no longer restricts or denies City employees ERC Representation under the disguise of Employee-Employer Meetings.  Investigate, adjudicate, and dismiss any City Administrator who engaged in that activity or in deception through manipulation of official forms, and in any use of administrative procedures to suppress the grievance process, cover up wrong doing, or besmirch employees.  This is necessary because the City Auditors Office is restricted to only addressing financial issues, and is in practice quite less independent than it should be. 

7. Post the complete City Budget online, itemized and in summery, as many other cities have done for the people to review.  Currently, it is not itemized properly.  Doing so would be the first step toward reducing and eliminating the yearly 11 to 26 million dollar over budget expenditures.  The second step could be the reduction of each Department’s budget by 1 percent each year over a ten year period, excluding police, fire, and EMS.  The third step could be the hiring of new employees only in accord with the numbers of those retiring early or as mandated.  It will also be necessary to combine departments and reduce middle and upper level administrative positions through reassignment wherever possible.  Every City employee serves the public and not themselves or their own career advancement.  Reducing the rungs in the ladder will reduce the bureaucracy, red tape, and expense while increasing the humanity, decency, and kindness in services rendered  as well as progress in the private and public sectors. 

8. Provide better public safety by establishing three additional, well-staffed police substations in the center of the three highest violent crime areas of the City.  One shooting is too many and Norfolk has had more than that this year.  Require that all new police officers are recruited from within or near the areas they patrol.  Examine and determine how better to combine the traditional, tested and trusted method of training officers with the newer method of academy in order to convey insight, wisdom, adherence to oaths, and respect for Rights.  Such may also require additional review of foundational documents and the contemporary exercise of individual Rights as opposed to common enforcement practice.  Officers of the court are our finest in honor, not mercenary or paramilitary.  As well, consideration should be given to the further increase and development of volunteer emergency responder NGOs to help all of the City’s services in the event of disasters or emergencies.   

9. Due to loss of life, excessive injuries, liability, extremely high employment turnover, improper actions, misconduct, mismanagement, and public complaints concerning the Department of Parks and Open Spaces’ Aquatics Division, and in preparation for expansion of the Norfolk Tide’s transportation line in concert with the dredged sand expansion of Norfolk beaches, it is necessary to provide professional standards of care by administrating, staffing, and running Norfolk beaches and waterfronts under Public Safety through EMS and Fire Fighting Station 13.  This would be in a manner consistent with industry standards as illustrated by Sand Bridge beach in Virginia Beach, VA, Ocean City, MD, Pompano Beach, FL, Hollywood Beach, FL, Miami Beach, FL, Daytona Beach, FL, Galveston Beach, TX, Los Angeles, CA, and San Diego, CA.  How much is a life worth?  In order to improve the level of service at, care rendered by, and cost-benefit from City pools and swimming programs, the Division Head of Aquatics should be re-focused on those built facilities in order to eliminate deficiencies that developed after this position was created and the retirement of the senior council of pool managers.  Safety personnel should live in the same City as those they care for

10. Make the Norfolk Tide train line profitable, help the working people of Norfolk, increase property values, improve the quality of air, and use less fuel by extending the service to Old Dominion University, Norfolk Navy Station, Ocean View Beach, the Norfolk International Airport, and Chesapeake within the next four years.  The studies should be concluded and action needs to be taken.

11. Reform the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority while protecting the Rights of those who have been most disadvantaged in the City, repaying a debt to those most held back by the City, creating stake holders, and building community improvement.  The legacy of past Jim Crow discrimination and plantation slavery still exists today in Norfolk, and that is the reason the current residents of large scale public housing developments should be granted the deeds of the dwelling they are living in, forming condominiums of each building with a 10 year property tax waiver attached to the deeds.  Doing this, the right thing, would actually be more cost effective than the City continuing to lord ownership and control over the residence thereof.  Task the NRHA to reform itself into an organization focused on integrated housing ownership, developing mixed income communities.  Representatives of the NRHA should not be spending time telling residents that they can not exercise one right or another, family members are not allowed to visit, how their living room should be arranged, that mature adults cannot have a cook out barbeque, or worse, how they must vote in elections. 

12. While housing might seem to be the largest mismanaged problem in the City of Norfolk, the City of Norfolk mismanages much more.  Waterside Drive Shopping Mall is one example.  The City had unrealistic expectations in rent, fees, and clients during a tough economy.  That is why so many City properties were and are empty or under utilized.  There is nothing wrong with the buildings that cannot be modified inexpensively for micro boutiques, wholesale clearance vendors, thrift curio shops, antique brokers, import-export houses, marina support, service business offices, studios, schools, daycare, or something else.  However the City’s business model expectations and management are seriously flawed.  Simply base the rent on a percentage of net receipts.  Allow people the freedom to start a unique business and rent short term or flexibly.  As well, do not charge so much for parking, even if into the evening.  Think outside of the box.  Work with people.  Shoppers are looking for bargains and experiences better than those on the internet.  If the City could not manage Waterside well, then they are not likely to manage the Military Circle renewal well.  However, if the property is sold, someone in the private sector will make it productive if it is cost effective to do business in Norfolk.  For an example of how shopping areas can be re-tasked, the success of both downtown Granby Street and the Macarthur Mall is due more to private investment than public sponsorship.  Wards Corner, with three grocery stores is a hollow success in public sector micromanagement and control.  Quite a few small shop owners that I spoke with are having a difficult time covering high overhead there.  Nearby, the Texas Street area is still difficult.  The City needs to get out of the office space and hotel business as well.  The property beside Scope Center could be re-tasked into an assisted living center or something else, but most of all should not be run by the City.  The City should sell off or give away it’s under performing properties.  No one ever taxed and regulated themselves into prosperity since bureaucracy costs so much.  Business, opportunity, and money for everyone will grow in Norfolk with the right environment.  Look at Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Miami, and the entire state of Texas.

13. Foster greater public awareness and understanding as well as complete exposure and prosecution of multiple cover-ups of unethical and criminal activities undertaken by the City of Norfolk employees, officers, officials, and their friends over a number of years in order to see justice completed and give numbers of victims a sense of closure.  Please refer to the following list.  It is only a start.  As well, should you know of any other wrong-doing that needs to be remedied please contact me through email so I can help you.  There is no justice without us.

A. Who could forget the Granby Tower failure?  However, the multiple Bank of the Commonwealth scandals, the Mid-Town Office Tower scandal (pushed by Mayor Fraim), quick foreclosures on properties held by working people while the well-connected went long terms without paying mortgages only further show what happens in cigar smoke-filled back rooms occupied by the Old Boy Network.  It is members of that Norfolk political machine who tried to help to cover up long-term corruption through questionable local investigations and lack of local prosecution all designed to slow State and Federal level action, reflected by the indictment of Anthony Burfoot.  More over, it is highly suspicious when both Mayor Fraim or Norfolk and Mayor Linda Johnson of Suffolk resign from the board of TowneBank at the same time.  It is likely that Anthony Burfoot did not act alone.  Who introduced him to that circle?  I would like to see him turn state’s evidence against the others in exchange for immunity.  As well, has Councilman Paul Riddick paid his overdue taxes yet?

B. The coordinated use of inspections and denial of permits forced the Union Mission to give up its building, which housed the poor and homeless, so as to directly profit well-connected private developers and businesses in “public-private partnership” socialism.  It would be a greater shame if the Union Mission had not fought so hard.  Why should a charity have to fight so hard? 

C. The abuse of eminent domain in an attempt to steal Central Radio and Norva Plastics from their owners - an action that would have destroyed over 100 jobs - made national news, was decided by the SCOTUS in favor of the medium sized private businesses, and required the Commonwealth to change its charter so as to restrict despotic City Councils.  During the fight, the City of Norfolk - under Mayor Fraim and City Manager Jones - went as far as to tread on First Amendment Rights by restricting the owner of Central Radio from political protest and speech through a banner on his own building.  The use of inspectors to target less connected businesses and cause devastating loss through multiple repeat fines is nothing new in the City of Norfolk, and must no longer be done to advantage “the competition.”  These also include the prohibitive hurdles to starting and growing a business in Norfolk - hurdles such as the requirement of special use permits, deposit of a percentage of the first three years gross, architectural drawings, and the like.    

D. The attempted seizure of numerous historic and beautiful Victorian homes in Riverview, owned by blue collar workers and retirees, through eminent domain for the purpose of enriching well-connected land developers and contractors who wanted to build multilevel high density housing there was not an isolated abuse.  No public servant or phony expert has a monopoly on insight as to what would be best done with your property after unfairly taking it from you.  You have a right to be left alone and live in peace without threat.  Riverview was only one of many places.  Even after losing in the SCOTUS to Central Radio the City continues to abuse eminent domain.  How heartless is it to say that if the elderly, disabled or fixed income cannot care for their homes completely then they should be thrown out?  Get up, go next door, and help them.  Now, that would truly build a community worth living in.  For that matter, the City should make it easier through less regulation to form and operate small charities that do what Habitat for Humanity used to do.  However, the same should not be applicable to slum lords.

E. The exorbitant tolls placed on the Mid-Town and Downtown Tunnels that could only be summed up as punitive against the working people of Norfolk and Portsmouth are a serious issue.  Though major construction of the tunnel is completed, those tolls are still in force - collected by a private contractor and used by the City of Norfolk.  As a person who fought beside Wally Erb for the removal of tolls on Route 44 (now known as 264) I can say that City Council will need encouragement to lower those when the projects are done.