Pittsburgh City Council voted 6 to 2 in favor of the $85,000.00 settlement today for Police Commander and whistleblower Catherine McNeilly today.
Jeff Koch and Tonya Payne cast the "no" votes and, as is often the case, Twanda Carlisle was absent.
In a complete reversal from Council's behavior in the $200,000.00 settlement in the Sgt. Mark A. Eggleton/Dirty O matter, the vote was preceded by a lengthy conversation of the settlement and court case. While all discussion was stifled only four short weeks ago regarding Eggleton due to "concerns" about "personnel matters" being brought up in public, or "concerns" about playing lawyer at the council table, or charges of playing politics, this time around Council saw no problem in not only discussing the merits of the case, but also inquiring about whether or not McNeilly had put time in at the warrants office while she was being punished and discussing her vacation days and sick days.
Oh what a difference a difference in the mayors race can make...
Most Council members expressed that their "yes" votes were made reluctantly.
Misstatements and misrepresentations were made by some Council members that McNeilly had gone "public" (she didn't -- someone else leaked to the media) and that she had emailed the mayor and Council as a first step ignoring the fact that she initially only contacted the Mayor with her concerns and then later emailed others when Ravenstahl did not reply to her (charge Doug Shields guilty of implying the latter).
Koch expressed concerns that the settlement "rewarded" someone for breaking the rules -- seemingly oblivious to a judge's determination that McNeilly was a whistleblower, as well as a citizen with First Amendment rights.
Bill Peduto had to remind members that McNeilly was indeed protected by both whistleblower laws and the US Constitution.
The Post-Gazette covers the story here.
UPDATE: I've been meaning to mention that in the last two weeks at least three citizens have gone to Council meetings and spoken out during the public comments section against the stifling of discussion before the vote in the $200,000 settlement in the Eggleton case. Maybe that's why Council decided to have a real discussion of the McNeilly case this time around...
Hahahahahaha! Yeah, right!
Sometimes I crack myself up.
12 comments:
Typo above, here it is again.
Squeak, squeak, squeak. It never HURTS, unless its against the rules.
:)
Thanks for the summary.
Jeff Koch surprised me a bit. Good for him.
Hindsight:
If she broke the rules to such a degree, should should have been fired.
She never did show up to work at the other detail after the demotion.
What she did whistle blow about was something that everyone was okay in ignoring -- including her.
This could have been a corruption effort/matter and she could have gone to the DA.
Her husband cost the city more than $7-million in costs due to suppression of rights in other cases, so said Eliz.P of CPRB.
Those on city council gave the green light to all of those past bills.
They knew what was going on -- the 120 days, etc.
There is compounded weirdness in these matters from all directions. And, it isn't getting fixed, just put under the rug, again, for now.
Your darn right Mark- they did know what was going on...especially the 120 days rule.
Any Cmdr. who doesn't know that basic discipline rule should be demoted.
This could have been a corruption effort/matter and she could have gone to the DA.
You would have had better luck talking to Elmo. The DA wants to hear noting of his favorite D's mis-deeds.
Demoted. Why not fired?
Hindsight. Or, is she that 'protected?'
She was 'demoted' but she never showed up to the other detail.
We're getting into a weird leadership limbo zone. I take little comfort in the whole mess. And it is still looming and spinning.
Shifting topics. I was NOT at all impressed, as usual, with the city's acting solictor. Let's talk about giving someone a vote of little or no cofidence. I called for his termination in the past. It is time to raise that again.
Fire George S.
Clean house now, Luke.
Matt H said...
"Your darn right Mark- they did know what was going on...especially the 120 days rule.
Any Cmdr. who doesn't know that basic discipline rule should be demoted."
Read the court documents (available on line from the ACLU site.) The DAR tracked a 4 year history of abuse (well before McNeilly was transferred to commander of the North Side Station in January of 2006). At least 4 instances were recorded within the 120 day period that the DAR was lodged. The commander knew and acted within the rules. The chief of police, under orders of the pseudo public safety director, ignored them and promoted the abuser, and suppressed the DAR to keep the promotion intact.
Mark said:
"She never did show up to work at the other detail after the demotion."
That is because she had to use vacation and compensatory time before the end of the year (she was demoted in December.) She could not use that time (which would have been lost) in the two months previous because she had been suspended during the "investigation". As a salaried employee, she was a lieutenant during the illegal demotion, whether she was at the workplace or not.
The wierdness is not compound, but quite simple. Our administration engaged in illegal actions, were caught and held to task by a federal judge, cost the taxpayers money, and still won't own up to it.
It ain't over.
I think this is more a fight between an OConnor person and a Murphy person then it is anything else. Regan was flexing his muscles in a really stupid way, but I believe McNeilly ran to the Council and press so quickly because she hated him. Whole thing is a pretty sad episode in the city. We need to elect some people that aren't at each other's throats all the time.
O'Connor, rest his soul, and Murphy, rest his paycheck in the private sector forever more, are OLD news and can't be blamed for this folly.
Sure, there are roots in history and with these characters. But, it is a new administration -- is it not?
These are new times, so we would hope.
The other thing to ponder is the expression of being at each other's 'throats.' Humm....
We're notorious with email or while we're with a lawyer. Or, when we have to stroke a big check for a screw up.
But heads are NOT rolling. Pink slips are not to be found. Even Denny R. took to the exit by his own graces.
If real acts akin to being at each other's throats were on Grant Street -- there'd be a well oiled guillotine somewhere.
My point, they are not at each other's throats. They are really just tossing spitballs. And, these spitballs are with government money.
Get this, a smack down is an $85k pay day. Lawyers are happy too.
Point is, citizens are getting screwed because NOBODY is at each other's throats -- really. They might whisper behind each other's backs. But when push comes to shove -- they fold -- the ALL FOLD.
A six-to-two vote -- humm. That's two spitballs sent to the solicitor who should have been fired months ago.
It is a sad day for our city -- still on the brink -- when I'm happy and surprised that Jeff Koch sent a spitball from his seat at the table. Then he says in the next breath, he has a whole long list of questions but he is going to save his breath.
They are doing too little, too late and not getting to the roots of the problems.
Happy Easter.
Mark,
Koch should not be congratulated for sending a "spitball from his seat at the table."
Koch is WRONG.
McNeilly is not being rewarded for misconduct as Koch has said.
The City is being punished for its misconduct.
If you want to blame anyone, blame those in the City who ignored the laws of Pennsylvania and the US Constitution:
Luke Ravenstahl and Dennis Regan.
We are paying for their mistakes and lawbreaking.
Hi M,
Don't get me wrong. I agree with you that "Koch should not be congratulated" -- I was just suprised that Jeff K even asked two questions. That he'd ask a fricking question makes me happy. How sad is that!
Mark,
Thanks for the clarification.
As a Councilmember, Jeff Koch is eminently qualified to drive a truck.
Anon said:
"but I believe McNeilly ran to the Council and press so quickly because she hated him."
The DAR was issued in June. McNeilly went to council 3 days after going to the Mayor - in October. That ain't quick.
And she NEVER went to the press - someone from council released the information. It's all in the judge's injunction.
Murphy had nothing to do with any of it - a moral person doing her job righteously was manhandled (and I chose that term deliberately!) by corrupt politicians and their cronies. The taxpayers are now footing the bill for their wrongdoing.
And there is more to come.
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