If you're a Minneapolis taxpayer, I take pity on you. A good deal of your problems of course are your own fault, since you keep electing bozos who keep finding new ways to squander your money. But when it comes to tales of fiscal woe like the following, I feel your pain. When you read this article keep in mind that the reason most oft cited by Mayor RT Rybak for the city's inability to afford to put enough cops on the streets is the LGA (local government assistance) cuts made by the state more than three years ago.
Time to oust fire chief, Rybak says:
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak called on Monday for the removal of embattled Fire Chief Bonnie Bleskachek, saying he no longer has confidence in her ability to lead the department.
He no longer has confidence in her abilities? Now? What was it R.T., the FOURTH lawsuit alleging sexual harassment that finally got your attention? Or did you actually sit down and figure out how much this little diversity play was costing the city?
Under the proposal, Bleskachek is asking to remain in the department as a captain, said her attorney, Jerry Burg, of Minneapolis. If the settlement is approved by the City Council, Bleskachek would receive a severance payment because her chief's contract has not yet expired.
Bleskachek, who has been on paid administrative leave for eight months, is accused of allowing her romantic liaisons to color her ability to manage the department. She has been the target of lawsuits brought by four firefighters.
That litigation depicts a lesbian chief who allegedly favored some firefighters and retaliated against others.
It also depicts a firehouse culture where careers rose and fell based on who slept with whom.
Bleskachek was ill with the flu Monday and unavailable for comment, Burg said.
Well, at least she didn't have to call in sick.
Burg said he believes the severance package amounts to the difference between what Bleskachek would have earned as chief and her salary as a captain. The settlement payment, if approved by the council, would be one year's worth of that difference, he said.
Given her salary of $113,000 and that of a senior captain -- $68,000 -- that would put the payment at roughly $45,000.
Let me get this straight. She commits workplace violations that would have gotten anyone in the private sector thrown out on their arse long ago without so much as a second thought and now she not only is going to continue working for the Minneapolis FD, she's going to get paid difference between her position as chief and her new "demotion" to captain? Unbelievable.
Bleskachek, 43, has been the focus of internal investigations as the suits claiming discrimination and sexual harassment were pressed.
A city investigation continues, but it has already been determined that the department gave preferential treatment to lesbians or those socializing with them.
Good advice for budding job seekers out there: be sure to network with lesbians.
Bleskachek joined the Fire Department in 1989, quickly emerging as a leader and pioneer. Fifteen years later, she became the first lesbian in the nation to head a big-city fire department. Then, a few years ago, the city's Civil Rights Department accused her of repeatedly mixing her romantic relationships with her professional life.
Burg calls such claims baseless and painful. Now, he said, the embattled chief simply wants to return to what she loves: fighting fires and helping people.
And freeloading off the taxpayers of Minneapolis for as long as possible and running a fire department as a lesbian dating service.
You want to talk about pain? Here's some real pain for the hard-working taxpayer of Minneapolis:
In all, Minneapolis has spent more than $410,000 on the investigation, legal settlements and compensation of Bleskachek during her paid leave.
Since she was placed on leave March 22, Bleskachek has collected about $90,000 in salary and benefits, said Matthew Laible of the mayor's office.
Through early October, the amount paid to the private law firm conducting the internal investigation was $220,580, but that figure continues to rise, Laible said. The city is paying Bleskachek's attorney, and as of early October, that amount totaled $7,125.
So far, two of four suits brought by firefighters have been settled. On Oct. 6, the city paid Jennifer Cornell $65,000 and Kathleen Mullen, $29,000. Their suits contended that the chief prevented those firefighters' promotions because of her own grudges.
Ouch. Each figure another dagger in the wallet of Minneapolis taxpayers. But hey, your city hired the first lesbian in the nation to lead a big city fire department and that's gotta be worth something, right? Right?
UPDATE-- Bert e-mails to bring up some other costs:
It should be remembered that the cost of Bull Bleskachek's tenure as fire chief is costing the city far more than $400,000 when one considers that a lot of bright young firefighters have probably left the force when they realized that they wouldn't exactly be on her short list of prospective dates, and it's possible to likely that certain emergency situations were not handled as well due to their absence.
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