The End.

The time has come to move on. This will officially be the last post on this blog.

I didn't create this blog with the intention of ruining careers...I created it as a place to toss issues around, as an outlet for people to vent, commiserate, bitch, moan, etc... Unfortunately, in recent months, it has become much more than that. It's become a mudfest of sorts.

I created the blog on 08 August 2006, and posted exclusively until 29 September 2007. Over the course of that year, there were several time gaps in posts, because organizing this site & keeping abreast of work issues while away from work are very time consuming.
After the 29Sep post, I gave up. After about a month, a friend asked if she could post a couple of things, and I handed day-to-day management over to her. This began at the end of October, with the coming of "Blogmaster."

The next two months progressed without much strife, but the end of December saw a post that I took serious issue with. It attacked an Operations Floor employee (a white shirt) by name - a tactic I never personally used, and was adamantly against from the first post on 08Aug06. We disagreed, but with the assurance that the posts would be "toned down," Blogmaster continued.

Until the end of February.

The most recent posts have broken the camel's back (yes, I intentionally left out "been the straw that's"). Whether the subjects thereof were true or not, I'm not here to debate. Could be, could be not. But I took SERIOUS issue with the way in which they were presented, and with how harshly they attacked. As I said, I didn't start this blog with the intention of messing with careers (although "Our Fearless Leader" really pushed the envelope). And yet that's what's happened. Messing with careers, violating trust/confidentiality...it's all too much. And especially too much to take blame for posts that I didn't write, which were truly not in the vein through which I wanted to course. And also, especially to have people think that I was the one violating their trust for things I didn't write. I have no problem accepting full responsibility for what I wrote, which was everything up to and including 29Sep07. I can't stand behind, or accept responsibility for, what I didn't write - which was everything thereafter excluding this post.

There's been a lot of talk about who I/we may have been. And some of you were right, most of you were wrong. Some of you were right, but didn't realize that there were two different people, two separate "eras," if you will.

But sadly, those eras are both in the past. The comments sections are now closed, except for this one. And this one will be closely monitored/moderated.

Thank you for the support for the last 1.5 years.

CPDDispatch 1

Investigation, Anyone?

Blogmaster, like everyone else at oemc, is waiting to see what action the suits will take regarding the allegations surrounding the deputy director of police operations and a certain watch manager, who was an spco at the time of the alleged impropriety. At the very least one would expect a thorough investigation into the matter. Blogmaster sources indicate that at least one senior suit was personally briefed on the allegations last week, but to date, Blogmaster has not heard that a formal investigation is under way and neither the alleged witness nor the other watch manager (the one who was responsible for the pco, not the recently promoted one who is alleged to have done the deed) have been contacted by any oemc suits or any other "investigators". In fact, sources indicate that the evidence--the tampered documents--are still in a secured location having not yet been requested for inspection in conjunction with any investigation. WTF?????

Think about it. If this were a pco (or a low level union worker) accused of such a serious offense--altering an official city document with the aim of affecting a future outcome-it is likely that termination would already be in progess, BEFORE any such investigation commenced. At the very least, pcos would have been put on some type of leave (think Durkin Park; Ronyale White; etc.) while the incident was being investigated. But for the clouted, the connected, the SUITS the rules are different. Another example of the city failing to adhere by its own stated policies and a glaring example of how the rules are applied inconsistently.

Memo to the suits: a comment from the boss--that would be the ED, ruiz himself-- would be appreciated. Even the standard "the matter is under investigation" would be adequate. It would let everyone know that yes, in fact, management IS aware and IS addressing this issue. If management fails to conduct at least a cursory examination of this incident then every single suit on the 4th floor and the corner office is at fault for derelection of duty and neglect. And for future reference dont expect any improvements on the operations floor, any respect, or anything else. Management inaction will have proven that the fix is in, anyone can get away with anything, and no one running the show here cares. But maybe the media would. Maybe a slick investigative reporter would be interested in these allegations, especially if they are part and parcel of a quid pro quo, and are substantiated.

Meaningless Evaluations

The cat is out of the bag and it would appear that investigations into the deputy director and a certain watch manager are imminent, if not already in progress for alleged improprieties involving at least one pco evaluation. And as any investigation is pending, it might be prudent for the suits to evaluate the evaluations too, and the entire promotional processes, the disciplinary actions, and the lateral movements among pcos that are dependent--in part--upon the evalations. After all, if the alleged accusations are true, one can never be sure that any other evaluations are not tainted or corrupted either.

Blogmaster has long had a myriad of issues with the evaluations. To the extent that they measure anything, its usually the wrong things. Aside from obvious issues like tardiness and attendance, the rest of the evaluation is subjective and dependent upon the evalutor (an spco). For example, how a pco feels about management is irrelevant to whether or not they actually do the job; uniform standards have been so lax for so many years that any evaluation of this is completely meaningless; and since there is not now--nor has there ever been--any minimum benchmark standards for job performance, efficiencies, or set goals for pcos to aspire to the rest of the measures are also meaningless. It is a waste of paper, a waste of time, and wholly dependent upon the whims of the particular spco doing the evaluation. Adding insult to injury is the fact that pcos are routinely made to sign these evaluations but are not entitled to photocopies or duplicates of the final product with signature. WTF?

This last point cannot be emphasized enough and one can draw the obvious conclusion that the reason one is not given a copy of one's own signed evaluation is so that management can later alter any evalution at any time in order to better reflect the goals of the suits. And that raises the next point: promotions.

The promotional processes are now--not for the first time, but with perhaps the most direct evidence brought to light thus far--all in question, again. The last spco promotions, in june 2005, may all be seen to be suspect, as can the most recent promotion to watch manager, and the 4 watch manager promotions before that. And it is unfortunate because some of those promotees really deserved their advances. But for everyone else it becomes much much easier now to see how the back room shenanigans affect everyone else because there are a few spcos who really were questionable promotions given the overall pool of applicants.

Transparancy. It is so missing from this city and from the oemc. It is no wonder that no one has any confidence in the suits.

Say It Ain't So, Ron Part II

Questions, questions, questions. The deputy director of police operations, now presumably facing an investigation into alleged improprieties surrounding one particular incident, isn't talking. In fact, the deputy director of police operations hasn't been seen in the building since last thursday. Coincidence? Perhaps--it IS a holiday weekend and maybe he just wanted a few extra days off. But maybe not. Maybe the deputy director is smart enough to see the writing on the wall and realized that after this alleged incident his days with oemc are numbered, even before any internal investigation takes place.

Blogmaster wishes the deputy director WOULD talk though, because a whole lot of questions remain. Questions like WHAT ELSE has been going on in the ranks? WHO ELSE has been "assisted" by altered evaluations, phone calls, or other means of protection? WHO ELSE has been harmed by these same methods? Blogmaster has learned that the most recently promoted watch manager--reportedly having NOT had to submit to the traditional promotional processes that the previous 4 watch manager promotees had to submit to--was the very same subordinate who is now at the center of the alleged incident involving the altered evaluation that has put the deputy director on the hot seat. QUID PRO QUO is the term the feds use for these type of deals--rewards for deeds or actions performed for the specific benefit of someone else.

Blogmaster is not really surprised, however, just saddened once again. The new boss IS the old boss albeit a different race and gender.