Defending Puckett (September 22, 2016)
In response to three Town council members defense
of Marc Puckett, I have to ask whether or not they actually read the report that was prepared on his activities. As a former council woman I would be raising questions, publicly.
I don’t know what Mr. Puckett is like in his personal life. But as a resident, voter, and taxpayer I am concerned that there is too much riding (for Apple Valley residents and taxpayers) on the word of one man. We are talking taxpayer funds and town debt, not eminent domain. The eminent domain ship has sailed; the council members need to get over that. Responsible decisions on financing and spending are the issue. That is why our group felt compelled to speak up, especially when the link was to the Flint water crisis, one of the worst government fiascos in the nation’s history.
What we uncovered was that Mr. Puckett was basically driven from Flint because he a) cost taxpayers over a million dollars, b) was mismanaging Flint’s finance department, c) ran the budget for the Mayor who eventually was recalled over fiscal disaster, and d) had a direct line in the chain of events that lead to the water crisis. Coincidentally, water rates started ballooning under his tenure in Flint.
Our report is certainly critical … but mean spirited
or despicable,
certainly not. We point to fact and ask the hard questions that leaders seem to ignore. I am sure that the residents of Flint are feeling that they should have asked more questions of their elected officials in the years before their water was poisoned. Fortunately, Apple Valley now, has the opportunity to avoid financial disaster.
— Diana Carloni, Apple Valley, CA
Published: Daily Press, October 6, 2016