Tales from the Mark Side: The Conservative Voice of Manatee County

Manatee County taxpayers deserve better than this: Administrator must resign

By Mark Young

I don’t think government officials understand the level of our frustration.

It’s time they did.

Taxpayers are tired of having their hard-earned dollars being wasted, stolen and used to line the pockets of over-paid officials.

The recent letter submitted to the county commissioners by Manatee County Clerk and Comptroller Angelina Colonneso in regards to Administrator Scott Hopes’ abuse of taxpayer dollars goes well beyond even what Colonneso called a grave concern.

Her May 20 letter outlines blatant tax dollar theft, coverups and incompetence within the office of Manatee County’s top executive.

If any of what Colonneso says is true, Administrator Scott Hopes must resign. We are tired of government officials serving themselves before the citizens.

According to Colonneso, Hopes made a concerted effort to pad the deputy administrator’s pockets with taxpayer dollars by setting up an ineligible retirement account, bypassing the commission’s legislative requirements.

The letter also states Hopes was driving a brand new $46,000 Chevy Tahoe purchased by taxpayers while receiving $450 a month to use his own vehicle.

The fact that he was receiving $450 a month to drive his own car basically from his home to the office and back is ridiculous when taxpayers are already forking out a salary of over $200,000.

For years, if not decades, these are the kinds of things we simply shrug our shoulders and roll our eyes, saying something like, “Typical government waste. What can I do about it?”

Well, we aren’t saying that anymore. As Twisted Sister so aptly sang, “We’re not going to take it anymore.”

Perhaps even more disturbing in the letter is Colonneso’s accusation that Hopes “admonished” her for obeying the law regarding public records requests.

Colonneso doesn’t get into the subject matter of the conversation, but according to her, Hopes said she was required to coordinate with him, and said her promptness in responding to the request, “could have brought down an entire county department.”

First of all, what Hopes told her, if true, is completely inaccurate and inappropriate so Oh boy … here we go.

That very statement is infuriating and represents everything that is wrong and corrupt with the government.

My instincts tell me that conversation was in relation to the code enforcement debacle over the Medieval Fair scandal where our code enforcement officials were scratching the backs of Sarasota officials.

Hopes is correct in saying that it could have brought down the entire department and it’s completely his fault that it didn’t.

Hopes is 100 percent complicit in that scandal. He ultimately allowed the fair to go on as scheduled despite the scandal. Hopes allowed the county building director responsible for the code enforcement disaster to retire with full benefits.

Hopes put two code enforcement supervisors responsible for the scandal on paid vacation and allowed them to return to work. Hopes allowed the subsequent harassment of the whistleblower who exposed the scandal, and her ultimate termination.

We are not done with following this situation because one of those code enforcement supervisors violated the Sunshine Act by not providing and/or deleting associated texts related to that scandal.

That’s what happens when you give former law enforcement officers who were fired for breaking the law themselves brand new code enforcement badges and authority over the citizens they have already betrayed.

I don’t know what the county expected to happen. If you put up a circus tent and expect there to be no circus, well there is a special kind of stupid infiltrating our county government.

We also will have the whistleblower on one of our upcoming Let’s Talk podcasts. You won’t want to miss that.

Colonneso concludes her letter by saying, “This is not a complete account of all concerning activity that has transpired.”

I shudder to think what else will be revealed, but I, for one, have heard and seen enough from this administrator.

I suppose it doesn’t shock me all that much given the fact that Hopes took the position of county administrator straight from his spot on the school board, and if all is true, has conducted himself inappropriately.

The school district and school board seems to be a training ground for political corruption where they learn how to assault the taxpayers’ pockets.

We shall see how this board of commissioners handle this situation. Speaking to the majority of this board, I have not been impressed with your duties to hold yourselves and your staff accountable for their actions.

As the election cycle approaches at warp speed, for some, this is your last chance to show that you put the taxpayer before your internal relationships, connections and friendships. This county has a long history of people being put in charge simply because of who they know.

Well I have news for you. You had better understand once and for all that the only people you need to know, and the only people you will be held accountable to are the taxpayers of Manatee County.

We are watching. We are evaluating. And we are going to take action.