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, Glenn Legwen's Acaddemix Nursery Aca, 5900 5th St. SW Vero Beach, Florida 32968 (561)778-7791 C�On F�1Gt U& May 10, 1998 Mr. James Chandler & County Commissioners of Indian River County 1840 25th Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960 Subject: Children Services Network Budgeting process. Dear Mr. Chandler, Thank you for your rapid response to my letter dated May 7th. Can we move the issue to the following week's agenda which will be Mayh. Z(O � ;%% There are some additional items I would like to bring before the public and the commission regarding our very unusual method of recommending financing. In the past, all request for financing have passed through Mr. Joe Baird, the Finance Director. We have deviated from this policy. Mr. Baird should have a chance to review all requests for money to alert you of any inconsistencies. I feel more comfortable knowing the request have come through him first. He must have been alerted to the CCCR incident where money was being embezzled by Ms. Nancy Retzer. He had the good sense to have Mr. Cotherman, the Treasurer of CCCR, sign all disbursement documents. Why did we deviate from current policy and have applicants interested in receiving county money send their request through Mrs. Joyce Johnston instead of Joe Baird? Mrs Johnston is the director of Human Services. Members of the public were put on notice that there would be a meeting of the Children Services Network sub -committee Tuesday May 5th. at 6:00 P.M. I was in attendance and so was another woman on that particular evening. The weather was terrible. Hail the size of golf balls was coming down in Fellsmere. There was a heavy downpour at the Administration office. The woman called in advance to determine if there would be a meeting on that particular evening and she was told that there would be. I asked Alice who was working late at about five forty five if there was going to be a meeting and she told me, "If it was posted they should have a meeting." There was no meeting! Thursday May 7th when the meeting of the sub -committee did take place everyone on the sub -committee had evidently been given thirteen packets to review. Four members of the public, including the press, asked to review a set of these documents while the subcommittee was approving or disapproving them and we were told to come to Mrs. Johnston office to see them. Mr. Chandler, I know you are excellent with figures and I know this is a strength of your administrative skills. Every action the Children Services Network takes is under intense scrutiny. Particularly after some of the incident which have occurred over the past two years. INRIVCO where staff failed to follow up on who was in charge of the program. The firing of Assistant Utilities Director, Jack Byrne, on trumped up charges. Mr. Pinto's untimely resignation a month later leaving the county without a Utility Director for five months. May 26, 1998 WX