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Former
City of Lawrence Comptroller Jim Limperis:
Council President Drove Me Out of
My Job
Tom Duggan
(05/07/07)
When Lawrence resident David Camasso was being
interrogated by members of the Lawrence City Council last
month, one issue was repeatedly brought up for Camasso to
address: If hired as comptroller, would Camasso bow down
to political pressure when it came to approving
expenditures he believed were excessive, illegal or
inappropriate?
Over and over, Councilors Gosselin and Blanchette
questioned Camasso, implying that previous comptrollers
had received political pressure from the mayor to approve
spending that was illegal, excessive or not properly
authorized.
But Methuen resident and former City Comptroller Jim
Limperis says he was shocked to hear such questioning,
given the circumstance surrounding his departure from the citys
employment.
After driving me out of my job for questioning
excessive spending, Councilor Blanchette had the nerve to
sit there and pretended to be the watchdog against
excessive spending, the former comptroller said.
But it was the City Council, in particular Council
President Patrick Blanchette who is most responsible for
me leaving as the citys comptroller because I
wouldnt go along with giving raises to his friends
in City Hall.
Limperis says that on several occasions he refused to
sign off on city expenditures that he found contained
very suspicious activity and fell under the
category of excessive spending.
According to emails and memos obtained by The Valley
Patriot, Limperis refused to sign off on non-union
raises, questioning how the city could legally give
raises to non-union workers when no money was available
in the budget and while collective bargaining was still
in progress with the citys 22 labor unions.
Thats when Council President Patrick Blanchette
sent an email to Limperis demanding that he not question
the expenses, stating:
Again, the city council voted to appro-priate money
in the form of a transfer. No other questions should be
asked. Lets stop with the games and leave our
difference at the door. Unfortunately I think titles are
going to some peoples heads. Even though signatures
are needed - it does not allow for people to be
obstructionists. Also, no need to involve someone from
DOR (De-partment of Revenue) in this city matter. Lets
keep our issues in our own house.
Limperis says that during the entire seven months he was
comptroller, he routinely experienced interference from
Blanchette to approve expenditures he felt were illegal
because there was no funding source for the
appropriations.
Patrick Blanchette is one of the most
unprofessional people I have ever had to deal with. He
wanted to make sure his friends in City Hall got their
raises at any cost. He was telling me to disregard
Massachusetts General Laws and sign my name to an expense
that I have every legal right to question. And when I
said I was going to the Department of Revenue to get
clarification, the political attacks began.
But after he made my life so miserable that I could
no longer stay in my job, he continued. he
changes his story when he is in public, telling the
voters during
Camassos hearing last week that he wants a
comptroller who will question expen-ditures. What he
really wants is a comp-troller who will question the
mayor but blindly approve whatever the City Council and,
in particular, the council president, wants. During
Camassos hearing, he stated pretty clearly that he
wanted a comptroller who would question expenses and
refuse to sign off on anything questionable. Yet, when I
tried to do that, he came after my job.
Limperis even put his concerns in writing during the
controversy. In a letter to Mayor Michael Sullivan dated
October 7, 2005, Limperis writes:
As your comptroller, I would like to alert you to
very suspicious activity in regards to 24
Employee Action Forms dropped off in my office this week
that needed my approval ... The major reason why I have
held off my approval to these Employee Action Forms is
because I feel that this expenditure is excessive and
will cause continuous pressure in the next few months as
it relates to collective bargaining with the 22 unions
throughout the city.
I have received continuous pressure from Council
President Patrick Blanchette as to why isnt
this signed, sealed and delivered yet. ... I
am still uncomfortable with non-answers and most recently
the aggressive push for my approval by council president
Patrick Blanchette. At no time in the near future am I
willing to approve these transactions as I feel they are
not in the best interest of the city of Lawrence.
According to Mass General Law 41, section 52, it states:
The auditor or officer having similar duties in
cities shall approve the payment of all bills or pay
rolls [sic] of any departments before they are paid by
the treasurer, and may disallow and refuse to approve for
payment, any claim as fraudulent, unlawful or excessive.
Limperis says that the interference of the council
president and Blanchettes constant harassment
during the work day, as well as the insults and
slanderous comments he made at City Council meetings,
always in my absence, made it very difficult for me to do
my job as comptroller. He was doing everything humanly
possible to get me to approve expenditures I believed
were inappropriate and made it very clear he was going to
have my job if I did not adhere to his wishes, legal or
not. He is a bully and he is the single most reason I
left the city.
Limperis said he is bothered by comments made by
Blanchette even after he resigned last year. Id
finally had enough. I resigned and went back to the
private sector and Blanchette is still taking cheap shots
at me in public meetings. He has called me a quitter and
made some very disparaging remarks about my character, of
course now that I am gone, just as he used to do when I
was not at a council meeting. I will tell you the truth.
I left the city of Lawrence because of the behavior of
the council president and it is no wonder there have been
no applicants for the budget and finance directors
job and only one applicant for comptroller.
What professional in the private sector wants to deal
with the likes of a bully who thinks it is perfectly
appropriate to micromanage the day-to-day operations of
the city and push his weight around making threats of
political retribution. Thats why Lawrence cant
get good applicants and its why Lawrence cant
keep good employees for very long.
Limperis says that the last straw centered around his
travel allowance and the stipend he received as part of
his contract with the mayors office.
All of a sudden, Blanchette is making public
statements about my contract at City Council meetings,
making innuendoes that I am corrupt or incompetent,
making motions to take away my travel allowance and
referring to some city ordinance stating that as a
department head I am not entitled to any stipend. But the
police chief gets a travel allowance, the treasurer gets
a stipend, the superintendent of schools has a city car
in his contract. But the one guy questioning raises for
his friends in City Hall is suddenly stripped of money I
was entitled to as part of my contract with the mayor. I
had an agreement when I came on board with the city and
he bullied me and John Griffin until I finally gave up
and said I dont care about the car allowance
anymore. I am going to back to the private sector.
Limperis said it was Blanchettes ongoing public
statements about him at City Council meetings long after
he resigned that led him to come forward after leaving
his position with the city of Lawrence.
For the record, I am not a quitter, Lim-peris
said. I was driven out of my job and if it wasnt
for Blanchette, I would still be there working in City
Hall I hope Dave Camasso has better luck with him than I
did.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The MAY 2007 Edition of
the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
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All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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