Park County Credit Card Big Spender TOP 5

Amazing.....Does that mean those allegations are true?

yeah but I thought the officer was paying support! Not the Sheriff's office!

Oh, this is getting better all the time! LOL....

I hope there I left little doubt about my disgust about county governance and demand for reform. Unfortunately, here is what I see happening in this thread.

We are spinning our wheels, wasting our time and energy and appearing petty. I say that the issue is lack of transparency rather than specific credit card expenses..

For example, there are charges on specific individual credit cards for travel; lodging, meals, gasoline, etc related to traveling out and driving back newly purchased vehicles/equipment. Some of those vehicles/equipment appear to me as newish and are now being used for road maintenance and repair. We are, excuse my words, pissing into the wind if we don't look at the expenditures in context. The endeavor may possibly have saved taxpayer money. If that is true then our complaining has us appearing as picky and foolish using anything we find to attack the establishment. I see the issue differently as sloppy record keeping and lack of detail in county released information. With what we have been given we cannot determine if the ounty is spending our tax money wisely and ethically.

As additional examples I will pick on Mark Dowaliby's credit card charges.

In this thread we have questioned a meal Marked charged at a certain restaurant. Was the cost reasonable? Was it reasonable for us to zero in on that one specific charge? Do we know if the charge was only for himself, or whether it included an other commissioner , or county person? Did mark include bottles of pepto bismol and aspirin to treat side effects of the meal or the reason he was traveling? Did he include in the charge a sandwich he purchased for the next day's lunch? Most importantly, how did Mark's meal expenses compare to those for other commissioners?

We picked on Dowaliby.s Santa Maria fishing charge. Was it a fair and qualified payment with benefit to the county? Were others, for example someone in in media marketing outside the county or Gary Nichols involved? Gary's pay-for fishing marketing has been economically beneficial to Park County!

I believe the problem we are having with credit card use is sloppy record keeping and limited disclosure by the county.

Perhaps what we do need is more like this:

[b]Prokect - Transport Purchased Equipment Back to County [/b]

Charge - Meal - Paris Hilton Restaurant 10/15/2009
Charge: Dave Kintz Sr

---

$1,234.43
Included
---- Fred Wegener
---- Jo So So (County Worker)
---- Charles DeGaul (Deceased French President)
---- Tip 15% $185

With this type of information we are able to evaluate whether funds have been spent in a reasonable, cost-effective and ethical manner.

What I read in this thread resembles shooting mosquitoes from our hips inside a totally dark room. We look as if we are going out of our way to find anything that will make the county look bad. We need items of greater significance than the cost of one of Mark;s on the road for the county dinners.

In this post do you believe that I am trying to defend Mark? If you do, you are not understanding what the point I am trying to make is.

This is CRAZY!!!!

ComputerBreath wrote: 1) Where's the oversight for using county vehicle? What are the rules? Are they in writing? How much could be saved by not allowing these vehicle to be driven home or out of the county?

2) 7 people were paid over $300 to help gather Wagner cattle? Can someone explain this to me?

3) Over $21,000 was spend on food and food-related items. Is this excessive to anyone else?

4) I don't like that we know the names of the people that were served with papers by reading this document. My opinion, but I believe this is private. Use a case # or some other identifier.

5) The Western Slope Supplies bills were probably for bottled water and rental of the stands that hold them. This company also sells beverages. Buy a stand for about $250 from CostCo and get the jugs from a local store. Or if someone is willing to take the time, fill them from the tap using a filter on the faucet.

Wagner's cattle were the subject of a big deal animal cruelty and neglect case. There is innuendo that Wagner had been framed but we have already tossed around a sh*t load of innuendo. This response is in regard to gathering the cattle.

The cattle were free ranging, dispersed over a large area of land. It takes more to "gathering" a single animal than just putting a net over it and loading it into an animal control vehicle and taking it to the pound. If it cost only $300 to gather a few animals some of those 7 people must have volunteered so they could enjoy the fun of a mini-roundup. How much of that cost was for vehicle rental?

If we are going to criticize this item then we have to educate ourselves about the specific case and about cattle ranching. Paying 7 people over $300 to help gather Wagner cattle turns out to be a non starter. There are matters of much more significance to focus on.

As expected, the number of legitimate PCSO expenditures far exceed the number of those we are concerned about.

I hold my opinion that our sheriff lacks training and professional know how to serve in the office he holds. He manages using the cronies school of old boy management and for 12 years the power he holds has migrated into his head which is now "full of it." He presides, out of control, over an out of control untrained and unprofessional cadre that adds to what residents need protection from. He does, however execute quite a few legitimate sheriff chores.

Lets focus on the large significant issues rather than this type of reasonable line item expense.

To all of you, I have a reliable source that works close with the county, I sat this morning going thru the June expenditures with her and she explained a lot. We did notice one thing. There are many things that are generalized and certain departments do not show a break down of each purchase. I wonder why?

mugwump, yes, let's not cloud the issue with facts.

I would post this months Top 5 Big Spender but.......
no one has posted the info. I have tried to call for several days and no one answers.
If you are interested in the top 5 big spenders....please call 719-836-4218 and ask when the info will be posted.

rlcarolyn wrote: I also see one in there to the Family Registry for 175.00 isn't that for child support?

I hope no one loses sight of this particular charge. I think it a good idea to be looked into with more depth.