SFPUC FALLS FLAT ON THE FACE, TOTALLY EXPOSED BY CITY AUDIT

Susan Leal had nothing much to say at the hearing on Monday, March 28, 2005 in Room 263 at City Hall in San Francisco. The Controller and the Budget Analyst revealed in its latest audit that San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is in a real mess. In fact as things stand today SFPUC is a stinking cesspool. Susan Leal the SFPUC General Manager has no idea what the SFPUC infrastructure is all about. She has been fed with some ideas from her sidekick Tony Irons who is an architect. As far as operations are concerned her knowledge is even further remote. She bragged for some time that she was instrumental in getting money and collected taxes for the City and County of San Francisco. Well, we all know the Assessor's Office collects more money - the Treasure Office collects some but not the big money that is initiated by the Assessor's Office. We now learn that the SFPUC has been charging the neighboring counties millions of dollars for infrastructure and other capital improvements that do not exist. It is simply wrong for SFPUC to operate in the manner it does. To be fair to Susan Leal she was not at SFPUC in the year 2000 but in the 7 months she was at SFPUC from the tail end of 2004 - with her fiscal experience - Susan Leal did not and could not pin point the fiscal mess. The City Controller and the Budget Analyst had to bring the fiscal discrepancy to the attention to Susan Leal and the SFPUC. This is a shame. Prior to the revelations about the over charges our neighboring counties did not TRUST Susan Leal and the SFPUC. With the new revelations Susan Leal is swimming in the cesspool of mistrust. The woman is very arrogant and is determined to run SFPUC in a manner that exudes ineptness, ignorance, and lack of leadership. Susan Leal has not bothered to have a Business Plan and has not really put in place a sound process to address Environmental Impact Studies Linked to Hetch Hetchy. Susan Leal has not initiated modalities to foster Conservation. She lacks the sense to see things sustainability and has little if no idea about environmental issues because of her lack of education on issues. She favors the 3 Combustible Turbines using very expensive fossil fuel in the year 2005. That says it all. Michael Carlin has compromised many a principle to save his job and work as a stooge of Susan Leal. It is time we get rid of this woman sooner then later. She has surrounded herself with cronies that are very inept. The current state of affairs prevailing at SFPUC is pathetic - there is absolutely no Accountability and even less Transparency. Susan Leal has approved change orders of a magnitude that will come to haunt everyone. What is more it will adversely impact the Capital Improve Project linked with Hetch Hetchy and the over $4 billion that SFPUC plans to play with. Susan Leal has connived with certain people to appoint a Citizens Advisory Committee to oversee the Capital Improvement Project linked to Hetch Hetchy. The members are mostly ignorant and the few that are educated on issues do not like the way SFPUC is pushing the agenda. Recently Mr. Lawrence was forced to leave the SFPUC Citizens Advisory Committee because the other were ganging up on him and trying to shut him up. Richard Sklar the President of the SFPUC thinks he can fool all the people all the time. The time has come for Mr. Sklar and Susan Leal to be realistic. The time has come for Susan Leal to leave SFPUC - if only for one solid reason - she is no Engineer and cannot be trusted. The constituents of San Francisco should not accepted the 11% raise in the sewer rate this year. 15% in the year 2006 and another 15% in the year 2007. If you notice the raise coincides with the tenure of Susan Leal. She will collect the money and spend the money. Susan really does not care for the people - one has just to investigate the fools that surround her. Most of them are around her to prop her ego and for the high salaries they make at the expense of the taxpayers. It is time that Susan Leal is fired as she does not deserve the $300,000 plus salary she makes. She lacks leadership.

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