These are the words of Assistant County Manager Ysela Llort contained in an October 29, 2010 email to Assistant Transit Director Marjan Mazza when Mazza complained about the conditions at MDT.
Mazza was then fired November 23, 2010.
According to Miami Herald articles, the lax financial practices at MDT date back to at least October 2009. In November 2009 "FTA found flaws in MDT's federal procurement practices" and in "February 2010, outside auditors for MDT flagged the same problem, saying the agency 'did not comply with requirements regarding procurement.'"
"[b]y Sept. 8, the FTA regional administrator warned the transit agency it intended to restrict the county from withdrawing certain federal funds through an online payment system, instead demanding proof of valid expenditures before approving reimbursements."And now County Manager Alina "Burgess Lite" Hudak expects Llort to fix MDT.
In November, "Mazza took her case to Assistant County Manager Llort, who oversees Transit, claiming in an e-mail that same day that [former MDT Director Harpal] Kapoor had 'provided false information' to federal auditors and the FTA.
"Despite the unfolding chaos, top county officials including Burgess and Llort failed to intervene to address auditors' growing concerns."
When given the opportunity, instead of taking charge and fixing the issue immediately, Llort asked Mazza not to air "dirty linen" and then Mazza was fired. This is leadership according to Ysela Llort and the 29th floor at County Hall, who went on to tell county commissioners that "[t]his is not a sky-is-falling issue."
But now the skies are indeed falling, including a federal investigation into criminal activities, and the person put in charge to oversee this mess is the same person that created it.
Since at least late 2009, Ysela Llort has been instrumental in ignoring or hiding the truth of what is going on at MDT. For this she is paid $260,970 a year by county taxpayers.
Our high paid so called professional bureaucrats, starting with County Manager Alina "Burgess Lite" Hudak, have failed us.
It is now time for the political leadership in Miami-Dade County to take the reigns and fix this mess once and for all.
We urge County Commission Chairman Joe Martinez to personally meet with officials at FTA immediately, to plea the County's case, to show FTA that there still exist some responsible accountable parties in County government, and to restore some semblance of normalcy in an otherwise chaotic situation.
