By Mel Shapiro, Hillcrest

seems as if ms. smith had been collecting her "severance" for some time now. this board's incompetence is startling... not only should ms. smith have been denied severance, she should have been forced to return the taxpayer money of which she illegally gorged upon for several years. good luck with the irs ms. smith, they'll be coming after you hard, and you won't see many of your "friends" at that point.

Posted by the truth | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 9:40 am

Let's see here. I'm an executive with a salary higher than most. I have little if any oversight. I give myself "Bonuses" and share a little with my bookkeeper. I make sure to never submit the necessary paperwork to the IRS or other state agencies. And, I get 100K to go away! When will the thievery in this City stop? No, don't tell me, she is vested in the SDCERS pension system too? Please say it so!

Posted by JustWondering | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 9:57 am

As expected, two victim cards were pulled out. I wonder if a lawsuit is far behind.

Posted by Leanne1 | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 10:52 am

Disgusting abuse of power by Ms. Smith. Her supporters seemed to play the "race card" when they commented on her good deeds. Don't they understand that she was cheating their community by taking the excessive bonus money ? Will someone also remove Artie Chip Owen for his questionable dealings at SEDC ?

Posted by Nana | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 10:53 am

When a city employee from the Water Department embezzled money, she was criminally charged, forced to repay the debt, and fired. When Ms. Smith stole the money from SEDC, she called it "bonuses" and now is NOT being criminally charged, gets to keep the money, and receives $100,000 to just go away quietly. So what's the difference? Embezzling money and taking "bonus" money that doesn't belong to you is the SAME THING! Hello, Mr. City Attorney Mike Aguirre... doesn't that smell a little fishy to you? At the same time, city employees get NO raises, get their benefits CUT big time, and get daily threats to have their jobs outsourced. This is no way to run a city.

Posted by Cheeky | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 12:21 pm

Do read VOSD "This just in" about Angela Harris speaking on behalf of Smith who received up to $50,000 a year in consulting contracts from SEDC and then was award a for-sale affordable homes. It really is time for Sanders to wake up and pay more attention to what is going on....CCDC is getting stinkier by the minute as well. And what is his famous and expensive Ethics Department and committees doing while all this is going on?

Posted by Leanne1 | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 12:29 pm

First Ms. Smith, next "Chip" Owen. The chairman of the board is as crooked as Ms. Smith and needs to be the next crook to be canned.

Posted by PorkmanDelardo | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 12:36 pm

Get a job paid with public money; negotiate a salary "range" and take the high-end figure without board oversight or permission; take "bonuses" without permission too; then, when you are finally fired for these shady practices, take a bundle for leaving. This SEDC outcome is is not news: it's become common practice these business-oriented days to pay "signing" bonuses, "performance" bonuses, "moving" bonuses and "termination" fees to school administrators and superintendents who line up at the bottomless public trough. Should it change? Meanwhile, are there no lessons from SEDC's disintegration to be applied to the downtown CCDC? I'm waiting to hear....

Posted by Fed Up | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 2:21 pm

Hopefully the city will recover that $100k and illegal bonuses through the fines she is about to receive from a judge. Ah, it will just be a transfer of money from the city to the state then. See that teary-eyed pic of Smith? That's what she'll look like when the judge reads his sentence too after hearing all the evidence.

Posted by Tom S. | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 2:51 pm

In post #6 Leanne1 wrote:"Do read VOSD "This just in" about Angela Harris speaking on behalf of Smith who received up to $50,000 a year in consulting contracts from SEDC and then was award a for-sale affordable homes." I wonder how many other contractors had contracts with SEDC and were supporting them publically? I would like to know - who had the contracts for 'Latino Outreach.’

Posted by Gregory | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 3:05 pm

I'm just wondering WHY none of these anomalies and BONUS payments did not show up in the recently published (March 2008) FY06 “CLEAN” City Audit? Any answers Mr. Mayor? Mr. Auditor? Anyone, Anyone?

Posted by JustWondering | reply to this comment
July 24, 2008 3:46 pm

It seems clear to me that, had that ‘audit’ been done correctly, these pay animosities would have been noted and corrected by our fine Strong Mayor - long long ago. I believe the city should demand all the money paid to all the 'approved professional auditors,' for it seems none of them did their jobs; even though we do nor really seem to know exactly what job that as supposed to have been. I am sure he would not have told them ‘wait until I get on scene and take control before you make a move,’ wait – that was something else…, what was the topic again?

Posted by Gregory | reply to this comment
July 25, 2008 11:10 am

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