The Start of a New Era?

Bongo was very glad to hear about the hiring of a new “head finance guy” for District 158 and welcomes Mark Altmayer with open paws. It’s the beginning of a new era. Or is it?

The hiring of Altmayer was done by a, you guessed it, 5-2 vote. Any guesses who the dissenters were?

Larry Snow and Aileen Seedorf voted against the hiring of Altmayer, and during the vote, Snow showed what a dirty dog he really is. When speaking his vote, Snow said something along the lines of (not a direct quote) “No, because the candidate’s responses in the two interviews reminded me too much of Paul Halverson.”

Say what? Can you say UNPROFESSIONAL? Can you say LIABILITY ON THE DISTRICT? Can you say DISRUPTIVE AND DISTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR?

I guess there’s some truth to the notion that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

For those of you who haven’t lived in District 158 for years and years, Paul Halverson was the chief financial officer who resigned shortly after the 2004 referendum. Bongo seems to remember that his resignation was strongly encouraged by the board at the time.

Snow’s attack on the professional reputation of Mark Altmayer on day one was, well, inappropriate to say the least. Altmayer is the fifth chief finance official in the district since Snow was elected four years ago. After Halverson there was Stan Hall, Stacie Talbert, an interim official and now Altmayer.

Upon her exit in December of 2007, Talbert made it very clear that she was leaving because of Snow and Seedorf. The district has been unable to fill the position since that time. Could it be that Snow and Seedorf are having a direct impact on the District’s ability to attract quality finance department administrators? If you were a respected professional and knew you would have to deal with the harassment of Snowdorf, would you want to work in District 158?

With the welcome wagon extended to Altmayer last Thursday night, I wonder how long he’ll stay. Not long, if Snow and Seedorf get their way. Bongo thinks Snowdorf doesn’t want the District to have a qualified professional overseeing the financial side of the district because as long as the position is vacant or operated by an interim official, Snow can continue to blow honest mistakes out of proportion while trying to look like a hero.

If you missed the newspaper coverage of Altmayer’s hiring, you can read the Daily Herald story here and the Northwest Herald story here.

Tune in later this week for the part of the meeting that had Bongo rolling over on the carpet!