The Martin Chronicles has been reporting the strange twists and turns in Villa Hills since early October, 2011. We will aggressively continue to pursue every lead and work our large network of sources. Some events have been mostly a matter of hypocrisy. Others have been examples of hubris leading to a revelation of incompetence. More have betrayed a startling absence of the mythical “truth and integrity” banner then-candidate Mike Martin waved during his dirtbag 2010 mayoral campaign.
Every now and again we wonder if we will run out of stories to cover. Then another scandal train pulls in to what has become a very crowded station. Setting aside the lies, slander and defamation that Martin and his hillbilly lynch mob spewed during his dreadful drive for the mayor’s office, the events since January 1, 2011 have slowly but surely evolved from mostly funny stories of an inarticulate little fellow babbling about "five-sided octagons" to extremely serious concerns about deceit and cover-up. The January 5 destruction of City records has moved the story beyond Martin’s unfitness for the job and placed the entire city in legal jeopardy. It now seems quite clear that those who speculated Martin’s mayoral run was nothing much more than a push for vengeance were exactly right.
Looking back over the first thirteen months of Martin’s “administration”, we see someone who loves to play the “CEO” card when it affords him an opportunity for chest-beating and self-aggrandizement. But the same person pushes the blame to others the very instant that the responsibilities of leadership present any problem.
Let’s go all the way back to Martin’s ridiculous decision to use a back hoe to crush open the City safe. The “CEO” went so far as to tell The Kentucky Enquirer that, after weighing all his options, he “felt good about his decision (to destroy City property)”. Then this destruction became part of a complaint to the City’s Ethics Board. A member of the ethics board told the complainant that Martin advised the board “he never told the public works director to crush open the safe” at a hearing held a couple of months later. Inexplicably, the board was not bothered by the disparity between Martin’s comment to the newspaper and his statement to them.
The past year has seen an all-out assault on the Villa Hills Police Department. The department currently finds itself 25% (two officers) below its’ proper staffing level. One opening is the result of an officer retiring because of Martin’s unprofessional meddling. The mayor wasted months trying to circumvent the City’s Civil Service ordinance-that he considers a personal affront to his “CEO” authority-trying to fill that position. The City’s Civil Service Commission has now rounded up candidates for the position. But Martin’s unprofessional interference has created unnecessary turmoil and delay at a time when the city is dealing with a significant spike in crime.
The debate over the eighth officer has been even more telling. Despite putting $80,000 in his budget proposal (that has never been enacted) to fund the position, Martin announced that he was not going to hire an eighth officer. Ignoring the fact that the police chief publicly stated the eighth officer was needed, Martin would end the debate by saying, “I’m the ‘CEO’. It’s MY decision. We’re moving on. Get over it.” Martin would say that the money could be better used for the street repair program. Acting as if he was still a supervisor at a cookie factory, the mayor would add that he would rather “pay some overtime” and save the rest of the money for roads.
Now we learn that Martin’s decision has led to the taxpayers funding far more than “some” overtime. The reality is that Martin’s mismanagement has led to overtime costs well in excess of $100,000. Worse yet, Martin admitted he has never talked to the police chief about effective cost containment.
Cronyism is not a good indication of “truth and integrity” either. The mayor has handed out jobs and contracts to friends (for items as innocuous as fire extinguishers) and wasted taxpayer money doing so. In one instance Martin was asked why he was not enforcing the terms of a contract he signed with a personal friend. Martin dismissively responded that he would simply “re-write the contract”. The Martin Chronicles cannot confirm that the contract was ever re-written.
Martin’s “after-hours” removal of computers from the City Building in the middle of Special Counsel’s investigation has added more fuel to the fire. As has become his pattern, the mayor sloughed off his actions to the media. He claimed he just innocently took computers that were “in storage”. Special Counsel has affidavits proving that computers were removed from employee work stations. Dots are beginning to connect.
The incredibly deceptive way Martin’s road tax proposal was presented to the public was a disgrace. A more than forty percent increase in the property tax rate was falsely sold as a vote to eliminate the $40 sticker fee. Fortunately the voters saw through Martin’s tax tale.
We also learned that Martin used City personnel and equipment to produce a road tax flyer to distribute in the Voice of Villa Hills the weekend prior to the road tax vote. When a resident asked Martin if he knew who put the flyer in the Voice, the mayor dishonestly replied he “had no idea.” If Martin felt what he was doing was proper, why did he lie?
The Ethics Board is now reviewing a complaint against Martin for his misuse of City personnel and resources for advocacy. Regardless of how the Ethics Board rules, Martin’s actions were improper. No state in the union allows such use of taxpayer-funded personnel and resources.
Martin has been complaining for months that he couldn’t fill Open Records requests because there were no records left for him. Suddenly these records became so bountiful that many of them had to be burned. All this happening in the middle of a very serious lawsuit and a Special Counsel investigation. We have and will continue to report on this very serious matter. Other media outlets are now digging into the story as well. The key? The “CEO” once again sloughs off the whole affair by shamelessly blaming it on the interim city clerk. It appears The Martin Chronicles is no longer the only media outlet that can see through Martin’s “stories”.
By his actions, Martin has pulled the taxpayers into the very serious problems he has created. One official recently told The Martin Chronicles, “It’s time to finish this.” While covering this “train station” has been an interesting challenge, we agree.
The Martin Chronicles believes that at least the debate over whether Martin is massively incompetent or spectacularly dishonest should be finished. Why? Because the events of the past thirteen months give witness to the fact that Martin is both.
