Highhanded Tactics

I don’t know Thousand Oaks Councilman Frank Schillo personally; perhaps if I did I might even like him. However, I do have a problem with his highhanded tactics of shoving things down the throats of the people of Thousand Oaks and spending their money as if it grew on oak trees.

Since Mr. Schillo is a financial planner, this immediately indicates two things to me: He is thoroughly skilled in financial matters, and he should be extremely well-qualified to plan for the future.

I understand that Mr. Schillo wants to award a contract to a consultant to determine if the city of Thousand Oaks could save money with its own Fire Department. Great. But why was there not a competitive bid requested? Any financial planner worth his salt would certainly plan for this in advance and request competitive bids. Oh well, it’s only $10,000.

The final straw came when I read where Mr. Schillo endorsed the awarding of a contract to a company that is overseeing the construction of the Civic Arts Tower (a structure that exceeds the legal height limitations of the city of Thousand Oaks). This was a contract that was not competitively bid--what a plum for someone. Just think how much could have been saved if it had been put out for bid.

It seems inconceivable to me that a certain group of people want to satisfy their egos by building something that in my opinion is overpriced and oversized, and will probably be underused.

Can the citizens of Thousand Oaks afford this? Can we all say fiduciary responsibility?

Bill Gourley

Thousand Oaks