Martell’s Tribune column, post auditor

It was a brilliant summation of Mr. Martell’s position regarding the value of the long awaited and disappointing non audit by the State Auditor. Here is his column. Here is a sample:

In an editorial on July 23, 2010, the newspaper claimed the Red Plan was $32 million in the black. That was just 10 months before it was revealed to be

$19 million in the red.

Further, the News Tribune reported on June 19, 2007, that the district’s consultant, Johnson Controls, would make “about $4.5 million” from the Red Plan. The state auditor verified in its limited engagement that more than $56 million went to Johnson Controls. One of the shortcomings of the petition engagement was that it did not break down how much of that was paid to subcontractors. Common sense, however, suggests the company’s take was more than $4.5 million.

Mr. Martell ends his piece with this paragraph:

I continue to be involved in this issue despite surviving a heartbreaking personal tragedy over the past year because I believe the public has a right to answers about what is happening in its town. How foolish to suggest I would have spent so many hours of precious time just “riling up” anyone I can.

For a long time I’ve wanted to write about this “heartbreaking personal tragedy” but it did not seem my place to do so. Loren has referred to it several times since once at a school board meeting when addressing the Board and also in a recent letter sent in to to the Reader Weekly. I think that permits me to add my two cents which I will do in my last post on Mr. Martell today.

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