So, Who Paid $450k In CASH For Mike Yenni’s New House? (Hint: It Probably Wasn’t Mike Yenni)

During the recent Mayoral campaign, Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni repeatedly made attempts to contrast himself to me by stating that he was a “stakeholder” in Kenner and I was merely a “renter”.

While it’s true that I rent my house, and have since I moved to Kenner in 2001, I think living in Kenner for 13 years in the same location kinda shows that I’m a “stakeholder” too, unlike some well-known Kenner politicos who reside in a Henry Shane-owned apartment.

In debates, I tried to not make things personal with Yenni and didn’t want to point out that the house that he lived in was right next door to his mom’s house and given to him by his mother. I mean, why else would you live next door to your mom, right?

So, no, my mom didn’t give me a house in Chateau. In fact, my mom doesn’t live in Kenner – none of my relatives do. In 2001, I chose to live in Kenner, in my humble, rented Highway Park home and I still reside there. I guess that makes me a BAAAAD man.

Now, Mayor Yenni is on the move again. Again in Chateau but this time into an even bigger, more expensive house worth almost double the home that he has now.

According to public records, Yenni and his wife paid $450,000 CASH for another home in Chateau.

How could the Mayor pay $450k in cash for a new home? He couldn’t.

According to the Louisiana State Ethics Board’s Financial Disclosure forms, Yenni and his wife have no stock investments over $5,000; each owns 1 rental property (Yenni still has a mortgage on his rental in Mississippi – in his 2010 financial disclosure, he listed rental income of “less than $5,000”, recent disclosures have bumped that to the next tier, “$5,000-24,999”.);they have not disposed of the home that Yenni’s mom gave him, and they list no business assets.

Sure, Mayor Yenni makes good money from the City, $72,500 a year (although he won’t be getting the $35-40k raise that District 3 Councilman Keith Reynaud wanted him to get. BTW, Reynaud’s not getting a raise either.) and a little more for his stint as a “Public Affairs Officer” in the Naval Reserve. Yenni’s wife also works at the Country Club owned by her grandfather.

They could have saved $450,000 but, with a new baby and Yenni’s poor history with money, that is unlikely. I mean, if you’re spending over $100,000 from your campaign account (aka “Other People’s Money”) to enhance your lifestyle and pay for everything from Mardi Gras beads and dues, fancy restaurant meals ($1,461 in one night at Antoine’s. Really?), and gifts ($1,468 in Jewelry right before Valentine’s Day), chances are you’re a little cash poor.

I don’t know too many people, except for Yenni’s friend Ben Zahn, with the gall to charge $2.99 at Starbucks to his campaign account. But, that’s what our favorite Mayor did.  

Of course, Yenni also funneled over $10,000 from his campaign account back to the Chateau Golf and Country Club. It’s always good to give back to the “family” business.

So, where did the $450k come from?

Since it’s doubtful that Yenni’s mom, a retired schoolteacher, could come up with $450k in cash, could the money have come from another family member, perhaps a doting Grandfather-In-Law? It’s possible. If it did, that would be a very generous gift – but it would be a gift nonetheless, and it would require that taxes be paid on it as income.

But, if it was a gift, be upfront about it. Don’t act like you can afford an expensive home in Chateau on your Mayoral pay and what your Grandfather-In-Law pays your wife. 

Of course, Mayor Yenni could end the rumors by releasing his tax returns. Sorry, I didn't mean for you to laugh out loud at that one.

If it was a very generous gift from a family member, then the Yenni's should do the right thing and pay taxes on it. Yenni got away with that the first time. He won’t get away with it this time.

People are watching now Mikey.

When does the next campaign finance report come out?

Reversing Course (Again) Yenni Formally Fills An Unfilled Position

After the people of Kenner resoundingly defeated his plan to double property taxes, Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni convened a hand-picked “Streamlining Budget Committee” headed by former Assessor-turned-Blogger Lawrence Chehardy.

The feeling in Kenner was that Chehardy, one of Yenni’s most ardent cheerleaders, would deflect heat from Yenni in cutting Kenner’s bloated budget. After all, Yenni could simply claim that his “independent” committee recommended these cuts and he ‘reluctantly’ went along with them.

Anyone with any real knowledge of Yenni knew that, just as with his Economic Development Committee and the 2030 Plan, the Streamlining Budget Committee was pre-fed the cuts. In fact, at the Press Conference announcing the Streamlining Committee’s report, several members of the committee hadn’t even been consulted about the cuts or the final report. An hour before the Press Conference, one member told me, “We’ll both know what’s in the report when it’s released.”

So much for ‘independence’.

During the lead up to the Tax vote, many Kenner citizens, myself included, pointed out specific items that Yenni could and should cut from Kenner City Government prior to asking the voters to approve his plan to double property taxes and growing government.

One of those cuts involved eliminating the position of Public Information Officer (PIO). The PIO’s primary role was to write press releases for the city and many believed that this was a part-time position at best, while others believed the position could be absorbed by existing staff.

The Streamlining Budget Committee recommended that the PIO position be eliminated.

Rather than lose a political appointee, Yenni created the position of Assistant Director of the Clerk of Court. Yenni attempted to rationalize the position by saying that there was so much work in the Clerk of Court office that there was a need for a highly experienced manager to come in and take charge and assist the Clerk of Court.

In typical Yenni fashion, instead of finding a “highly experienced manager”, he simply moved the old PIO over and he kept writing press releases while “assisting” the Clerk of Court.

After the former PIO-turned Assistant Director of the Clerk of Court retired, Yenni hired a former New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter. Bob Ross, to fill that position. Again, someone with no experience. However, like his predecessor, he was skilled at writing press releases.

During his first Administration and continuing on through the re-election campaign and his Inauguration, Yenni continued to tout the ‘fact’ that he cut 135 positions from Kenner City Government however he never mentioned his musical chairs with his political appointees.

The truth is Yenni NEVER cut 135 full-time positions. Many of the slots that he claims credit for cutting were left unfilled during the Muniz Administration, which in the aftermath of Katrina, added needed employees for the maintenance and cleanup of Kenner.

Still more cuts that Yenni claims credit for were part-time Rivertown tour guides.

In 2010, when Yenni took office, the City of Kenner had 655 full-time equivalent employees. In the 2013-2014 budget, the City lists 621 full-time equivalent employees.

For a chart, please click here and scroll down to Page 139.

Were there cuts? Sure, but 34 doesn’t equal 135.

What is always swept under the rug are the politically appointed positions that Yenni fills or creates to add to Kenner’s top-heavy administration.

In 2010, Yenni replaced the Internal Auditor with someone who had no prior governmental oversight experience. Subsequently, she has been promoted to Deputy CAO and the position of Internal Auditor has remained unfilled for nearly 2 years.

Despite Jefferson Parish adding an Inspector General and calls by many in Kenner to use the IG to provide oversight in Kenner particularly in light of the $42 Million bond debt incurred by the 2030 Plan, Yenni has resisted utilizing any independent oversight.

Instead, buried within the new budget is the filling of the Internal Auditor position. This position will report to the Mayor, thus it will have ZERO independence.And, knowing Yenni, the person filling the position will have ZERO experience.

Back to the present, and again swept under the rug with no mention in either The Times-Picayune or The Advocate (the City’s new “official journal”), is the report that the current Assistant Director of the Clerk of Court (and chief Press Release Writer) Bob Ross is filling the unfilled, and thought to be eliminated, position of Public Information Officer, reversing what the Streamlining Budget Committee recommended and Yenni agreed to a few short years ago.

At least Mr. Ross will be back in his element full-time. But does he, or anyone for that matter in a city as small as Kenner, deserve to make writing press releases a full-time job?

And, what does he do besides write press releases?

We already know that, unless he knows the questions in advance or is feeding a story to the media, that Yenni doesn’t speak to reporters preferring instead to issue written statements from his political consultant Greg Buisson.

Of course, if I had as much to hide personally and professionally as Yenni does, I might not want to speak to reporters either.

But, why this reversal? Why does this position suddenly need to be filled especially when Ross, and his predecessor, were already doing the work? And why was there no mention of this in the media?

I’d ask the Mayor but he doesn’t like answering my questions.

“Politically Aged” Yenni Shows He’s Still Immature, Classless and Petty

Last year, after Judge Mentz dismissed our lawsuit against the City regarding Mayor Yenni’s 2030 Plan, Nola.com posted a piece about Yenn still stressing about a group of citizen activists despite winning that battle.

Rather than relishing his victory and moving on, Yenni showed his true petty nature and immaturity by continuing to blast the citizens that he was elected to represent.

“These people are crazy, and they will stop at nothing,” the mayor said.

It was reminiscent of Yenni’s op-ed piece in the Kenner Star criticizing citizens who speak at City Council meetings.

Imagine how much better Kenner and Yenni’s life would be if only the citizens of Kenner would not offer a dissenting opinion.

C’mon everybody! Let’s all rally around the one true omnipotent being in Kenner – Mike Yenni.

In the last election, Yenni’s allies swept all of the City Council seats except for the independent voters in District 1 who re-elected Councilman Greg Carroll.

Despite Yenni’s inauguration speech claiming that “no neighborhood will be left behind”, I’m sure that there will be hell to pay in District 1 as Yenni seeks retribution against those foolish citizens who voted against him and re-elected Carroll.

After the 2030 Plan was released, I joked with Councilman Carroll that, since District 1 was pretty much shut out of the $27 Million (now $37 Million) spending spree, that I would help him organize a bake sale to buy a sign to put on Airline Highway saying “Rivertown – This Way”.

My hope for Councilman Carroll and the residents of District 1 is that my premonition is incorrect and that Yenni has actually grown up.

Sadly, his actions the past few weeks don’t show me the personal growth that one would hope for in an (allegedly) Adult.

Before the last City Council meeting, Yenni issued proclamations to the outgoing elected officials. He honored term-limited Police Chief Steve Caraway, and term-limited councilmembers Jeannie Black and Michelle Branigan. When it came time to honor two other term-limited councilmembers, District 2 Councilman Joe Stagni and District 5 Councilman Kent Denapolis, Yenni introduced Black and Branigan to introduce Denapolis and Stagni.

After 8 years for Stagni and 10 years for Denapolis of service on the City Council representing their Districts and the City, Mike Yenni couldn’t bring himself to say a few nice words about either councilman.

At a Monday night pre-inauguration dinner attended by the incoming and outgoing Councilmembers, City Contractors and Yenni’s political contributors, Denapolis and Stagni were MIA. It seems that there were left off the invitation list.

At Tuesday’s inauguration, Yenni introduced videos highlighting Black, Branigan and Caraway’s work. Again, Denapolis and Stagni were not invited, not on stage, and not thanked for their service. In fact, Denapolis and Stagni weren’t even mentioned.

One slight, ok, it happens.

Three slights – well, that’s no accident.

Councilmen Denapolis and Stagni deserved better and far more respect from Yenni.They've earned it.

It should be noted that Denapolis and Stagni didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Yenni and vigorously opposed Yenni’s attempt to double property taxes. They also sided against the Mayor on other issues but does disagreeing with someone warrant the repeated slaps in the face?

Isn’t this America where dissent is welcomed?

In his speech, Yenni claimed that being Mayor for the past 4 years had “politically aged” him.

"I am politically aged, which is to say I am calm but driven, focused but open minded."

But still immature, petty and classless.

Chosen to introduce Yenni again at this inauguration, former Assessor-turned-Blogger, Lawrence Chehardy showed how clueless and out of touch he is.

While repeating the same tired, inaccurate rhetoric of how Yenni had cut $8.5 Million from the City budget (while managing to increase the budget during his term – must be Common Core math) and eliminated 135 positions (of course, many of which were unfilled positions from the Muniz Administration and part-time positions in Rivertown – but never mind the facts, if you say something loud enough and often enough it becomes the truch), Chehardy took us on a walk down memory lane as he discussed his advice to Yenni before the Mayor took office in 2010.

Chehardy had advised Yenni before the mayor's first term to be "decisive but not divisive," stay true to himself, be resourceful and to listen to critics. Yenni has done all these things, Chehardy said.

Former Assessor-turned-Blogger Chehardy, this Citizen-turned-Blogger respectfully disagrees.

Well, maybe not so “respectfully”.

Slidell, Sulphur Lower Garbage Rates; Kenner Residents Not So Lucky Due To Mike Yenni

Last night, the Slidell City Council authorized Mayor Freddy Drennan to sign off on a new garbage contract that reduces residential rates by $.50 per month. The new rate will clock in at $18.81 per month. The city currently receives twice-weekly service and recycling.

In May, the City of Sulphur approved a new trash collection contract that reduced residential rates by $2.50 per month. The new rate is $14.39 per month for 1x weekly pickup and does not include curbside recycling.

Thanks to Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni and his renewal of the City’s trash contract in 2012 with Ramelli (a campaign contributor to Yenni) without putting the contract out for competitive bid, there are no reductions in sight for Kenner residents.

In June 2012, even the Times-Picayune’s Editorial Board, which foolishly endorsed Yenni not once but twice, blasted his handling of the Ramelli extension. They called Yenni’s claims that Kenner might jeopardize its relationship with Ramelli if the City sought new bids “bogus”.

"Kenner residents are paying less per month than their counterparts in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, New Orleans and other metro area localities. But they are reportedly paying more than some local communities, including Westwego and St. Charles Parish. That suggests that a better price could be available.

Mayor Yenni argued that the city risked losing Ramelli's competitive price if it sought proposals from other companies. That's bogus. Kenner could have tested the market and agreed to renew the existing contract only if a better offer didn't come along. And in almost every case, local governments that have opened professional contracts to competition in recent years have saved money.

Indeed, when Kenner in 2010 opened its auditing contract for competition, the city's annual cost dropped 19 percent."

In addition, despite a stipulation in the contract to the contrary, the City continues to pay Ramelli hundreds of thousands in “Fuel Adjustments” that began in 2008, less than 1 year after Ramelli began picking up Kenner’s trash.

Ramelli also illegally operated for over a year without a performance bond, which was also part of their original contract. This discrepancy was only caught after then City Attorney Keith Conley reread the contract when Ramelli asked for the fuel adjustment payments.

This could have cost the City of Kenner millions if Ramelli had walked away from the contract. 

At the time, then Council President Joe Stagni said, "This is one of the biggest and most important contracts we have. To not have a performance bond is not a simple oversight. It put the city's finances at risk."

Why Conley also didn’t note the illegal “Fuel Adjustments” is a subject of debate.  

Then Mayor Ed Muniz (and CAO Mike Yenni) took no action against Ramelli’s illegal operation – no fines, no sanctions, nothing. They simply told Ramelli that, now that you’re caught, you need to fix things.

Kenner residents shouldn’t expect any further scrutiny into Ramelli’s affairs. The company contributed $1,000 to then District 4 and current incoming Councilwoman-At-Large Maria DeFranchesch; $300 each to incoming District 2 Councilman Mike Sigur and District 5 Councilman Dominick Impastato; and $5,000 to Yenni.

“BEST CONTRACT IN THE REGION”

Currently, Kenner residents pay about $12 per month for 2x weekly pickup (whether they need it or not) and curbside recycling is available through another company for an additional $2.50 per week fee. In addition, Kenner residents also pay a property tax millage for trash pickup.

Yenni failed to include curbside recycling in the contract extension with Ramelli and has instead opted for recycling bins scattered across the city for residents to use. In addition to the added inconvenience, Kenner also is forced to pay Ramelli to pickup the recycled material. 

Last year, Kenner moved $40,000 from the Code Enforcement Department's Demolition fund to pay for recycling. 

If you choose to pay for curbside recycling, a Kenner resident’s monthly fee for trash collection would range from $22 – 24.50, or as much as 30% higher than Slidell’s new agreement, without factoring in the property tax.

Yenni, who unilaterally approved the extension with Ramelli without soliciting competition or disclosing the extension to the Kenner CityCouncil for 6 months AFTER he signed it, continues to maintain that Kenner’s trash contract is the best in the region.

At a Mayoral Debate in March 2014 sponsored by Nola.com, Yenni said, "We have the best garbage contract in the region."  

Obviously, the numbers don’t support his claims.

The City of Gretna is currently working on a new trash collection contract that will lower resident’s rates to $14.50 per month, including curbside recycling.

St. Charles Parish, with a population of 52,780 and a population density of 186 people per square mile, pays $9.75 per month per residence.

St. John the Baptist Parish residents pay $11.60 per month. St. John has a population of 45,924 with a population density of 163.75 people per square mile.

Slidell has a population of 27,000 and their population density is 1,828.9 people per square mile. As mentioned, Slidell’s new trash collection rate is $18.81 per month including curbside recycling.

Kenner, with a population of 66,000 and a population density of 4,659 people per square mile, dwarfs these other areas and, logically, should pay significantly less since the population is denser meaning that there are lower pickup costs for the collector. Ramelli can use less trucks and manpower to cover more houses.

Obviously, that overhead savings isn’t being returned to Kenner residents in the form of lower monthly bills.

PROMISES MADE, PROMISES BROKEN

Last month, residents of unincorporated Jefferson Parish began receiving new, 95-gallon trash bins.

Per the original 2007 contract with Ramelli, Kenner residents were supposed to receive new, 96-gallon containers beginning on October 29^th, 2007. The entire city was supposed to have their old containers replaced during the nextgarbage pickup cycle.

"Ramelli plans to provide the burgundy and white containers to all residents starting on October 29 who are on the Monday/Thursday pickup route. In case delivery to all residents is not completed on Monday, the replacement will continue on Thursday - the route's second pickup day.

This same procedure will be used to continue delivering new containers to residents who have a Tuesday/Friday pickup and a Wednesday/Saturday pickup route until all the new containers are distributed throughout Kenner."

While some residents have received new containers, after 7 years, over 40% of the city still uses old Waste Management trash containers that were distributed before Hurricane Katrina.

I actually called Ramelli today to request a replacement for my cracked, per-Katrina, Waste Management container. Since my container has been cracked for months (and was actually cracked by Ramelli employees during a pickup), I expected that they would note the damage and automatically bring me a new trash bin.

That isn’t the case.

The woman that I spoke with at Ramelli was very nice and took down my information. She noted that there was a list of people who requested new trash bins and she would forward my information up to a supervisor.

Despite the fact that in Ramelli’s original 2007 contract they promised to replace all trash bins (and factored that cost into their bid), it seems that Kenner residents who want a new trash container are put on a list and distributed new containers as Ramelli purchases them.

This, "Pay-As-You-Go" policy, instead of the original, contracted total replacement of all old trash bins, also saves Ramelli money. 

THE BOTTOMLINE

Ramelli operated illegally and wasn’t sanctioned by former Mayor Ed Muniz and then-CAO Mike Yenni, is receiving illegal “Fuel Adjustment” payments, has not lived up to its contract and Kenner residents are NOT receiving the lowest rates possible.

Yet, Mayor Mike Yenni still extended Ramelli’s contract tying the City’s hands, and finances, for an additional 5 years. The current extension runs through 2017.

One good thing did occur after Yenni’s unilateral approval of the Ramelli contract extension was uncovered: in November 2012, Kenner residents approved a Charter Change by a 73-27% margin to take steps to ensure that no Mayor can enter into professional services contracts over $100,000 without Council approval and an opportunity for the public to comment.