Lee County Manager promises answers but still no word on audit

Promising you answers but giving you silence. Lee county's top dog still not saying a word about an investigation she ordered of the county's troubled transportation department. The county manager calling for an audit after Four in your Corner investigator Mike Mason exposed allegations of mismanagement.

Karen Hawes

It has been 16 days since county manager Karen Hawes ordered the County Clerk to do an independent audit into Lee County's Department of Transportation. Problem is that we are getting the run around now on how that audit is coming along. On June 27th county manager Karen Hawes sent Fox 4 an e-mail stating: "The scope of the audit will be defined, hopefully by Thursday. At that time I will forward a copy of the scope to you."

So on Thursday Four in your Corner tried contacting Hawes but we were told to speak with Patty DiPiero in the County's Utilities and Compliance Program. Dipper said, "Karen spoke with Charlie Green, the Clerk of Courts, about the audit and he should be aware of the scope. At this point, it may be best to speak with Mr. Green. But when we called Charlie Green he had nothing to say. So on Friday we contacted Karen Hawes again.

We then received an automated email stating 'she will be out of the office until July 6th." That's when Fox 4 again called DiPiero who said Karen Hawes is the only one who can give us information on the audit but Hawes is still on vacation until tomorrow."
Dipiero suggested we then contact assistant county manager Holly Schwartz so we left Schwartz a message. We then went straight to Schwartz's office for answers but were told she wasn't there. Since Schwartz was nowhere around we decided to meet with DiPiero at her office to try to find some answers. DiPiero's secretary told us DiPiero was refusing to meet with us because she had already spoken with us on the phone.

Brian Bigelow

Four in your Corner contacted Lee County commissioner Brian Bigelow today. He says he spoke with Clerk of Courts Charlie Green and Green admitted he has already determined the scope of the audit but is refusing to release details until Karen Hawes returns from her vacation. We'll stay on top of this and let you know what happens.
To view the Fox 4 report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/story/15030279/fox-4-gets-runaround?redirected=true

Fox 4 Investigation sparks audit into Lee County D.O.T

Karen Hawes - Lee County Manager

A Four in your Corner investigation sparks an audit into the controversy surrounding the Department of Transportation. Lee County manager Karen Hawes has officially called for an independent audit of D-O-T's hiring practices. Hawes says, "We're going to be looking into the D.O.T. hiring practices and the independent audit division will also be interviewing employees and this way it can be kept confidential"

That's good news for some D.O.T employees who have already aired their concerns. Steven Sherman works in D.O.T's traffic sign division and supports the audit, "It's a good thing, from my experience over there it's long overdue."

Clay Simmons - D.OT. Supervisor

A Four in your Corner investigation recently exposed what employees are calling horrible working conditions at D-O-T such as harassment and intimidation by supervisors and Division Director Clay Simmons is now in the hot seat.

Simmons has been accused of wasting taxpayers' money. Workers say Simmons ordered them to deliver 130 truckloads of dirt from Buckingham to a private home on Orange River Boulevard in Fort Myers. The Berner family says they used the dirt to build a slope along the pond on their 10 acre property. We are told the entire job took 10 hours and 7 workers to complete. If that's true that means dump trucks made 130 trips, driving about 7 and a half miles each way racking up nearly two thousand miles on county time and funded by taxpayer dollars.

Steve Sherman - Lee County D.O.T.

Fox 4 investigator Mike Mason asked Sherman, "they guys who were driving the trucks delivering the dirt on that day, what did they have to say about it? Sherman replied, "They say there was some sort of shenanigans, that's an exceptional delivery."
Sherman is one of the workers who blew the whistle on his supervisors and after Four in your Corner began digging up the dirt, the County Manager took notice. Hawes admits she initiated the audit because, "I've had other employees mention some things to me, your reports and other information that's coming forward, this is the time to do it?"
Four in your Corner visited D.O.T's Operations Center for the third time to speak with Clay Simmons but were told he's off on Mondays. One question we wanted to ask him was about his hiring procedures. Many employees say he's giving out promotions to people who may not be best qualified for the job. One of those employees is Shane Hinman who is a crew supervisor. Today our cameras caught up with him. Fox 4 Investigator Mike Mason confronted Hinman saying, "Some other employees say you got a job after only being here for 2 years and they were here for 10 or 20 years and they haven't gotten that job". Hinman replied, "You'll have to take that up with Downtown, man, ‘cause I don't know and I couldn't tell you."
After digging deeper Fox 4 Investigates also discovered Hinman may have been a ‘shoo-in' for the crew supervisor job. County records show Clay Simmons only advertised Hinman's position for 2 days last year, from December 22nd until December 249th; Christmas Eve. Fox 4's Mike Mason asked the County Manager if 2 days was really enough time to allow other people to apply for the job. Hawes simply replied, "It's not the norm. It's not the norm."

County Manager Karen Hawes says the audit will begin by investigating D.O.T's hiring practices but may expand to cover other issues such as claims that supervisors are harassing employees and potentially wasting taxpayer dollars. Fox Four Investigates will stay on top of this story and bring you the latest.
To view Fox 4 report click on link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14945187/fox-4-investigation-sparks-audit-into-lee-county-dot?redirected=true

Lee County worker blows the whistle on county managers

A Lee County worker blows the whistle on county managers, accusing them of forcing employees out of their jobs. This comes after a Fox 4 investigation into the controversial resignation of the County's interim D-O-T Director.

Steve Sherman works for Lee County's Department of Transportation's Traffic Sign Division and after watching our report last night he decided to speak out. He wants to expose the way county officials are treating their employees and he feels it's so important he's willing to put his own job on the line for this. Sherman admits he's nervous about going public but says, "I feel the obligation to do right by my fellow employees and Mr. Wingard".

Paul Wingard is currently the county's interim Director of the Department of Transportation and has recently decided to resign. Wingard says he's leaving because he's not happy with the current administration, "when you're working with a group of people and you really feel like you're not part of that group, that's just not a good place to be in."

County Manager, Karen Hawes, claims Wingard and other key employees have been leaving to pursue more lucrative jobs in the private sector. But Wingard says that's not at all true, "I'm not leaving because of additional pay that absolutely has nothing to do with the reason I'm leaving."

And that has Lee County Commissioner Brian Bigelow questioning the integrity of Karen Hawes. Bigelow wonders, "are we getting other information in the course of doing county business that might also be inaccurate or misleading? This is a grave concern for myself."

Sherman says he knows the truth about why good employees are leaving and it's because county managers are forcing them out. He claims they rule with a "heavy handed mentality, it's my way or the highway,jobs are tough so if you don't like it here then go like it somewhere else."
Sherman now works for the County's Traffic Division of the Lee County Department of Transportation, he says he's happy there and he likes his supervisors but that wasn't the case a few years ago. When he worked at D.O.T's Operations Center he wasn't happy at all, he said supervisors there ruled with an iron fist and he's talked with other employees throughout Lee County who also say they have a problem with the upper management style.
Sherman says, "It's counterproductive to be chastised and be heavy handed in certain areas of departments with the employees". Sherman goes on to say that employees will eventually leave if things don't improve at the workplace, "Absolutely, if the employment business gets better in the private sector I'm sure there will be a great exodus out of here."
Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall told Four in your Corner's Mike Mason more employees may lose their jobs because the county has a 46-million dollar deficit. County employees, however, don't feel that should have anything to do with how they are treated at work. Lee County records indicate 26 employees have left their jobs since May first of this year but the circumstances of *why* they left are unclear. Fox 4 would like to hear from public employees if they have problems at work. They can call or text Fox 4 at 239-206 Fox Four or send an email at ‘Foxfournow.com' and click on the ‘Viewers' Voice' tab.

Here's a link to the Fox 4 TV report: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14918744/lee-county-worker-blows-whistle-on-county-managers?redirected=true

Lee County manager comes under fire - accused of possibly forcing employees out of their jobs

Karen Hawes - County Manager

FORT MYERS - The Lee County Manager is coming under fire, accused of possibly lying to Commissioners and pushing County employees out of their jobs. District 2 Commissioner Brian Bigelow says, "This is information that's coming to the Board if it's inaccurate or found to be intentionally misleading we need to know that."


The County's Interim Director of the County's Department of Transportation (D.O.T.), Paul Wingard is the latest employee who has decided to resign. He simply states he's not happy with his job, "No and that's why I'm leaving exactly."

Paul Wingard- Lee D.O.T

Wingard has worked with the County's transportation department for 18 years, has never had a negative evaluation and expected to be promoted. When Four in your Corner's Mike Mason asked Wingard if he thought he was the number two candidate to fill the Director position he answered, "That's kind of what was indicated to me but I don't know that because I wasn't in any of the meetings when they talked about it and ranked people."
County manager, Karen Hawes, claims Wingard is leaving for a more lucrative position in the private sector. In a memo to commissioners she wrote:

"As with Paul, another engineer in the Utilities Division is leaving to earn more compensation and receive greater benefits than the county is currently offering."

But Wingard insists that's not at all true, "my weekly paycheck compared to what I'm making right now today to what I will be making is actually less, but there are some other things that go along with that. It has nothing to do with money."

Brian Bigelow - Lee Commissioner

That's one reason Bigelow has asked the County Attorney at Tuesday's commission meeting to launch an inquiry into what really happened. Bigelow told commissioners, "There appears to be a factual conflict between Mr. Wingard's resignation letter of June 1st and the County Manager Hawes' email of the same day explaining his resignation for us."
Board members shot down Bigelow's request for the inquiry but Bigelow still wonders if Karen Hawes is really competent to be the County Manager. He says, "I just have to say I have a question, I have a question about it."
Wingard's resignation is not the only one Commissioner Bigelow is suspicious about, in the past year alone two other transportation employees have left the County and Bigelow wonders if they were forced out. That's why he asked Karen Hawes about it directly but he says she didn't really give him a clear answer. That's the reason Bigelow is the only one out of 5 commissioners who has refused to sign Hawes' annual evaluation. Bigelow states, "I wanted to know more about why in fact they (employees) left. I still to this day am not clear as to why they were forced out."
Wingard didn't want to talk specifics on camera but in his resignation letter he wrote:

"It has become obvious over the past several months that my knowledge, expertise and abilities are no longer of value to the county and I have become less and less satisfied with the work situation."

We wanted to speak with County Manager Karen Hawes but she left today's commission meeting early. She says she's flying out to Washington D.C. to meet with legislative staff there. No word on when she'll be back but Fox4 Investigates will stay on top of this story.

To watch the Fox4 report click on:

Chicken fight is heating up......

LEE COUNTY - A chicken fight in Lee County is heating up tonight as some residents speak out against having chickens in their backyard. Some people claim they need them to put food on the table but Bob Marino says, "they're dirty and disgusting". Marino is the President of Country Club Estates, a deed restricted community. He says the chickens need to go away, "why do we have to have this sort of a problem it's a ridiculous problem so why should we have it. They're dirty animals".

Dianne Muth is a chicken farmer and lives in Country Club Estates, she wants to protect her way of life, "when you finally get a place of your own and you get told what you can't do in your own yard it's pretty sad really."
But Country Club Estates is a *deed restricted community* and it clearly states in the by-laws that Muth, or any other resident there, can't have chickens. Marino wants Muth to "be reasonable, get rid of the chickens there are other people in here not just one. We can't bend the rules for just one person. It's not fair."
But plenty of other folks throughout Lee County say they need chickens to make ends meet. They rely on them for eggs, meat and fertilizer for their gardens.

Dawn Kopp also supports chicken farming, "We want to be able to provide for our family." Kopp can't work right now because taking care of her elderly father has become a full time job. Kopp's father is currently at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers because he apparently had a stroke. Kopp says she found out one of the nurses at the hospital also raises chickens in her backyard and that nurse shares those eggs with other nurses on staff. Medical professionals believe those eggs are healthier, they're organic and at least they know exactly where they're coming from." Kopp believes, "A lot of people are getting Government food stamps but there is going to be a day when that piggy bank is going to fall over and there's not going to be any more pennies falling out for them, we need to be able to be self sufficient, that's what America's all about."
Dianna Caminos is the one who launched a campaign and petition supporting chicken farmers in Lee County and it her efforts have become an overnight success., "Oh yes, absolutely, thank you very much Fox 4." Caminos tells Four in your Corner's Mike Mason, "We're getting people emailing us saying, ' I'm so glad that I met you because we wanted to have chickens but we didn't know how to go about doing it' so we're getting people all the time."

Lee County Commissioner Brian Bigelow promises to push to have the chicken issue on the agenda for next Tuesday's commission meeting. We really wanted to hear from Commissioner Frank Mann because he represents Lehigh Acres but for two days Mann has not responded to our calls. We'll stay on top of the story and bring you any updates.

Here's a link to the WFTX Fox4 TV Report by Mike Mason: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14900768/chicken-fight-heats-up-in-lee-county?redirected=true

Lee County Chicken Farmers ruffle feathers with County Officials

LEHIGH ACRES, FLORIDA - Chicken coops are ruffling feathers in Lee County as many homeowners say they're being told to give up their main food supply! Local chicken farmers are being cited for raising the birds in their backyards but they say they can't afford not to.

Dianna Caminos is on disability, her husband recently lost his job and they have a 2-year old daughter with medical issues. Now they're fighting to keep food on the table. Caminos admits, "Well right now we have no income coming into our household at all, nothing." Caminos lives in Lehigh Acres and figured getting some chickens would help since they produce eggs, meat and fertilizer for her family's garden. She says she called someone at Lee County Animal Services to make sure it would be okay, "and she said. 'I don't have a problem with you having chickens as long as you don't have roosters and she laughed and said because they might disturb your neighbor."

Caminos then proceeded to purchase the chickens and everything seemed fine until she noticed other chicken farmers in her area were beginning to get citations. Caminos immediately called the Lee County Board of County Commissioners. Her District Commissioner for Lehigh Acres is Frank Mann. A member of Mann's staff told Caminos to call Animal Services. Animal Services told her she would have to contact Code Enforcement but all Code Enforcement did was to slap her with this citation for having the chickens.

Lee County Commissioner Brian Bigelow says, "that's not the way I would have addressed it or handled it." Bigelow says the local ordinance that forbids folks from raising chickens is outdated and he maintains,"to not address or to not accept that this is a sign of a new reality I think is living in denial we just simply can't do it."
Dianne Muth and her daughter also bought some chickens to help make ends meet, they were also cited and had until Friday June 10th to remove the birds. Four in your Corner's Mike Mason asked Muth if she planned to get rid of her chickens and she replied, "Can I take the fifth? Yes, I'm going to keep them. I'll keep them inside my house if I have to." And that's exactly what she's doing, the birds are now being kept in her garage.

Muth says she has only one request of County Commissioners, "Please just let us keep our chickens, we're not going to go overboard and have a whole poultry farm out here just 4 or 5 chickens to sustain our family that's all."
And Four in your Corner now has at least one Commissioner's promise that he ‘will' take action. Bigelow adamantly states, "we will definitely look at it even if it is only my office trying to do so."
In the past month alone Lee County Code Enforcement has issued dozens of violations to people for owning chickens. Dianna Caminos has begun a petition drive to change the ordinance and so far she has about 50 signatures. We will, of course, follow this story and bring you any updates.

Link to Fox4 Report: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14886262/lee-county-chicken-farmers-ruffle-feathers-wtih-county-officials?redirected=true