Former Lee County worker calls for investigtation of top officials

Picture this: your bosses decide whether you keep your job based on performance reviews they make up as they go along and worse yet they get to skip out of their own reviews! 4 in your Corner investigator Mike Mason is live to show you why some say that's exactly what's happening at Lee County. J.C. Rodriguez doesn't understand why he was fired because of his performance evaluations, especially since some county officials don't do evaluations themselves and the county manager doesn't think they are even required.


Rodriguez worked at Lee County's Department of Transportation for 8 years. He's always had good performance evaluations and feels he was wrongfully terminated, “They won’t even talk to me about this I tried to explain this to them and they would not even listen to me, I had documentation proving it."
Rodriguez says officials documented everything and eventually used it against him. Ffor instance, he was given a warning when he left work to go to his grandmother's funeral. One document proves that Rodriguez called D.O.T. officials to say he was going to his grandmother's funeral for about 3 days. When he got back he filled out a leave request form which his supervisor even approved. D.O.T officials later changed their minds and decided Rodriguez didn't have permission to visit his grandmother and they noted it in his performance evaluation. in 2009 when Rodriguez was finally terminated he was handed this list of reasons which include his grandmother's funeral and previous performance evaluations. These are all things that he disagrees with, "They're just using that as ammunition to get all these people fired."
Rodriguez feels Lee County officials are making up their own rules as they go a long, "Sounds to me like they have a double standard."

Last week we exposed county officials getting promotions without having performance evaluations. County policy states: "It is the policy of the county that the job performance of each employee should be evaluated periodically by the employee's supervisor.

However, Lee County manager Karen Hawes told fox 4 that supervisors "should" perform evaluations and it is not *required* under policy." But former Lee County Tax Collector, Bill Fussell disagrees, "This is a mandatory guideline, it is not something that you can choose to do if you want or choose not to do.”
Rodriguez feels county officials should be investigated, "Let's start with the county manager and work our way down instead of working our way up."
If you have a problem with how the county is changing the rules, you can go to the county commissioners meeting tomorrow at 9am.If you can't make it I will be there and you can email me your questions directly at mmason@foxnow.com or call us at 239-206-FOX4.

Is County Manager really Qualified for the Job?



Lee County Manager Karen Hawes

Is Lee County's manager really qualified to handle the job? It's hard to say because Fox 4 found Lee County's top dog has no job requirements. Four in your corner investigator Mike Mason exposes a huge loophole in county government. The Lee County charter dictates the rules and regulations of county government. It's also *supposed* to spell out the requirements of the county manager..
Wayne Daltry helped to write Lee County's charter 16 years ago and says, "We just wanted to make sure there was a bottom line set of qualifications for county manager."

The charter clearly states that the minimum qualifications including educational and administrative requirements for the county manager shall be established by county ordinance. But Four in your Corner couldn't find that ordinance. After searching through records and questioning county officials for two weeks we finally received an email from the county attorney's office stating "There is no such ordinance."

That was a big surprise to Daltry who says, "We thought they should have the qualifications stated that you would expect of a C.E.O. of a billion dollar organization.” But since there are no requirements he says, “That's a problem."

With no ordinance the county manager doesn't need to have any special qualifications. Daltry states, “Anyone can make a claim you are or you aren't qualified because there is no state of qualifications if there is no ordinance. It's a big oversight."

Attorney Beverly Grady was on Lee County's charter review committee three years ago. She says no one at the county brought this issue to her attention, "It would have been appropriate to come up at the charter review just to provide that to the county commission as something on a list that they may want to look at.”
When asked if the county attorney should be one to raise the issue Grady answered, "The county attorney could certainly." But no one did and Daltry now wonders how county officials could have missed something so important. He says, "The Board of County Commissioners should adopt an ordinance stating what the requirements should be.”

Lee County commissioners will have to decide if they want to adopt an ordinance and create those job requirements for the county manager. We'll follow up with them and let you know.

To view the Fox 4 report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/news/126367723.html

D.O.T. audit questoned by workers - and now Florida's DEP is investigating

An audit into problems surrounding Lee County's Department of Transportation has just kicked off and workers are already questioning how fair it will be. The county manager ordered an independent audit after a Four in your Corner investigation exposed many issues including questionable hiring practices.


So far, a Four in your Corner investigation has uncovered the following: Workers accusing supervisors of harassment, intimidation, questionable hiring practices and doing favors for family members. Workers were hoping this audit would address those issues but now they have serious concerns. D.O.T worker Bob Maxey wonders if the county will expose the real problems. He says, "You can only hide so much dirt, you know that rug you can only sweep so much dirt under it."

Lee County Manager Karen Hawes

Many county transportation workers question whether Lee County Manager, Karen Hawes, will really clean things up at D-O-T. Hawes promised she'd do a fair and unbiased review of the department saying, "The Clerk of Courts will do an independent audit."

That's why Maxey was surprised to see one of his own directors conducting Tuesday's meeting about the audit. Maxey says the supervisor, "just came in wanted to know what people's concerns were, how he could talk to people and find out what was going on and what was the safest way without retaliation. The vast majority spoke up and said it has to be a one-on-one, No one wants to do it in a crowd because of retaliation. It's not unbiased."

More than 100 employees attended the meeting and many now say they have concerns. Hawes called for the audit after a Four in your Corner investigation exposed questionable hiring practices at D-O-T and supervisors, such as Clay Simmons, are also accused of intimidating and harassing workers but he won't talk. Now all county officials have been ordered to keep quiet as well.

On Monday the County Manager issued a letter stating she has instructed her staff not to be interviewed further on D.O.T issues.
Maxey feels there's something wrong with that, "They want to shut you down ‘cause the last thing they want is this stuff to get out in the media. These problems can't be solved in-house, It has to be an independent audit." Maxey has faith that the County Clerk will do a fair audit as long as the media is keeping an eye on it. He says, "I believe that's going to happen with the help of Fox 4, I have no doubt this is going to happen."



Berner Home

 Meanwhile, there are even more problems for Lee County's Department of Transportation. State officials have opened up their own investigation into dirt that was delivered to the home of a D-O-T supervisor's family member.
This comes after Four in your Corner found D-O-T delivering tons of free dirt to the Berner family in Buckingham. The Berners happen to be related to two D-O-T supervisors; Shane and Jason Hinman. Workers say supervisors ordered them to deliver hundreds of truckloads of dirt and debris to the Berner's house but we found that property is located in a federally protected flood way. The Berners never pulled a permit and now Florida's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will conduct a site inspection to determine what needs to be done to correct the problem. County code enforcement has already said the Berners will either have to remove the dirt or hire an engineer to prove that the debris won't harm the environment. We'll stay on top of this and bring you the latest developments.

Lee County Manager shuts down media after Fox 4 investigation

****************   UPDATE  **************************

Lee County Manager Karen Hawes

Four In Your Corner gets shut down by Lee County Manager, Karen Hawes. All supervisors are now being told they can't talk to us about the county's department of transportation.

This comes after a Four In Your Corner investigation led to an audit of the department.
Since we began our investigation we've been flooded with calls from DOT workers. So far, FOX 4 has uncovered questionable hiring practices and DOT supervisors accused of harassing and intimidating employees. Workers accuse supervisors of hiring their friends instead of publicly posting the job position as is required by county policy.

D.O.T relative received tons of dirt

We even found supervisors delivering tons of free dirt to family members even though other county residents have to wait a year and a half if they want some. In one case, at least 130 truck loads of dirt was delivered to a supervisor's sister-in-law's private residence so she could build a slope around her pond, all on the taxpayers' dime. We found her home is in a federally restricted flood zone and since Fox 4 exposed this incident the county's code enforcement department is now investigating and will require the owner to pay to remove the dirt or hire an engineer to conform to the zoning requirements. Either way it will cost thousands of dollars.

There is much more to this story -- that's why we've been trying to speak with county officials but that apparently won't happen now. County Manager Karen Hawes says county staff will no longer comment on DOT issues until they complete their audit. Hawes says she may expand the scope of her audit to include other issues we exposed in our reports.
Here is a link to the Fox 4 report: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14986504/lee-co-manager-no-more-comments-from-dot?redirected=true

Residents fired up after state agency breaks rules and tears up Historic District

Sign structure on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers

Florida's Department of Transportation is coming under fire, accused of tearing up a historical section of Fort Myers and skirting the rules by not pulling the required permits. Margie Willis has lived along McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers for more than 60 years. When she saw workers building a huge traffic sign next to her house it threw up a red flag. She exclaims, "I think it's ugly, I don't like it!"



McGregor Boulevard

 
Willis knows that McGregor Boulevard is a historical district and the State's Department of Transportation did *not* get permission to build the sign. Willis says, "Nothing is to be done with it without the approval of the Historical Committee or the City of Fort Myers."

Councilman Mike Flanders

City Councilman Mike Flanders says D-O-T never pulled a permit to build the sign, "A permit is needed in the City. We own the road and we would never allow this type of sign at this location." So Four in your Corner went to Florida's D-O-T local headquarters in Fort Myers to find out why. Southwest Florida's D.O.T Director Johnny Limbaugh claims the city did know about the sign because his office gave city officials the plans. He says "Typically they go to a high level official, I don't know who in this case received the plans."


FL. D.O.T

 D.O.T. workers spent about a week pouring the concrete slab for the sign and building up the concrete base. They even had the wiring structure in place so they could install the underground electrical system. Now that they have to tear it all down, we wondered who would be stuck with the bill. According to D.O.T. this is the private contractor's fault and they will have to pay to remove it. Limbaugh claims the contracting company, Traffic Control Devices, Inc.' is responsible for the oversight, "Actually this contractor designed and is building it so as part of the design process he should have done some more coordination to make sure the sign is in an acceptable location."
But Willis doesn't buy it and feels D.O.T. is also to blame, "The state should have gotten the permits from the City if they wanted to do something like that, I don't think it's the contractor, they just contracted him to build it."

Flanders says Fort Myers has owned historic McGregor Boulevard for 10 years but D-O-T still thinks it belongs to them. He thinks that maybe why they didn't pull any permits, " The State has some communication problems within their own department about who owns the road and who doesn't."

'Traffic Control Devices. Inc.' was hired to build about 50 signs throughout Lee County. Four in your Corner wanted to get their side of the story but today we could only get their voicemail.We will stay on top of this one and keep you updated.
To view the Fox 4 report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14986361/fort-myers-residents-fired-up-after-state-agency-breaks-rules-and-tears-up-historic-district?redirected=true

County Supervisors accused of doing Dirty Deals

Clay Simmons

Four in your Corner exposed D-O-T supervisors delivering free dirt to family members and the officials said they'd do the same thing for other Lee County taxpayers but we found that may not be the case. D-O-T Operations Director Clay Simmons claims he doesn't do favors when it comes to delivering free dirt saying, "Because if you happened to own a piece of property there I'd be happy to give you the material."

North Fort Myers Firefighter Commission

But Tom Mere requested dirt about a year ago and last month D-O-T workers finally dropped off four loads of dirt at Mere's mobile home park in North Fort Myers. Four loads is not enough and Mere says he still needs more. Mere is considered a prominent figure in Lee County since he's a Commissioner of the North Fort Myers Fire Department but despite that he still didn't get any special favors.

Berner home

The Berner family did, however, according to D-O-T workers who say Simmons had more than 130 loads of dirt and fill delivered to the Berner's Buckingham home last November. Mrs. Berner happens to be the sister-in-law of a D-O-T supervisor.

D-O-T workers, such as Bob Maxey, say that's downright dirty, "We've never done that, I've never seen it in 9 years. I can't say it has never happened but I've never seen it or witnessed it and no one else has."
One family who lives at a home in Buckingham only 5 miles from the Berners say they called D.O.T yesterday to request some dirt. They say they were told they would be put on a waiting list and it could take up to one and a half years before they got any dirt.

Four in your Corner spoke to D-O-T truck drivers today who tell us they also made another huge delivery to the Berners this past April. According to them, they dumped more than 100 loads of fill material free at the Berner home free of charge and that job was done by county workers on the taxpayer's dime.

Four in your Corner began digging even further, finding the Berners have been receiving free dirt for their 10 acre property since 2008. Tom Mere feels the county should spread the wealth and the dirt to other people who need it and says, "as long as the county if being fair to everybody. The people are paying the taxes so if they're paying the taxes and people would like to have some dirt and the county has some dirt that they'd like to get rid of then it's a win-win for both situations."

If you live in Lee County and would like some free dirt you can call the D-O-T and ask for a ‘Dirt Request Form'. The number to call is 239-533-9400. If you have any problems getting the dirt please let us know.

To view the Fox 4 report click on this link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14974420/county-supervisors-accused-of-doing-dirty-deals?redirected=true

Fox 4's Mike Mason sparks another investigation into Lee County's troubled DOT




Clay Simmons

  Lee County officials opening a new investigation tonight and this comes after Four in your Corner's Mike Mason already found county employees doing work on family members' property.

The dirt keeps piling up around Lee County's Director of D-O-T operations, Clay Simmons who is already under fire for delivering dirt to the Berner family's home in Buckingham. Now it appears he also broke federal guidelines by doing it. D-O-T workers accuse Simmons of delivering the dirt as a personal favor for the Berners after we exposed that Mrs. Berner is the sister-in-law of a D-O-T supervisor.
After digging deeper, and reviewing the county's zoning rules Fox 4's investigation found that dirt was dumped in a federally restricted flood way. We went straight to Simmons for answers telling him, "it's in a flood way, you weren't supposed to have anything delivered there that's a pretty big deal." Simmons responded, "No, I don't agree that it is."

Simmons says he's not talking about the issue any further and Fox 4 will have to speak with someone in media relations department. We went to Joan LaGuardia, the manager at Lee County's Department of Community Development. She says she has serious concerns with what we showed her. Since the Berner's home is located in a restricted flood zone, the Berners would have needed to get a special certification approved by an engineer before getting the dirt delivered.

Berner Home

This is something workers say Simmons should have known since he's a professional engineer himself. The Berner family confirmed to Fox 4 that D.O.T. dropped off the dirt so they could build up the slope of their pond and it is clearly located in a restricted area.
LaGuardia says they Berners will either have to hire an engineer and obtain the proper certification or have all of that dirt removed.
Investigator Mike Mason asked LaGuardia, "So now Code Enforcement is going to have to do an investigation? LaGuardia responded, "Yes they will. Now that I'm aware of it I'll let them know tonight. I hadn't been aware that fill was put there."
We then confronted Simmons, telling him, "Joan LaGuardia just said she's opening an investigation and having code officers go out there". Simmons would only say, "You need to go through the process." Simmons told us we would have to take our questions to Patty DiPeiro who works with media relations.
DiPiero told us Simmons has been notified that he will have to cooperate with code enforcement's investigation. She promised to give us an update tomorrow
To view the Fox 4 report click on this link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14967964/fox-4-sparks-yet-another-investigation-into-countys-troubled-department-of-transportation?redirected=true

Lee County supervisors accused of doing expensive favors for friends

Using your tax dollars to do favors for relatives! Four in your corner has now confirmed claims that supervisors at Lee County's troubled transportation department are making some controversial decisions on your dime. Four in your Corner investigator Mike Mason has already prompted the county to order an audit of D-O-T. and now he's tracking down exactly who is getting dirt delivered to their homes thanks to Lee County taxpayers.

D.O.T worker Bob Maxey is fired up about his supervisor, Clay Simmons. He exclaims, "Mr. Simmons, I promise you and I promise the people of this county that man is lying." After two weeks Fox 4 finally caught up with Simmons at his office on Wednesday. Simmons stated that he's "not going to talk about personnel issues."

Karen Hawes

County Manager Karen Hawes ordered an audit into hiring practices at D.O.T. because of a Four in your Corner investigation this week. That doesn't prevent Simmons from speaking about other issues such as why he allegedly ordered his workers to deliver more than 130 truckloads of dirt to the Berner family last November. Workers say for three days they drove the dirt from Billy's Creek in Fort Myers to the Berner's private residence in Buckingham, seven and a half miles away.



Berner Residence

 The Berners used the dirt to build a slope around the pond on their 10 acre property. That project would have racked up nearly 2,000 miles on county trucks, required hundreds of man hours and it was paid for by Lee County taxpayers.

Maxey is now outraged with Simmons saying, "You cost us money, you cost the tax payers money when you do that."


Clay Simmons

 Simmons claims he actually saved taxpayer money because the dirt delivered to the Berners was taken from ditches and canals nearby. When we asked him for documentation to prove where the dirt came from he said his office didn't keep track of it.
Maxey says Simmons is not telling the truth and the dirt was hauled out of Billy's Creek in Fort Myers and driven all the way to Buckingham, which is much further and more costly. Maxey claims, "The drivers, they won't come forward but they told me they were hauling it out of Billy's Creek Commerce Center."
Fox 4 also found the Berner family is actually related to D-O-T supervisor Shane Hinman. That huge amount of dirt was delivered to Shane Hinman's sister -in -law. Fox Four Investigator Mike Mason asked Clay Simmons if he did a favor for a supervisor's family member. Simmons responded, "No it is not because if you happened to own a piece of property there I'd be happy to give you the material."
Still, some workers say Simmons went out of his way to help the Berner family. On the day the Berners wanted to have dirt delivered to their home the county's heavy equipment that is used to screen the dirt was conveniently placed across the street from their house. Maxey says Simmons is using county equipment to turn favors, "He is cheating the employees, he's cheating the citizens of this county if that's good for the Berner family or whoever got this material then by God let's give it to everybody!."
Clay Simmons claims Lee County residents can always ask for free ditch material and dirt. All they have to do is call the D-O-T's operation's center at 239-533-9400 and fill out a dirt request form.
We've put that information on our website ‘fox4now.com'.. And while you're there you can click on the ‘Viewers' Voice' tab to let us know if you have problems getting dirt from the county.
To view the Fox 4 report click on this link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14960563/county-supervisors-accused-of-doing-expensive-favors-for-friends?redirected=true

Lee Commissioners sound off after Fox 4 investigation sparks audit

A Fox 4 investigation sparks an audit into Lee County's Department of Transportation and today county officials are reacting. For the past two weeks we've told you about the controversy surrounding the D-O-T with workers complaining about being harassed and intimidated by supervisors. They claim supervisors are doing favors for friends and wasting lots of taxpayer money.

Karen Hawes - Lee County Manager

Because of Fox 4's investigation, the County Manager, Karen Hawes, announced yesterday that she's requesting an independent audit into the allegations. At the County's commission meeting today she offered more details about that audit, "This will be a review of hiring practices in D.O.T which could expand into other areas, so the Clerk of Courts will do an independent objective audit."
You could say Lee County's Department of Transportation is currently under construction now that an official audit is set to investigate the way that department is doing business. D-O-T worker Bob Maxey reacted to the news, "It's time, it's time to look into the dealings at D.O.T, what's going on there with the management..I think it's time."

Frank Mann

At least two commissioners agree and they too support the audit. Lee County Commissioner Brian Bigelow says, "That's great, she's trying to seek facts and she's trying to advocate for transparency of government." Commissioner Frank Mann says he also supports the move, "I just think it's a good idea for her to bring somebody in from outside to take a look so it doesn't degenerate into a bunch of finger pointing and ‘he said' and ‘she said' and that sort of thing."
But some D-O-T workers remain skeptical. They claim supervisors are still harassing and intimidating employees and doing favors for friends on the taxpayers' dime.

Steve Sherman

Fox 4 Investigator Mike Mason asked D.O.T. worker Steve Sherman if he felt the audit would really create any positive changes. Sherman replied, "Possibly, with the help of the media. That's how it's been so far, without it we wouldn't have had a chance. I don't know we'll see."
Meanwhile, dozens of Lee County D-O-T workers attended the commission meeting to support, and say farewell to, their interim director, Paul Wingard. Wingard's last day is June 29th. He has worked for D-O-T for 18 years and said County officials led him to believe he would be hired as the full time Director. when he didn't get the job he decided to resign because he's says he was not happy with the current situation at work. At today's commission meeting, D.O.T. employee Steve Sherman approached the podium and accused Public Works Director, Doug Meurer, of lying to a large group of D-O-T workers.
Sherman says Meurer told them that Wingard would indeed be named the new Director of D-O-T and reported to commissioners, "In my presence and some 50 to 60 other supervisors and employers Mr. Meurer stated to us all that Mr. Paul Wingard was the panel's second choice."

Paul Wingard

The panel of people in charge of hiring a new Director did offer to job to someone but that person later turned it down. County officials now claim that Wingard was never the runner up and they are currently advertising for the vacant position.
To view the Fox 4 investigation click here: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14951733/lee-commissioners-sound-off-after-fox-4-investigation-sparks-audit?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 workers say officials are also wasting taxpayer dollars

Four days and there are still no answers from the Lee County Manager about major complaints within the Department of Transportation. But tonight, we're learning D-O-T officials could be abusing your tax dollars.

J.C. Rodriguez has worked for the Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) for eight years. He drove heavy equipment but claims Lee County's Operations Director, Clay Simmons drove him out of his job in 2009 . Rodriguez wasn't surprised to hear that Simmons hasn't wanted to speak to Four in your Corner about the issue, " he's running away from the truth, it's finally caught up with him he's done this to many people."
Lee County fired Rodriguez from his job citing, ‘poor attendance' and ‘excessive tardiness'. However, County records tell a different story. For example, on March 12th, 2009 Simmons cited Rodriguez for being tardy but when we reviewed the county timecards it indicated that Rodriguez did report to work right on time at 7am. He says his supervisors just made up the ‘tardy' excuse in order to get him fired, "I clocked in, I swiped in at 7 o'clock inside the building," says Rodriguez. He also states, "They lied, this is what they presented to Human Resources. HR goes by what they tell them and they did not investigate any of this stuff."

13800 Orange River Blvd. Fort Myers, FL

Many D.O.T. workers we spoke with today claim county officials should be investigating how supervisors there are wasting taxpayers' money. Late last year D.O.T workers say Simmons ordered them to deliver 130 truckloads of dirt from Buckingham to a private residence on Orange River Boulevard in Fort Myers. The single family home is situated on a 10 acre lot and belongs to Warren, Emily, Russell and Darlene Berner.
The Berner family who lives there tells Four in your Corner that they used the dirt to build a slope along their pond. D.O.T workers say the job took 10 hours and 7 workers to complete. That would mean dump trucks made 130 trips, driving about 7 and a half miles each way racking up nearly 200-thousand miles on county time, in county vehicles and funded by taxpayer dollars. Rodriguez says, "You're looking at $300 to $400 dollars easy a load, a truckload."

Four in your Corner went to D.O.T's operations center in an attempt to speak with Clay Simmons at his office yesterday. Instead, supervisor Chuck Speake told us, "I didn't get a hold of Clay but if you guys want to make an appointment and come back he should be here tomorrow and I'm sure, he's not going to 'not' to talk to you."

Once again, Four in your Corner visited the operations center the next day and found the front gates locked shut. One D.O.T. worker angrily confronted our cameras, "I don't care if this is public property Clay Simmons is sick today and that's it. He's not at work."


Clay Simmons, Lee D.O.T Division Director


Even though Simmons was out sick he managed to write a two page letter to County Commissioners in response to Fox Four's reports. In part, Simmons writes , 'We have always had an open door policy. Employees are welcomed to approach any of the supervisors, including myself."
But workers say that's not true. Rodriguez reported the poor work environment in his grievance letter to the county and says, "I've been complaining about that and not just myself, a lot of other people and Human Resources knows about it but they ain't doing anything about it."
In Clay Simmons' letter he also claims that D-O-T has conducted numerous surveys, encouraging workers to voice their concerns anonymously. He says he hasn't heard of any negative complaints. Of course, Four in your Corner will continue this investigation and call the county manager, Karen Hawes, to get to the bottom of this.

To view the video for this Fox 4 Investigation click on this link:
http://www.fox4now.com/story/14932811/disgruntled-lee-county-workers-claim-officials-are-also-wasting-taxpayer-dollars?redirected=true

Disgruntled County workers threaten mass exodus

Lee County D-O-T workers threaten to call it quits if work conditions don't improve. They say they're being harassed and intimidated by their supervisors and they've had enough. Since Fox 4 Investigator Mike Mason began this investigation, he's spoken with dozens of workers but the problem is that most of those workers won't go on-camera because they're afraid of losing their jobs.


Bob Maxey is an equipment operator at Lee County D.O.T. and has been with the county for 9 years. He has a clean record but says supervisors are getting downright dirty, "Workers do have rights, we're being told to shut up."

On Wednesday, D.O.T worker Steve Sherman also spoke out, saying county supervisors are using sleazy tactics to run employees out of their jobs, "It's counterproductive to be chastised and be heavy handed in certain areas of departments with the employees."
Maxey says supervisors hold monthly meetings with employees but it's just a waste of time, "You won't hear anything out of most of the workers here because they're afraid for their jobs." Maxey says supervisors are required to conduct meetings but discourage input from employees, "they'll tell you how it's going to be and if you raise your hand in opposition against whatever their plan may be at the time you're kind of singled out you know it's like 'what is your problem? Do you have a question?' And the guy he'll generally shut up and melt back into the crowd because he doesn't want to be singled out like that in a group there."
Maxey and Sherman both agree upon which supervisor is using intimidation tactics at their particular D.O.T. office on Zip Drive in Fort Myers. Maxey says, "The Director right now is Clay Simmons. He makes you understand verbally that it's his way or no way."

Clay Simmons - Director D.O.T. Operations

Four in your Corner's Mike Mason went out to the D.O.T. Operations Center on Zip Drive to speak with Division Director Clay Simmons but was told Simmons was out for the day. While there Mason spoke with some of the employees in the office who said they'd like to talk to us about problems at the workplace but they're afraid for their jobs .
The maintenance supervisor in charge, Chuck Speake, called Simmons on his cell phone but claimed, "I didn't get a hold of Clay but if you guys want to make an appointment and come back he should be here tomorrow and I'm sure, he's not going to ‘not' to talk to you.
Workers feel this is really a countywide problem which needs to be handled from the top down. Maxey says, "I think the County Manager should be looking into it, talk to the working people here at D.O.T. off to the side and ask them what's going on."

Karen Hawes is the Lee County manager and Fox 4 left Hawes on her cell phone but received no response. We are told she's out of town. One thing is certainly clear; if County officials don't do something quick many workers say they're hitting the road. Maxey warns, "Other people have told me as soon as they can find another job they're gone. They want out of here they're done with this."

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To view the Fox 4 TV report click on this link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14926395/disgruntled-county-workers-threaten-mass-exodus?redirected=true