Who’s Rob Stansel? The guy awarded an illegal contract in Loveland, OH
Rob Stansel, Loveland’s Economic Development Consultant
In 2015, Loveland entered into an illegal contract with Rob Stansel.
Rob Stansel, Loveland’s Economic Development Consultant, hooks up multi-million dollar deals between the Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) and private developers. They sometimes kick in green space and always drive up traffic, leaving residents baffled. But, why does Loveland, Ohio, pay a middleman like Stansel $30,000? Isn’t that why we pay City Manager Dave Kennedy $107K this year?
Tonight at City Hall, Mark Fitzgerald’s majority on council will attempt to pass a resolution giving City Manager Dave Kennedy free rein to pay Rob Stansel an unlimited amount of money. Don’t believe this? See the the agenda, page 36. According to Fitzgerald, Stansel’s compensation for city hall alone could exceed the city manager’s spending authority of $15,000. And this for a project that has had no resident engagement in planning:
“the compensation to be paid on this single project to Mr. Stansel could exceed the City Manager’s spending authority without consent of City Council . . . ,” (City Council Agenda Packet, Item 9.C).
Even more disturbing, City Mgr. Dave Kennedy has employed Rob Stansel illegally since, 2015.
How do we know this? Council Member Rob Weisgerber exposed Stansel’s illegal contract at the 5/9 city council meeting. Weisgerber successfully moved to cancel Stansel’s contract by a 3-2 vote, with Pam Gross recusing herself. How is it illegal? The contract is currently $15,000 above that allowed by Administrative Code and has been above and beyond that amount since 2015,(Administrative Code, Chapter 115.07(k)). Here’s the exact code for your review:
(k) The City Manager may, without specific Council approval, enter into contracts for the provision of goods or services to the City where the value thereof does not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). It is Council’s clear intention that the authority granted therein shall not be utilized to exceed the dollar limitation by dividing the provision of such goods or services into two or more contracts to avoid Council’s approval. (By way of illustration, services reasonably expected to cost eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000) cannot be divided into two nine thousand dollar ($9,000) contracts.) (Ord. 2011-75. Passed 9-27-11; Ord. 2011-96. Passed 10-25-11.)
Mayor Mark Fitzgerald hopes to ram this resolution through, but there’s an ethical conflict: Gross has a private business relationship with Rob Stansel.
Pam Gross recused herself from the vote at the 5/9 meeting due to her private business interest. Will she do the same for vote at City Hall tonight? Residents must demand that she recuse herself and call upon all council members to maintain a high standard of ethics at all times. Come to the City Council meeting tonight at 7 p.m. to ensure that she does. Just showing up let’s them know you’re fed up. (Arrive early to get a seat or to sign up to speak during open forum). LCHPAC hopes to see you there.
For these violations of our trust, and those documented HERE, residents are recalling Mark Fitzgerald back to the ballot on November 7th, 2017. Election day is coming. Learn more about the recall at www.lovelandheartbeat.org/recall .
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Become a stakeholder in Loveland Community Heartbeat Political Action Committee to hold our elected council accountable to the highest standards of ethics, transparency, and engagement with Loveland residents.
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Last Updated: May 23, 2017 by Halie
Who’s Rob Stansel? The guy awarded an illegal contract in Loveland, OH
In 2015, Loveland entered into an illegal contract with Rob Stansel.
Rob Stansel, Loveland’s Economic Development Consultant, hooks up multi-million dollar deals between the Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) and private developers. They sometimes kick in green space and always drive up traffic, leaving residents baffled. But, why does Loveland, Ohio, pay a middleman like Stansel $30,000? Isn’t that why we pay City Manager Dave Kennedy $107K this year?
Even more disturbing, City Mgr. Dave Kennedy has employed Rob Stansel illegally since, 2015.
How do we know this? Council Member Rob Weisgerber exposed Stansel’s illegal contract at the 5/9 city council meeting. Weisgerber successfully moved to cancel Stansel’s contract by a 3-2 vote, with Pam Gross recusing herself. How is it illegal? The contract is currently $15,000 above that allowed by Administrative Code and has been above and beyond that amount since 2015, (Administrative Code, Chapter 115.07(k)). Here’s the exact code for your review:
Mayor Mark Fitzgerald hopes to ram this resolution through, but there’s an ethical conflict: Gross has a private business relationship with Rob Stansel.
Pam Gross recused herself from the vote at the 5/9 meeting due to her private business interest. Will she do the same for vote at City Hall tonight? Residents must demand that she recuse herself and call upon all council members to maintain a high standard of ethics at all times. Come to the City Council meeting tonight at 7 p.m. to ensure that she does. Just showing up let’s them know you’re fed up. (Arrive early to get a seat or to sign up to speak during open forum). LCHPAC hopes to see you there.
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Category: Nefarious Contracts Tags: Administrative Code, CIC, illegal contract, Loveland, Ohio, recall, Rob Stansel