To the editor: 

The Breeze recently published an editorial which talked about the job being done by city manager Terry Stewart. No one will deny that he is very charming and that he tries very hard to please members of the city council at their weekly meetings, but when it comes to the public, we see a very different picture. For example:

A “Citizen Survey Report” paid for by the city says that only 36 percent of the people surveyed think they received good value for the taxes paid. In addition, 68 percent of the people surveyed think taxes are too high. Only 40 percent are happy with the direction the city is taking and only 35 percent think the city government listens to the citizens. Please note that the city of Cape Coral staff selected the survey questions from a menu of questions about services and community problems; they defined the jurisdiction boundaries the National Research Center used for sampling; and they provided the appropriate letterhead and signatures for mailings. City of Cape Coral staff also determined local interest in a variety of add-on options to The National Citizen Survey Basic Service.

The survey compared 2007 to 2005, and it found most, if not all of the categories sampled showed a major deterioration. One has to wonder how many city council members read this report before they rated Mr. Stewart? I also think that any talk about extending his contract is premature and should be delayed until the current follow-up state audit of the city is completed. If that follow-up audit shows he has not corrected all of the problems previously identified, or that additional problems with his management of the city’s finances are uncovered, the council may then decide it is time to seek a new city manager. On the other hand, if he has fixed all of the prior problems and there are no new major problems, then and only then should his contract be renewed.

To see the entire report, go to: http://www.capecoral.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=ApvV%2bPZKV2w%3d&tabid=522&mid=1360

Sal Grosso

Cape Coral