On October 17, 2013, The Wentzvillian posted; Enough Is Enough, It's Time (click here), in which was listed the directors and employees that left their positions for greener pastures during the previous 18 months. That time frame coincided exactly with the time of Mayor Nickolas Guccione's term in office. Today, just two months later, the list has grown to include Wentzville's Parks Director, the legal services team, and Wentzville's audit firm—all left during the chaos created by Guccione's administration. Now it's my unpleasant duty to announce another flight.
Gary Miller, Superintendent of water and waste water has turned in his paperwork for early retirement. Mr. Miller has been with the city for 30 years and knows everything there is to know about Wentzville's water works. The telling fact about his retirement is that he only gave the City two weeks notice. In my estimate, Mr. Miller has become frustrated enough with the unpurposive leadership of Guccione's administration that he decided to get the hell out of Dodge while he still has his sanity. It is further believed that the retirements of Mr. Jerry Hillin, Purchasing Director, and the unexpected early retirement of Ms. Mary Jo Dessieux, Parks Director, were for the same reason.
The underlining fabric of Guccione's administration is one of a total lack of leadership skills. It's sad to say, but Wentzville employees just don't trust him and consequently their morale is at an all-time low. One of the city's employees who was fired earlier this year filed a Federal lawsuit for discrimination, and in my opinion the City will probably settle out of court to the tune of around one-million dollars. According to rumor there will be another suit, by another dissatisfied ex-employee filed closely on it's heels. I have also heard that someone has requested all of Guccione's email records for the past five months (probably an attorney) so, King Nickolas had better keep the City's checkbook on his desk. It's times like these that the name Detroit keeps coming to the forefront of my thoughts.
I guess Enough is Not Enough. But It's Definitely Time for someone to take action before Guccione's teething on the Wentzville pacifier creates a predicament that will take longer to repair than his new-found teeth will last, but it may already be too late. Every Wentzville Director except one has left the city payroll and now the list of middle-management personnel to leave is growing. Have the "lack of confidence bells and whistles" not been heard by our Aldermen? What will it take to correct a serious problem residing in the Mayor's office? Am I so far out of whack that I'm blinded by a smokescreen of wanting my own words; "I told you so," to be true? Or is there some other reason that the City is being abandoned by an ever-growing large number of Wentzville's most intelligent and talented employees?
I've stated before that Guccione has been bailing the sinking U.S.S. Wentzville with a drill—I may have been wrong. The damage that has, and is being done, has to be the result of dynamite. Recently I've been seeing parallels between the administrations of Mayor Nickolas Guccione to that of President Obama. Guccione bears a great number of notches on his gun-butt, something needs to change ... quickly. The citizens need to stand up and ask some very difficult questions like; Mr. Mayor, what have you done to our beloved City of Wentzville, and why don't you resign and go back to North County while we still have our life preservers?
