GM Announcement
I am informing all LA Animal Services employees and volunteers that I am
resigning as General Manager effective June 30, 2009.
I plan to take leave for a couple of weeks but will be back in time to help
close out the current fiscal year and work with our management team to ensure a
smooth transition. While on leave I am naming Kathy Davis as the Acting
General Manager. Your support of Kathy is appreciated.
I want to let you know how proud I am of the work we were able to accomplish
over the past three and a half years including, but not limited to, development
of the most successful municipal pet adoption program in the nation (over 26,000
adoptions annually); successfully opening six new state-of-the-art animal care
centers; embarking on the Department's first Strategic Planning process;
updating and standardizing policies and procedures to ensure a well-run
Department; and building the finest animal care and control medical and
executive teams in the nation.
I am informing all LA Animal Services employees and volunteers that I am
resigning as General Manager effective June 30, 2009.
I plan to take leave for a couple of weeks but will be back in time to help
close out the current fiscal year and work with our management team to ensure a
smooth transition. While on leave I am naming Kathy Davis as the Acting
General Manager. Your support of Kathy is appreciated.
I want to let you know how proud I am of the work we were able to accomplish
over the past three and a half years including, but not limited to, development
of the most successful municipal pet adoption program in the nation (over 26,000
adoptions annually); successfully opening six new state-of-the-art animal care
centers; embarking on the Department's first Strategic Planning process;
updating and standardizing policies and procedures to ensure a well-run
Department; and building the finest animal care and control medical and
executive teams in the nation.
Gratefully, all of this, along with all your
hard work and commitment, has successfully contributed to the lowest three years
of pet euthanasia rates in the Department's recorded history; and we have
every reason to expect continued improvement.
This was all accomplished while the Department experienced its largest, fastest,
and most historic growth in service demand. LA Animal Services is finding its
balance in an environment of severe budget cuts, unprecedented demand for
expansion of services, and a severe staffing shortage. I am proud to have
served as your General Manager during these difficult years. I know I am
leaving a Department committed to valuing the integrity of each employee,
volunteer and partner all contributing to the professional delivery of excellent
customer service, in an atmosphere of open, honest communication, predicated on
your trust in and respect for each other.
I wish you all the very best. Thank you for your commitment, dedication and
support for the Department's life saving mission.
Posted by: ED BOKS on 04/24/2009 11:30 AM
hard work and commitment, has successfully contributed to the lowest three years
of pet euthanasia rates in the Department's recorded history; and we have
every reason to expect continued improvement.
This was all accomplished while the Department experienced its largest, fastest,
and most historic growth in service demand. LA Animal Services is finding its
balance in an environment of severe budget cuts, unprecedented demand for
expansion of services, and a severe staffing shortage. I am proud to have
served as your General Manager during these difficult years. I know I am
leaving a Department committed to valuing the integrity of each employee,
volunteer and partner all contributing to the professional delivery of excellent
customer service, in an atmosphere of open, honest communication, predicated on
your trust in and respect for each other.
I wish you all the very best. Thank you for your commitment, dedication and
support for the Department's life saving mission.
Posted by: ED BOKS on 04/24/2009 11:30 AM
15 comments:
Now only if the same would happen to Mayeda.
Now if only the same would happen here.
Oh, please. What a load of total horse shit. Boks sent a different letter to the councilmembers saying he has a medical condition. Alarcon mentioned it to NBC which picked it up. Boks is going to have a medical procedure. Could this be a frontal lobotomy? or perhaps permanently sewing his mouth shut? or maybe some shock treatment?
I'll bet his medical condition is alcoholism and he's going to rehab..then will use that excuse for his failures and try to get a job somewhere else. Clearly he was being fired finally. You do know the racial firing suit was decided in NYC just this week. The judge ruled against Boks and NYC is going to pay big buck. That is what the mayor finally listened to.
Yes, a committee should be formed. That will take a year and will be the most unproductive year ever. Meanwhile, Barth will have free reign while using Kathy Davis as a puppet and fall gal. Whether Barth wants the GM spot or not, I don't know; but a loud and strong "Oh no she won't!" needs to start building now.
To prevent utter disaster under a Barth/Davis interim department, the already formed S/N advisory committee should join with the Board to make immediate changes to the department which will make it a manageable department for whosoever gets the gig. The worst thing to do now is nothing...to wait for them to search and search (while Barth has her way)and hash out who the next GM is. A citizens advisory committee and the Board should take control RIGHT NOW! This will require Commissioners to put in some real time. Fine. Pay them temporarily out of Boks's salary. Let them meet at night. See who should remain on the Board and who must go. Wanna see my list? Give some cash to the Citizens committee, too. $181,000 divides up quite nicely for the time they will put in.
The S/N committee(add an ACO and an ACT(find two good ones?) is already in place and perfectly capable of steering this department toward success, a new GM , an operations manual, etc.
Employees? Gordon (she's the next GM), Barth, Boswell, Darcey, Moriarty and all the hootchie shelter supervisors and technicians that kill the babies are relieved.
I just found the first draft of Boks' resignation letter
April 24, 2009
The Honorable Antonio R. Villaraigosa
Mayor, City of Los Angeles
200 North Spring Street,
Room 303, City Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Dear Mayor Villaraigosa:
This letter serves as my formal notice of resignation, effective June 30, 2009, two months after you actually fired me.
I am proud of the work that I alone was able to accomplish over the past three and a half years including, but not limited to, successfully getting the City sued more than any other GM (over a dozen lawsuits!), embarking on a plan to sleep with more female rescuers than anyone (why did they always say no?), and of course, building the largest army of enemies of any GM in the nation! Please, note that I am the first GM ever to get the employees, union, council members, volunteers and rescuers to join together in a cause. Unfortunately that cause was getting me fired :-(
All of my actions have successfully contributed to you having the lowest satisfaction rating of any Mayor in recorded history. That last article about me being guilty of racial discrimination, drivin g the city car drunk and sexually harassing rescuers while you stood by my side really made you look bad. Thanks for being my friend through it all.
You should know that this was all accomplished while the Department had more money, employees, better shelters, and more support from Council and rescuers than ever. LA Animal Services will now have to find its balance in an environment of severe budget cuts, unprecedented demand for expansion of services, and a severe staffing shortage. Good luck with that! I leave you a Department forced to improve accountability and effectiveness, trying to identify and correct long-term organizational empowerment and accountability issues because Lord knows I sure couldn't accomplish that.
I have given a great deal of thought to my lack of experience as an effective general manager. (What the hell was I thinking and why did you hire me?) As I depart I would like to leave LA residents with a call to action that unifies rather than divides. The greatest challenge to Los Angeles’ goals is effective, afforda ble, convenient spay/neuter options. Overpopulation is a community problem that requires constructive community involvement and unity to solve. That's why I'm going to finally get neutered! (Deputy Mayor Jimmy Blackman has me locked up in the Spaymobile so it looks like there's no way out of this).
As I step down, I ask for your assistance in calling LA’s pet loving residents to do the following action to save LA's beloved pets:
1. Don't hire an incompetent, alcoholic, sociopathic, sexually harassing, idiot to be your next GM! For heaven's sake, do a little research. If you'd just asked my boss Mayor Bloomberg he would have told you what a complete moron I am. That would have saved a lot of people some grief and of course, animals' lives.
I would like to thank you for all of the support that you and the City have shown me (except for the protests, death threats, lawsuits, and those nasty Indybay articles about me) in the support of my own goal of creating a truly inhumane LA during my tenure with the City of Los Angeles. I've enjoyed working against you and your team, and value the truly strange relationship we have built over the years.
Please feel free to contact me in the future if you would like to give me money to give you bad advice that causes animals to die. Thank you once again for giving me the opportunity to harass the citizens of the City of Los Angeles. It has been an honor, and a pleasure, indeed!
Sincerely,
Edward A. Boks, Ex-General Manager
Department of Animal Services
I bring happiness by bringing my enemies together!
Very funny. You forgot to mention where Ed was going? A little town in Alaska where they still don't have internet connection. He's set his sights on becoming the most famous dog catcher Alaska has ever seen, smaller budget but LOTS more women and free flowing booze and a department issued snow mobile.
Poster 8 wrote: "smaller budget but LOTS more women and free flowing booze and a department issued snow mobile"
Wrong, more men than women in Alaska. But, hey, that might be better suited for him.
You guys/gals make me laugh, that letter by "Boks" is hilarious, I can't stop laughing. I think Mr. "I'm sticking it out ..." got the bota. The site below will be up soon. I can only do so much, there are only 25 hours in one of my days. I'd also like to thank Nor, Liz, and Lees for making it practically impossible for Augustus to "meet the people" on Sunday, GOOD job ladies!
Boks appears to have written his own reply to a post by Carla Hall in the Times Blog, again speaking to how wonderful he is and asking people to donated money to The Truman Foundation which does not appear to be a not for profit so they can "give vouchers" for spay/neuter, although they claim currently to be a "referal only" source currently. So #1, if Ed suggested people support my organization, I would demand anything printed be removed(surely his endorsement will hurt any org. he seems to be affiliated with.) #2 We know Ed had set his sights on becoming ED of a not for prof. once his career with LAAS was over...could this be the one, although it isn't a not for profit?
It's good to see there are not too many Boks-hating messages posted here.
The other day I saw a swarthy mediterreanean-looking gentleman dragging (by the front legs) an over ten-year-old looking lab mix, about 80 lbs, rear legs appeared paralyzed, looked red and atrophied with big swollen lumps in the skin covering the boney atrophied legs, the dog's skin inflamed as if lying in his own urine, being unable to walk or lift himself up be the rear legs.
A volunteer ran out and asked if he could help and the man said no, continuing to drag the dog by the front legs. Then an employee ran out and ordered the man to stop dragging the dog, ending that part of the horrific spectacle. A cart was brought out so the dog could be humanely moved inside where the man claimed the dog was not his, but someone had left it in his front yard. The dog was then taken to the medical room.
How will the new general manager prevent this from happening again? Go to the shelters and see all the owner turned in animals there. Old, unhealthy animals being turned in by your neighbors every day at every shelter, who is going to adopt all those of adult pit bulls row after row of them , who is going to adopt them when landlords and insurance companies will not permit it?
Go to any shelter and you will see owners blithely tuning in their old dogs and cats. Who will adopt them? Will the next GM tell them to stop bring their old pets in?
To the last commenter. You are like many who assume that high kill shelters are inevitable and that it is the public's fault and nothing will ever chnage that equation.
But there are successful minicipal shelter systems that save over 90% of the animals. This is the goal of no kill, to save animals that were not saved before.
Yes, animals will need to be euthanized, but the idea is to get that percentage way below the current 45=50% in the city and 60% in the County.
If you look to any effective, successful head of animal control anywhere in the world (successful meaning low rates of euthansia and high rates of adoption) you will find that the head of the department DOES spend a lot of time IN THE SHELTERS. It is a must to keep up with what is going on and it motivates the person to actually make changes to change the status quo. Sitting in an office downtown does nothing.
OK, Boks is gone. IMHO, he couldn't have resigned fast enough.
Now what are we going to do about Stu? This dog has been in impound for over four years. He has been deemed NOT DANGEROUS and NOT AGGRESSIVE. Yet, despite his owner's best efforts, the best efforts of the Commissioners on the Board of LA Animal Services, and the best efforts of 1000's of private citizens, he is scheduled to be euthanized July 23, 2009.
Time is of the essence. Please, please go to the following links and familiarize yourself with this travesty of justice. The Due Process violations have all been well-documented. The city of Los Angeles would rather kill this dog than admit and rectify their mistakes. Please help Stu stay alive. He was impounded in his prime. He is now over 10-years old. Help us get him home to live his final years at the side of his loyal human companion, Jefferey.
http://laanimalservicesboardwatch.blogspot.com/
http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/city-news/ed-boks-exits-and-a-dog-named/index.php
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