“This was part of the original plan,” says Rebecca Flesichaker, spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Fischer. “She was not supposed to stay interim director for very long.”

Fleischaker says the mayor’s office is currently conducting a search to replace Fox. After Fox leaves in April, the agency will be without a director, interim or not.

The original post follows below…

Rumors abound that Debbie Fox, the former MetroSafe Deputy Director tapped by Mayor Greg Fischer to replace former Louisville Metro Animal Services interim director Wayne Zelinsky, will soon be leaving her post as the agency’s “interim-interim“ director.

In an interview with LEO Weekly, Fox denied the rumor, saying that she would instead split her time between working at MetroSafe and MAS effective April 8.

“I’m going to go on an approved vacation and then come back and work half days (at MAS),” Fox says. “I’m not stepping down. I think we are moving on the right path, I’m just going to do both jobs at the same time.”

Fox says that her work with the shelter has progressed to the point that she can comfortably divide her time between both city departments.

Rebecca Fleischaker, a spokeswoman with the Mayor’s Office, was unsure about these developments and said she would contact LEO shortly to provide more information.

That is what we are working on. That was part of the original plan.

Earlier this year, Mayor Greg Fischer formed two panels to audit the embattled city animal control agency as well as to pick a full-time replacement, respectively. The former group, headed by Fischer-appointee Chief of Community Building Sadiqa Reynolds, has conducted a top-to-bottom audit of agency that is near completion. Sources close to MAS say that the nearly completed audit’s contents are “more horrifying than anything anybody could have imagined.” (Unless you’ve been reading LEO (zing!))

Longtime MAS watchdog Metro Councilman Kelly Downard, R-16, is a member of the director selection committee, and as such declined to comment for this story. He did confirm, however, that the audit will be released soon, potentially by the end of this week.

The selection panel has yet to recommend a replacement, and will begin reviewing applicants in early April.

Debbie Fox, Deputy Director of MetroSafe, has been named the new interim director of Louisville Metro Animal Services by Mayor Greg Fischer following Zelinsky’s departure.

“Debbie is a solid leader who has been nationally recognized and has a proven track record in customer service,” Fischer said in a press release. “I’m confident that she will effectively manage Animal Services during this transition period.”

Zelinsky served as LMAS’ interim director for  just over a year, following the resignation of former director Gilles Meloche on Dec. 31, 2009. Both have been named defendants in sexual harassment lawsuits filed by former employees.

After LEO Weekly and other media outlets reported on worsening conditions and mismanagement at LMAS’ Manslick Road shelter since Zelinsky came to power, the Fischer administration announced a review of the city agency at a Jan. 7 press conference — as well as inexplicable plans to retain Zelinsky until a new full-time director could be chosen.

At the January press conference, LEO Weekly asked the mayor why not fire Zelinsky immediately and replace him with an” interim-interim director.”

“You mean, like a double-secret interim interim director?” Fischer joked. “We want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt on any type of employee review.”

When pressed further on the question, Fischer said, “Well, again: this is my fifth day as mayor … Sadiqa will be running that.”

More details to come following a 1 p.m. press conference, which will be livestreamed.

UPDATE: After countless stories of managerial ineptitude, wanton animal slaughter and , the resignation of Zelinsky apparently came down to the fact that the outgoing interim director operates an escort service, Derby City VIP, news of which first broke on The Ville Voice less than 24 hours ago.

“We advised Wayne last night that we were aware of a website that he had up and running, and we discussed that with him and he came in this morning and resigned,” Fischer said at the press conference, held in Metro Hall this afternoon. “The point is that he is running an operation outside of what his normal, day-to-day operation is. We just brought it to his attention and we told him we need to discuss it with him and he decided to resign.”

According its website (which has since been taken down), Derby City VIP offered guidance on Louisville’s best strip clubs, security details and other escort services.

As the press conference waned on, so too did Fischer’s countenance: The fledgling mayor became so visibly spooked by the incessant questioning from the media that it seems as though he forgot to introduce Fox, who stood nearby, presumably waiting for an introduction to the throng of reporters that never happened.

In the meantime, Fischer’s Chief of Community Building, Judge Sadiqa Reynolds, will continue her top-to-bottom audit of LMAS.

Applications for LMAS’ full-time director will be taken until Feb. 13, and a new director will be named as early as April.

We’ll update again once we get Zelinsky’s resignation letter.

UPDATE #2: Here’s the full text of Zelinsky’s terse resignation letter, which was submitted to Reynolds:

Dear Ms. Reynolds,

Please accept this letter as my two week notice, resigning as Interim Director of Metro Animal Services effective 2/16/2011. Thank you for the opportunity to serve within Louisville Metro Government.

Sincerely,

Wayne Zelinsky

“I am eager for these committees to get to work and to help our city improve animal services,” Fischer said in a news release.

The panels include 20 different people ranging from animal advocates and business leaders to Metro Council members and city employees. The six-person committee to conduct the performance audit includes:

·         Allison Woosley, a CPA and animal advocate
·         Lindsy Wallace, Director of Operations for the Kentucky Humane Society
·         Karen Little, Alley Cat Advocates
·         Dr. Lee Hankins, veterinarian at Springhurst Animal Hospital
·         Mike Norman, Auditor, Louisville Metro Government
·         Jim Brammell, Chief Engineer, Louisville Water Company and member of SPOT Fund

The review will examine the department’s policies and procedures for euthanasia, how it cares for animals and will track the city’s adoption rate in recent years. The review will also benchmark Louisville’s animal welfare and control efforts with other cities nationwide to look for the best practices.

As LEO reported this week, a growing number of employees within the beleaguered animal control agency have come forward to complain about worsening conditions in the department under Interim Director Wayne Zelinsky, who took over last January after former Director Gilles Meloche resigned amid controversy.

There had been serious speculation that Zelinsky’s termination was imminent, however, Fischer said the interim director would remain on the job while the review and search for a new permanent director are conducted.

From Sixth & Jefferson:

Fischer has kept Zelinsky at a safe distance publicly, saying he is eligible to become part of the search for a new director but that any changes in leadership will depend on the review. One source in the administration called the interim director a “lightning rod” that the mayor would be “crazy” to retain.

The eight-person committee to conduct a national search for a new director includes:

·         Sadiqa Reynolds, Chief of Community Building for Mayor Fischer
·         Lori Redmon, Kentucky Humane Society
·         David Hall, Floyd County/New Albany Animal Control and Shelter
·         Terri Cardwell, business owner and member of SPOT Fund
·         Patti Swope, business executive and animal advocate
·         Kellie Watson, Director of Human Resources, Louisville Metro Government
·         Jessica Reid, No Kill Louisville
·         Police Chief Robert White or his designee

Once the search committee narrows its list to six finalists, a separate review team will provide additional input and narrow the list to three, which it will then make a recommendation to the mayor. That review team includes:

·         Sharon Mayes, Shamrock Pet Foundation
·         Bunny Zeller, Animal Care Society
·         Ellen Cullinan, citizen and volunteer
·         Donna Herzig, Louisville Kennel Club
·         Metro Councilman Kelly Downard, R-16
·         Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9

In addition, throughout both the performance audit and personnel search, members of the public at large will be provided opportunities for input.

It was like being transported to an alternate universe where “up” is actually “down,” “black” has always been kind of “white,” and things like the journalistic fetish for having access to authority figures and the unchecked regurgitation of their platitudes somehow usurps any real truth that might exist outside the realm of press releases and talking points.

Here, The C-J gives an overview of the new adoption facility, including a quote from interim MAS Director Wayne Zelinsky:

The new adoption center, on an 8.5-acre site at 3514 Newburg Road, has about 10,000 square feet of space, with half of its cost covered by donations. Its large lobby and high ceiling will help make it much more consumer friendly, Zelinsky said, adding that it is being built “with adoptions in mind.”

It’s the first of a seven-phase master plan for Metro Animal Service that ultimately would include an animal-care center, education wing, stray wards, quarantine/isolation, garden and a receiving/impoundment/triage area.

While it’s true that the facility is being built “with adoptions in mind,” adoptions are the only thing on their mind, as the Newburg Road adoption center will do little (if anything) to alleviate the Manslick shelter’s rampant overcrowding and the stress and disease that come with it. That’s because the Puppy Palace isn’t being built to actually house animals, but to merely showcase them in a non-depressing environment so that people might actually avoid a nervous breakdown should they ever decide to visit an MAS facility and pay money for an English Terrier.

The problem with this logic is that the animals you’ll be viewing in their shiny new kennels will be transported back to the disease-ridden Manslick Road shelter after the Puppy Palace closes its doors each night — so if you don’t get that cute little bulldog on Tuesday, then he might’ve contracted kennel cough, PARVO or god-knows-what-else by Wednesday.

Furthermore, the article fails to mention that another design for an MAS satellite facility was already put forth by former MAS Director Eric Blow — who proceeded Gilles Meloche — and which would’ve included the amenities and capabilities of MAS’s “seven-phase,” multi-site, piece-meal expansion into just one new structure. At the rate they’re building now, it will take several years to fully address the inadequacies of their current shelter, so the tone of optimism put forth in the article is duly unwarranted and, at best, patronizing to the people who will have to put up with that building for years to come.

The C-J also fails to understand that a focus on increasing adoption rates puts the cart before the horse when it comes to the stated goals of any public animal control agency, of which managing stray populations is a central tenet. Adoptions are merely a reactionary method to deal with the population you’ve got, which you attempt to decrease by spaying and neutering as many strays as you can. The funny part is that their article cites how little adoptions MAS generally conducts without connecting those sad dots to the fact that the Puppy Palace will house only 100 animals at a time.

But the most egregious part of all of this is that the city’s paper-of-record has failed to take into account the voices of those who have been systematically fucked over by the very politicos who wouldn’t return LEO’s phone calls, but who have no qualms whatsoever about laying down bullshit line after bullshit line so long as they know the kid gloves aren’t coming off. From pet owners to ex-employees to victims of alleged sexual harassment and intimidation, the article is stacked in favor of Official Bullshit Quotes provided by the governing elite, who are more than happy to snow you with hand-picked data and a tour of the shelter that was likely sanitized well in advance of any photojournalist’s arrival.

While there is an effort to mention the on-going illegal searches and seizures conducted by Zelsinky’s squad of animal control officers — who collect fines and fees from hapless pet owners that directly contribute to the Puppy Palace’s “construction fund,” by the way — the mention is brief and Zelinsky’s “We only confiscate an animal when it is a danger, or there is a threat to public safety,” is allowed to not only stand unchallenged in the article, but is enforced by the fucking mayor, who couldn’t give you a straight answer about this mess if he even bothered to comment on it.

But if black is the new white, and down cannot be separated from up, then what chance to average readers of The Courier-Journal have of understanding the complicated but no less sordid dysfunctions perpetrated with their taxpayer dollars by a group of people who appear to have done the Wrong Thing at every possible turn?

But let’s start with the basics:

The GAO hearing’s intent was to review an investigation conducted by city auditor Mike Norman into the superlegal business relationship between LMAS and the (now “defunct”) Animal Adoption Agency of Middletown. According to the report, Meloche entered into a three-month “trial case” with AAA president Michelle Hensel with the intent of increasing city-wide animal adoption rates — despite neither LMAS nor AAA having the authority to form such a relationship in the first place (only the Mayor’s Office, with theoretical Metro Council approval, can do so).

[Hensel, it should be noted, was present at the hearing, and afterward appeared combative with the aforementioned reporters, whom she accused of spreading lies about her organization's dealings and referred to alleged "break-ins" at her offices ,which will be the subject of future inquiry here at FatLip, FYI]

Norman’s investigation also found that LMAS failed to properly obtain commercial drivers’ licenses for so-called “S.P.O.T.” mobile clinic operators (putting the city at great liable risk), suffers from rampant inventory mismanagement and adoption revenue data inconsistencies, and has generally failed to maintain accurate adoption records even though they’ve got a fancy-sounding computer system, dubbed “Chameleon,” which is apparently more trouble than it’s worth. And all of this despite the beyond-deplorable conditions at current public animal shelters, a fact that Meloche was quick to justify by reminding the committee that a new shelter will be built “In either December or January,” most likely because the current ones are that bad and, thus, the reason for building a new one — Kafkaesque logic at its worst; the more Meloche talked, the more he made my head hurt.

However, when it was revealed that neither LMAS nor AAA could provide records of their partnership because — as Norman’s report insinuates — such documentation might very well have been misplaced or destroyed, shit quickly got weird.

Committee chair Kelly Downard, D-16, and Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9, began questioning Meloche about what this insinuates, but the director deferred to his lawyer, assistant Jefferson County Attorney Matthew Lemme, who spoke for him. ”My recommended answer was at this time to simply inform the committee that an internal review is being conducted,” said Lemme.

“I’m just concerned that that wasn’t what I read [in the report],” responded Ward-Pugh. “Rather, it reads based upon [Norman's] review [that there was] apparent, intentional misplacement and concealment and destruction of public records. I just want to know where that came from.”

“First of all, this committee has asked questions of Dr. Meloche and they’re entitled to an answer, if he can give it,” said Lemme. “He wants to do so. How do I advise a person to answer when the answer is ‘I’m not going to tell you?’ If that were the answer I’m sure you’d have many more questions for Dr. Meloche and for me today. We’ve said as little as we could and as much as we had to answer your question. I agree with you that if there’s an investigation being conducted … it’s a search for truth. It’s a question to be answered.”

Downard then followed up by stating that the auditor’s report already detailed enough inconsistencies and departmental failings that further internal investigations conducted by LMAS would be practically moot in lieu of the report in front of him. “The records, per the audit, didn’t say that we were missing [inventory],” said Downard. “It said [the records] don’t match up.”

“The rest of the answer,” Lemme began, “is that [LMAS] will provide a suppliment to the audit.”

Then came a moment of awkward silence, which was finally broken by Downard’s dissatisfied utterance of “Okay…” When all was said and done, the committee had little in the way of real answers regarding the true nature of Meloche’s dealings with AAA, or what (if any) substantive, corrective steps have actually been implemented by the public agency as a result of Norman’s report.

Ward-Pugh found it “regrettable” that this element of the hearing might look bad, in retrospect, and she’s right. So far, Meloche & Co. have only provided a 7-page (yet highly verbose) “outline” of goals and strategies that currently have no way to be verified — other than, of course, Meloche’s word and a supplimentary report to the report, which is happening (maybe).

And what’s more, the Norman report — and Meloche himself — recognizes that Metro Animal Services profited handsomely from its extracurricular enterprise with AAA, an organization that, to cite two examples: [1] employed city personnel without being able to provide proper documentation for hours’ worked and (illegally) creating a conflict of interest with Metro Government employees, and [2] provided financial information that could not be independently verified by the audit and in so doing, in the words of the report, “lessens the usefulness of [AAA's] bank statements as a source to verify completeness of activity.” This essentially means that the 53-percent of unaccounted-for Metro-owned animals in their care simply vanished, yet there is a $38,395 “loss” that was covered by unidentifiable “other sources.” At the very least, it’s terrible book-keeping.

By now, though, you’re probably well aware that Meloche is being sued for sexual harassment (nothing new there), and that next week the first in a series of civil rights lawsuits will be filed against he and several animal control officers for unconstitutional searches and seizures of pets, courtesy of Louisville’s insane dog ordinances. Dark clouds are gathering on the horizon, for sure, and thus far Meloche has only received a drizzling. The Mayor’s office is also passing the buck, for the moment, to the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners, pending their own opinion on these matters.

After the hearing, I wanted to ask Meloche about these lawsuits. I mean, he could go to jail for some of this, right? Shaking my hand and walking with speed, he smiled and told me “I have no idea what you’re saying,” which sounded just about right.

[This is still the tip of an uglyberg, dear reader, so check up with FatLip next week for new, hideous developments.]