Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Joplin City Finance Director: Why's everybody always picking on me?

During an impassioned speech at the Joplin City Council meeting Monday night, City Finance Director Leslie Haase set citizens straight about who has the most dangerous job in the city.

Haase, who pulls down an annual six-figure salary, explained why she is worth every penny.

While police officers have to deal with meth users, domestic violence encounters (sometimes involving meth users), horrific traffic accidents and situations that thankfully, most of us do not ever have to face, Leslie Haase for 20 years has confronted something far more frightening.

Critics.





Haase tearfully told the Council of "rumors and inaccurate statements" that have "flourished in social media. Many have centered on me and my family."

The comments have come recently as discussions continue about the pay level for police officers and firefighters. Haase's encounter with the widow of a Joplin Police Department officer who was killed in the line of duty as the topic of a complaint sent to the City Council and City Manager Sam Anselm last week.

(Previous post: Claim in letter to Joplin City Council- Finance director tell's police officer's widow- Even your husband knew what he was coming to work for)


Haase explained a major problem she has in working for the city. "Unlike the private sector, people in the public sector always serve in the public eye."

That means that even when she is not at work, the public is still looking at her, she said, but that is all right with her.

"I willingly accept that responsibility."

That being said, Haase maintained that when a member of the public confronts her, she has the right to respond.

Then Haase followed a Joplin city officials tradition of the past few years and played the tornado card.

The city is being split apart when everyone was working together in the days and years after the May 22, 2011 natural disaster when the city had "positive notoriety."

Now that has changed, Haase said, but her approach to her job has not. "I have conducted myself with professionalism and integrity and honesty as is expected of all city employees and especially department directors.

"The same cannot be said for those comments directed at me personally."

Those who have criticized her are doing so with sinister intent, she indicated.

"It is apparent that these attacks on me and my family are calculated in nature to try to remove me from city service either voluntarily or involuntarily."

But those who are attacking her have underestimated her.

"Attempts to intimidate me will not work as I have done nothing wrong except to do my job as finance director to the best of my ability with the interests of the community at heart."

In her conclusion Haase said, "A wise woman recently told me there have to be easier jobs out there."

Perhaps she could become a police officer or a firefighter.


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Her emotions give us another reason to be concerned about her arrogant work....

Unknown said...

What a asshat. Her job so dangerous. And 6 figures? I say salary cut.

Anonymous said...

The finance director is being paid over $100,000 a year? Exactly what is her salary? And she has no responsibility she says of deciding how much money goes where? So she's a glorified bookkeeper who pays the bills? And tell me why we're paying her over $100,000 a year?

Anonymous said...

Randy, I feel a bit conflicted after I read your work On the one hand, I appreciate the way you hold our officials feet to the fire and stand up for the taxpayers. On the other hand, I can see why that guy punched you. I never really thought about it before but I am ready to send some money your way. How do I go about doing that? Keep up the great work.

Anonymous said...

Gaslighting: a psychological manipulation tactic used to gain power

Signs of gaslighting:
-Perpetrator tells blatant lies, even when there is proof of their dishonesty.
-They deny facts, even when there is proof.
-Anything you as a victim value is used as ammunition, including a deceased spouse.
-They maintain their lies indefinitely in an attempt to wear you down.
-What they say and what they do are totally different.
-They will make calculated positive comments in order to confuse you, and they know that confusion has the potential to weaken their enemies.
-They project their failings and misbehaviors onto their victims, in an attempt to turn everything upside down and create a victim role for themselves.
-They will try to rally people against you if disagree with them or challenge them, say for example, with statements from a mayor or city council person.
-They will tell you that they are truthful and credible and everyone else is a liar.

Gaslighting is often used by abusive people who are trying to crush their victims so that circumstances can more easily be manipulated.

Randy said...

To answer the questions above, my understanding is that the finance director makes $155,000 a year.

To Anonymous 10:48, you can make a donation of any amount or a donation to the Turner Report/Inside Joplin by using the PayPal buttons to the right of this post, or if you would prefer not to use PayPal or a credit card, you can send your contribution to Randy Turner, 2306 E. 8th, Apt. G, Joplin, MO 64801. Thanks for asking.

Anonymous said...

A word of advice Randy. Drive well under the speed limit if you have to go to Carl Junction for any reason.

Anonymous said...

You might check that salary figure, I don't believe that's accurate. That's the City Manager's salary based on information I saw a while back. The Finance Director makes right around $100,000 as I remember.

I don't get the victim mentality. Sure, the city manager and council have instructed her to present certain information. She did her job in that regard. There are also times when she has picked and chosen what information to present in her reports, while choosing not to report numbers that counter her position.

She's also the one that drafted a report on financial sustainability and chose the cuts to make. Sure, it was assigned to her to draft the report, but she chose what information to use and what cuts to make. It was pretty obvious to me when the chiefs of the police and fire departments spoke that she hadn't discussed how their departments operate and what they needed, and that's on her. She instead acted as a expert in police and fire operations instead of working with her counterparts.

I can have some sympathy for her and how this is impacting her life, particularly in those areas where she has been requested certain information from the council and her boss. But when you are the one drafting the reports and choosing what information goes into it, you take a certain amount of burden on your shoulders, along with criticism.

Anonymous said...

I now have a personal definition of “fake news”. I’ve hated that term until now, but I’ve seen the light.

Fake news
Take a few actual facts
Mix in plenty of criticism, sarcasm or opinion
Add unrelated comments that will appeal to readers bias
Top it off with a catchy headline
Call it news

Real news
Reporting of facts
No obvious bias or opinion
Editorials are differentiated from actual news

Anonymous said...

Seriously Randy? - You stating that someone "played the tornado card" when that is all you have done for the past 7 years. What a hypocrite!

Anonymous said...

@ 1:21

If Haas wants to play the tornado card, how about reminding her of all the time she spent playing flunky to Rohr by having Americorp deliver notices to victims that lost their homes informing them they either decide to rebuild by Oct. 2011 or lose their driveway, foundations, or any appurtances. Maybe should would tell us how many liens the city placed on properties that the city demolished their driveways. There was nothing in he building code that allowed for such, but she did it anyway. Should have spent that time getting her own house in order, the woman is a CPA but thinks she’s a lawyer, the state auditor’s report on her efforts found numerous deficiencies. Maybe you should read Turner’s “Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud” for how incompetent the entire city staff was following the tornado, you might learn something other than ad hominem attacks.

Dusty Roads said...

well one thing she got right was the fact that when you become a Joplin police officer you know what the pay is..so either like it or suck it up and go make some real money being a cop where it is much more dangerous ..or get a 4 year degree and apply with the FBI..do these clowns even go to school 2 years to be certified ?

Anonymous said...

It clearly states at the top that this is a blog of observations of Randy Turner. If you take a blog as factual news, I think maybe you might have a problem searching for news.

Anonymous said...

If that's doing her job to the best of her ability, she needs to be canned.

Anonymous said...

Well not the entire city staff.

Concerned citizen said...

Dusty,are you calling police "clowns"??What a bitter unappreciative comment...

Anonymous said...

You bring up some very good points Dusty (totally agree with you). . Mrs. Hasse is a CPA - it requires a lot of smarts to become a CPA. Leslie had to juggle many balls with all the grant money received from the Federal Government - after the tornado. You people who are calling her a "Glorified Bookkeeper" are really uneducated clowns. Why don't you try to become a CPA and see how far you get.

Like most people - it I am not satisfied with my job and pay - then I am told to go somewhere else - where the grass is greener.