Madison's Installment #14
Unmasking Boks plea to keep his job.
In this installment I will once again illustrate that Ed Boks cannot seem to tell the truth. Not even in very important documents.
This time I will examine Boks' September 9th, 2008 letter addressed to City Council Members.
To help keep this installment shorter, I will address Boks' claims in excerpts. Please note that you may read Ed Boks' letter in its entirety by scrolling to the bottom of this e mail.
Below, excerpts from Boks' letter are in bold black,
and my clarifying annotations in red italic.
1. "The LA Times is reporting today that a number of employees, led by a small group of long-term middle managers, will ask your help to persuade the Mayor to have me and one of my assistant general managers, Linda Barth, terminated. They will present a number of accusations as reasons for their lack of confidence in me as GM."
No, the vote of "No Confidence" is not being presented by just "a number of employees. Over 150 LAAS employees, signed the vote of "No Confidence". A significant portion of employees were unable to sign because they are new and still on probationary status other employees did not sign for fear of retaliation. Additionally, it was not a "small group of long-term middle managers". To be exact, 30 out of 33 LAAS middle managers (Captains, Lieutenants and Kennel Supervisors) signed the "Vote of No Confidence". That means that middle managers at every one of Boks/Barth's seven shelters felt so strongly about their lack of confidence in Boks/Barth, that they were brave enough to sign the petition of "No Confidence" which was given to City Council.
2. "Many of these managers find it uncomfortable that they are being held accountable for performance for the first time in many years."
As stated earlier, 30 out of 33 of LAAS middle managers signed a petition stating that they have no confidence in Boks/Barth management. Rather than holding himself accountable, Boks is trying to convince City Council that a full 91% of his middle managers perform in such a poor manner that they are the ones that need to be held accountable. I guess that for over 80 years Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation (LAAS) has been run by unaccountable individuals and Ed Boks is the first to discover this problem.
3."If these employees were interested in finding real solutions to legitimate problems then they should bring their grievances to me directly. My assistant general managers and I have an open door policy."
What is it about "No Confidence" that Boks does not understand? Boks has shown only that he covers up his problems and blames others. Who asks for help from someone who has proven, over two and a half years, that they are either unable or unwilling to improve? That is the reason for the employees' action. The employees have "NO CONFIDENCE" that Boks/Barth will ever improve and they want competent leadership for their department.
Boks/Barths' "open door policy" is a sham, as illustrated by the incident Ed Boks and Kathy Davis caused at the East Valley shelter on September 11, 2008. You can read it in its entirety in my Installment #9 (scroll down for a copy of that installment).
As rescuers and volunteers, many have personally experienced Boks' so- called "open door policy". Boks has had many meetings to solve problems and create improvements, only to slam his "open door" in our faces by ignoring us and giving us countless false promises that were never delivered.
4."We have made great strides at LA Animal Services."
Let us now examine Boks/Barth "great strides"
a. "Over the past two years we have: become the number one pet adoption agency in the world, with over 25,000 adoptions annually."
I have already addressed this claim in installment 11 (scroll down for a copy of that installment). The fact is that LAAS is not the "number one pet adoption agency in the world", In fact, it ranks just shy of average.
b. "Over the last two years we have opened six new animal care centers, overcoming significant systemic design flaws."
Those "significant systemic design flaws" were in each of the new shelters because Boks failed to take action when the problems were first discovered. Boks was already GM of LAAS for 11 months when the first shelter opened. Design flaws were obvious even to the lay public who complained at the grand opening of the North Central shelter. Ed Boks, as General Manager of LAAS, should have participated in or at least overseen the facility plans, given his self proclaimed expertise, and he should have noticed and corrected or minimized these "significant systemic design flaws." He did not. In fact, two and half years after he started, when the Harbor shelter opened, the same flaws still existed, this time receiving extremely negative and embarrassing media coverage.
Here is a link to the Daily News articles addressing the design flaws at the shelter.
c. "Over the last two years we have increased operational workload by 400%."
Boks' statement is wholesale hyperbole. According to the most up-to- date fiscal year 2008/09 budget which can be found on the Mayor's webpage, not one category of workload in any LAAS function increased by anything close to 400% (with one exception: public service announcements increased in two years from zero to seven.)
Scroll down this e mail to the chart entitled "LAAS Workload Indicators Reported on City Budget". Compare the ending figures from 2005/06 to 20007/08 and see just how inaccurate Boks' claim is when he tells City Council that LAAS increased by 400%.
Here is a link to the Mayor's webpages where you can view the official city budget showing LAAS Workload Indictors chart for the years covered by Boks' claim.
http://www.lacity.org/cao/budget07-08/Proposed_Blue_Book_2007-08.pdf
page 15 of the document, or page 33 of the .pdf file,
http://www.lacity.org/cao/budget08-09/2008-09BlueBook-Volume1.pdf
page 16 of the document, or page 34 of the .pdf file.
d. "Over the last two years the Department's budget was reduced 15%."
This is easy. According to the official LAAS budget on the Mayor's webpage, it is a lie. The budget went up not down over the last two years. Below is a chart that shows the budget numbers for the two year period during which Boks claims there was a 15% decrease. Once again Boks is making false claims, this time to City Council.
| LAAS Budget Reported on City Budget
for the Last Two Years | |||
|
Starting point: 2005/06 (Actual) |
2006/07 (Actual) |
2007/08 (Estimated) |
|
| Direct budget cost | $18,100,100 | $20,200,000 | $19,800,000 |
Here is a link to the Mayor's webpage where you can view a bar chart showing the official city budget showing LAAS budget totals for the two year change covered by Boks' claim.
http://www.lacity.org/cao/budget08-09/2008-09BlueBook-Volume1.pdf
page 14 of the document, or page 32 of the .pdf file.
e. "Over the last two years we have rebuilt the Medical Program, fully staffing the veterinarians."
If Boks/Barth veterinarians are so fully staffed then why have Boks/Barth still not opened the spay/neuter clinics at North Central, Harbor, East Valley, West Valley, West LA and Northeast Valley shelters? Boks has been General Manager for 2 1/2 years. These taxpayer-built clinics sit unused and these clinics should have been opened when their shelters were opened, starting in November 2006 to May 2008.
Boks/Barth claim to have rebuilt the Medical Program. Yet, to date, in all 7 shelters, animals are left without any RVT or Veterinary care every night between 12 midnight and 8 in the morning. If you want proof, simply call any shelter after midnight and ask for an RVT or Veterinarian.
Boks claims to have rebuilt the medical program. Yet, in the last two years the LAAS amount spent on private veterinary care has not increased by one penny, even while the number of animals residing in LAAS shelter has doubled with the new larger shelters.
Also in "rebuilding" the medical program, Boks/Barth slashed the medical
supply budget by over half. This, while the number of animals to be cared
for in LAAS shelters DOUBLED with the new shelters.
See the chart below.
Here is the link to the official LAAS budget on the Mayor's city webpages.
http://www.lacity.org/cao/budget07-08/Proposed_Blue_Book_2007-08.pdf
page 15 of the document, or page 33 of the .pdf file,
http://www.lacity.org/cao/budget08-09/2008-09BlueBook-Volume1.pdf
page 16 of the document, or page 34 of the .pdf file.
| FY2006/07 | FY2007/08 | FY2008/09 | |
| Medical supplies | $559,391 | $269,141 | $269,141 |
|
Private veterinary care expense |
$67,500 | $67,500 | $67,500 |
f. "Over the last two years we have expanded partnerships with local rescue organizations from 50 to 140."
Boks is actually telling the truth here, he has expanded the number of New Hope partners. However, his "expanded partnerships" has not increased New Hope Adoptions. In fact, New Hope adoptions have decreased since Ed Boks became General Manager.
Here is the link to LAAS animal intake and outcome statistics.
http://www.laanimalservices.com/PDF/reports/CatNDogIntakeNOutcomes.pdf
| Fiscal Year |
Cats/Dogs New Hope Placements |
Cats/Dogs Intake |
New Hope Placements as Percentage of Intake |
| 2004/05 | 6440 | 47379 | 13.59% |
| 2005/06 | 5,843 | 46,128 | 12.67% |
| 2006/07 | 5,992 | 44,808 | 13.37% |
| 2007/08 | 6,268 | 51,040 | 12.28% |
As you can see, in fiscal year 2004/05, prior to Boks' arrival, New Hope Placements were 6,440, the highest they have been in the last 4 years. That is, 13.59% of impounded dogs/cats were rescued by rescue groups.
In fiscal year 2005/06, with 1/2 year of Boks' management, New Hope placements declined to 5,843. That is, only 12.67% of impounded dogs/cats were rescued by New Hope partners.
In fiscal year 2006/07, New Hope Placements were 5,992. That is, 13.37% of impounded dogs/cats were rescued by New Hope partners.
In fiscal year 2007/8 New Hope Placements were 6,268. That is, only 12.28% of impounded dogs/cats were rescued by New Hope partners.
Both as a percentage of intake, and in total numbers, New Hope adoptions under Boks/Barth are lower than when Boks began.
New Hope is Ed Boks' signature program which he touts as one of his strategic no-kill plans. These numbers illustrate that Ed Boks' signature program is a failure.
g. "Over the past two years we have developed a cost-recovery model for updating adoption and permit fees that have gone largely unchanged since the 1960s."
Cost recovery model is a very simple concept that has been used since the corner lemonade stand: The price to the public is derived from the seller's cost, in this case, LAAS.
The problem that Boks does not address in his letter to City Council Members is that this Boks/Barth simple model produced flawed results.
First problem with Boks/Barth's model is their plan to increase adoption fees to $76 for a cat and $117 for a dog plus license. Boks/Barth gave no clear statement of whether or not the usual add-on fees for spay/neuter (planned increase to$32) and microchip (remains $15) are on top of those amounts. Our neighboring LA county shelter charges only $32 for a cat and $37 for a dog. http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/ So, in our tough economy what do you all think this genius idea will do for increasing LAAS adoptions?
Second problem with Boks/Barth's model is that it sets the pet store permit fee at the low cost of $275 annually. This low amount misses the opportunity to raise revenue, discourage puppy mills, and discourage the importing of more animals into our city's pet overpopulation.
Here is the link to the March 24th 2008 cost recovery report to the Commission:
http://laanimalservices.com/PDF/commission/2008/third%20fees%20and%20charges%20Bd%20rpt.pdf
This installment, as do previous ones, illustrates Ed Boks' inability to be truthful and accountable. Even while Ed Boks delivers an important letter to City Council begging to keep his job, Boks continues to demonstrate his lack of accountability, integrity and competence by continuing to lie.
I wonder how City Council Members feel about being lied to.
Madison
Ed Boks' letter to City Councilmembers
September 9, 2008
Honorable Council Members,
The LA Times is reporting today that a number of employees, led by a small group of long-term middle managers, will ask your help to persuade the Mayor to have me and one of my assistant general managers, Linda Barth, terminated. They will present a number of accusations as reasons for their lack of confidence in me as GM. I would appreciate the opportunity to address these accusations at the appropriate time. I feel that they are unfair and for the most part, without merit.
At LA Animal Services we are attempting to institute a culture of excellence and accountability. Many of these managers find it uncomfortable that they are being held accountable for performance for the first time in many years.
If these employees were interested in finding real solutions to legitimate problems then they should bring their grievances to me directly. My assistant general managers and I have an open door policy. We are always ready to listen to constructive criticism and work with our staff to improve operations. To date, none of the managers or employees in question has brought any of the concerns that you will hear today directly to me. Instead they have chosen to do an end run to City Council.
I am fully prepared to respond to each and every accusation if necessary. I ask only that I be permitted to do so before the Personnel Committee, which is a more appropriate forum for this matter.
We have made great strides at LA Animal Services. We have also, admittedly, made some mistakes along the way. I assure you that my management team and I are working very hard every single day to make LA Animal Services the best animal services department in the country.
Over the past two years we have: become the number one pet adoption agency in the world, with over 25,000 adoptions annually; increased spay/neuter surgeries 53% from 26,000 annually to over 40,000; opened six new animal care centers, overcoming significant systemic design flaws; increased operational workload by 400% at the same time the Department's budget was reduced 15%; rebuilt the Medical Program, fully staffing the veterinarians, with a new Chief Veterinarian starting next Monday; undergone the process to contract out our new spay/neuter clinics, with service in South LA already and Harbor and West LA to follow in the next few weeks and the remainder following; expanded partnerships with local rescue organizations from 50 to 140; developed a cost-recovery model for updating adoption and permit fees that have gone largely unchanged since the 1960s; recently completed an 8 month study of dog licensing that finally promises to provide long-term structural changes to improve the program; and we are partnering with ten of your offices and the Mayor's office to hold a series of public workshops to address animal control concerns in your respective districts.
And although the list goes on and on, we still have a long way to go. My door remains open to each of you and to all of our employees. It is my purpose to work together to find constructive solutions to making our department better.
Thank you for reserving judgment on these matters and allowing me to respond at the appropriate time and place.
Sincerely,
Edward A. Boks
Chart of LAAS Workload Indicators Reported on City Budget
The amounts budgeted for medical supplies and private veterinary care
for fiscal years 2006/07 and 2007/08 are seen on the fiscal year 2007/08
official L.A. city budget on the Mayor's webpages at:
http://www.lacity.org/cao/budget07-08/Proposed_Blue_Book_2007-08.pdf,
page 15 of the document, or page 33 of the .pdf file, The amounts budgeted
for fiscal years 2007/08 and 2008/09 are seen on the fiscal year 2008/09 official
L.A. city budget on the Mayor's webpages at:
http://www.lacity.org/cao/budget08-09/2008-09BlueBook-Volume1.pdf,
page 16 of the document, or page 34 of the .pdf file.
There you can see how greatly Boks/Barth "rebuilt" the medical program:
|
LAAS Workload Indicators Reported on City Budget[1] | |||
|
|
Starting point: Total for 2005/06 (Actual) |
2006/07 (Actual) |
2007/08 (Estimated) |
|
Staffing (number of employees) |
291 |
321 |
320 |
|
Total field investigations |
17,072 |
14,191 |
15,610 |
|
Animals picked up |
14,521 |
9,894 |
13,500 |
|
Animals caught |
4,053 |
3,947 |
4,770 |
|
Citations issued |
975 |
455 |
546 |
|
Notice to comply |
20,730 |
18,657 |
20,522 |
|
License applications issued |
434 |
512 |
540 |
|
Total enforcement notices issued |
40,713 |
33,465 |
39,878 |
|
Barking dog complaints received |
2,057 |
2,200 |
2,400 |
|
Barking dog admin cases filed |
78 |
110 |
80 |
|
Potentially dangerous animal cases filed |
85 |
87 |
80 |
|
Hearings conducted |
154 |
161 |
150 |
|
Permit inspections |
1,009 |
1,179 |
1,404 |
|
Permit applications received |
791 |
911 |
1,100 |
|
Permits issued |
768 |
1,185 |
997 |
|
Animals impounded |
57,063 |
55,570 |
53,915 |
|
Total animals microchipped |
19,354 |
20,662 |
30,225 |
|
Mobile adoption events held |
105 |
94 |
115 |
|
Number of animals taken to mobile adoptions |
3,221 |
1,605 |
3,000 |
|
Dog licenses issued |
124,802 |
126,538 |
130,699 |
|
Equine licenses issued |
1,552 |
1,599 |
1,500 |
|
Breeder permits issued |
267 |
502 |
300 |
|
Total spay/neuter surgeries |
38,327 |
42,222 |
46,019 |
|
Media calls and requests |
1,912 |
2,007 |
2,213 |
|
Private citizen and Organizational calls/requests |
4,207 |
4,500 |
4,961 |
|
Press/media events |
19 |
20 |
24 |
|
Other news/department coverage |
72 |
60 |
65 |
|
News releases, news advisories and fact sheets |
21 |
25 |
30 |
|
Public service announcements |
0 |
5 |
7 |
|
Community outreach/education meetings |
222 |
200 |
220 |
|
IVR calls received |
467,568 |
470,171 |
480,000 |
|
Call center calls received |
132,871 |
114,544 |
128,327 |
Madison's Installment #9
Unmasking Ed Boks euthanasia directives.
Yesterday, Thursday September 11, 2008, at approximately 5 PM, Ed Boks went to the East Valley Shelter with three public adopters and an LAAS volunteer. Boks said he wants to speak to a supervisor regarding how they choose which animal will be euthanized.
Boks first questioned the supervisor himself. Boks then instructed the supervisor to submit to interrogation by members of the public and Boks allowed the members of the public to continue interrogating the supervisor. Exercising this employees right, the supervisor declined to submit to the interrogation without union representation.
Ed Boks is setting up the employees to throw them under the bus for his own euthanasia directives.
It was only two months ago that Ed Boks sent his e mail directive on euthanasia. Boks sent his euthanasia directive on July 13, 2008. In it, Boks states:
Boks almost never visits the shelters. What is the special occasion that gets Boks to actually show up in a shelter? To help select animals to be killed.
Boks' directive covers the time span from impound through euthanasia, yet Boks NEVER mention ADOPTIONS.
Once again Boks solution is warehouse or kill.
When Boks blames the shelter staff for their euthanasia decisions or numbers let's remember the staff is simply following Ed's directives.
Madison
Madison's Installment #11
Boks claim that LAAS is the #1 adoption agency in the world, UNMASKED
This installment will illustrate how Boks/Barth just can't get their claims right.
On September 9, 2008, with the knowledge that L.A. Animal Services staff was about to present their vote of "No Confidence" in General Manager Ed Boks and Assistant General Manager Linda Barth to the Los Angeles City Council, Ed Boks wrote a letter to the City Council members.
The following is just one of the inaccurate claims Boks makes in his letter:
"In the past two years, we have become the number one pet adoption agency in the world, with over 25,000 adoptions annually."
Boks is absolutely correct about the total number of LAAS adoptions. In fact the exact number is 25,277 for the 12 months ending August 31, 2008.
http://www.laanimalservices.com/PDF/reports/CatNDogIntakeNOutcomes.pdf
But that does not make LAAS the "number one pet adoption agency in the world."
Ed, please provide your data on this astounding claim. For example, I am wondering how many annual pet adoptions are done in Switzerland. I also hear adoptions are pretty darn good in New Zealand. And France does well too. What data did you get for those countries, Ed?
OK, we know you did not even ask. You just made it up. Does the mayor consider that ethical?
Let's look at the real facts. It would take way too much time to research the adoption rate of the world, so I have decided to stick to the USA.
Boks conveniently chooses to report his number according to the method that give the best illusion of his success. For example, in this same letter, Boks uses a percentage and raw numbers for his increase in spay/neuter (we will address this in future installment.). However, when claiming to be "number one in the world" in adoptions, Boks choose to use ONLY the raw number. Why? Because as you will see in the chart below, the applicable percentage is not very impressive. In fact it is nothing more than average.
When you are dealing with statistics you cannot just state raw numbers without putting them in context. Outcomes depend on what comes in. That is, we have to count number of impounded animals in order to measure the success of how many animals were adopted.
Below is a chart that presents both intakes and adoption for LAAS and the national averages, representing adoptions in the context of impounds.
The LAAS figures are the latest (12 months ending August 31, 2008) from Boks' statistics. The national average figures for intake and adoptions are the current estimates taken from the Humane Society of the United States website showing HSUS estimates.
| LAAS | NATIONWIDE Estimated Average (HSUS figures) |
|
| Adoptions | 25,277 | 3 to 4 million |
| Intake | 51,040 | 6 to 8 million |
| Adoptions as Percentage of Intake | 49.52% | 50% |
Comparing Boks/Barth's LAAS results, we can see that the best Boks can claim is that LAAS adoptions are no better than AVERAGE. The national average adoption rate is 50% of intake. The Boks/Barth adoption rate is just shy of that.
Not quite the greatest in the world. Hardly even the greatest in the country. But it sure sounded good Ed. And some people used to believe you.
Madison