5255 Cypress Links Blvd
Elkton, FL 32033
KaelaDensford@gmail.com
904-436-8285
August 19, 2024

Todd Tuzzolino
Grant Fiscal Coordinator
City of Gainesville
200 E University Ave
Gainesville, FL 32601

Via Email

Dear Mayor Ward, Kristen, Laura, Dennis, Todd, City Commissioners, Office of Equity and Inclusion, and City Attorney's Office,

I am writing to formally tender my resignation in lieu of termination from my position as Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist III with the City of Gainesville, effective immediately. This decision follows extensive consideration of several critical issues that I believe compromise the ethical standards and legal compliance of the organization.

Wage Discrepancies
There are significant disparities between my compensation and that of comparable roles within the organization, which may constitute violations of equitable pay practices. These discrepancies undermine fairness and equity within our pay structure. Additionally, my wages were adjusted without prior notice or consultation from management or Human Resources, which raises concerns about procedural compliance.

Fair Wage Concerns
My current salary does not align with industry standards or accurately reflect the scope of responsibilities associated with my position, potentially violating the principles of fair compensation.

Unethical Solicitation Practices
I have observed practices within our solicitation processes that I believe compromise the integrity of our procurement procedures. Additionally, the small business initiative endorsed by the Office of Equity and Inclusion has been systematically disregarded, contrary to the recommendations of the City Commission. This disregard not only diminishes the program's intended impact but also raises questions about the organization’s commitment to equity and inclusion. (Please refer to the City of Gainesville Procurement Function Analysis, completed by Management Partners in September 2021, for supporting evidence.)

Legal Concerns Regarding Contracts
Several contracts issued under my purview may contravene legal requirements, raising serious concerns about their validity and compliance with state and federal laws. (Please refer to the City of Gainesville Procurement Function Analysis, completed by Management Partners in September 2021, for further details.)

Federal Non-Compliance
Some solicitations and contracts appear to have failed to meet federal regulatory standards, exposing the organization to significant legal risks and potential sanctions. (Please refer to the City of Gainesville Procurement Function Analysis, completed by Management Partners in September 2021, for further details.)

Organizational Corruption
I have identified what I believe to be evidence of corruption within the organization, beginning with the City Manager's office and affecting various levels of administration. This has resulted in the perpetuation of unethical practices and legal violations, as well as the failure to effectively address critical issues. On August 6, 2024, during a Procurement staff meeting led by Cintya Ramos and Andrew Persons, staff were informed that Victoria James had been terminated as Purchasing and Contracts Manager and that I would not be returning from vacation. Additionally, several employees of the City of Gainesville have reached out to me with screenshots of emails indicating that I am no longer with the City, along with messages expressing regret that they couldn’t say goodbye and wishing me luck. I was also informed that the intent was to terminate me on the same day Victoria James was terminated, but I was on approved vacation. 

On July 31, 2024, while on PTO for pre-scheduled appointments for my children, I received an unsolicited call from Dennis Nguyen. He expressed concerns regarding discussions from the Finance meeting and inquired about my intentions after observing me remove personal items from my office. This call was an inappropriate invasion of my privacy and a violation of professional boundaries.

On August 2, 2024, after submitting a request for two weeks of vacation, I was summoned to an unscheduled meeting with Victoria James, then Purchasing and Contracts Manager, and Cintya Ramos. During this meeting, I was subjected to behavior that I believe constitutes workplace bullying and harassment by Cintya Ramos, who demanded a direct response regarding my intentions to leave. She insinuated that removing personal items from my office could be perceived as an indication of my departure, further contributing to an already hostile work environment.

I was also instructed by Victoria James, on behalf of Cintya Ramos, Chief of Staff, to refrain from documenting issues related to potentially illegal contracts and unethical procurement practices. Instead, I was directed to expedite contracts without addressing these serious concerns. This directive conflicts with my professional and ethical obligations and has significantly influenced my decision to resign in lieu of termination.

I have personal property on site, including a company laptop, parking placard, and badge. I request that arrangements be made for the retrieval of these items at your earliest convenience.

I regret any inconvenience my immediate resignation may cause and hope that the issues I have outlined will be thoroughly investigated and addressed to ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards. Please inform me of any specific procedures I should follow to ensure a smooth transition.

Thank you for the opportunities and experiences I have had during my tenure. I appreciate your understanding and prompt attention to these matters.

Sincerely,
Kaela Densford, CPPB

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Densford, Kaela" <DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org>
To: "Powe, Chianti S" <PoweCS@cityofgainesville.org>
Cc: "Nguyen, Dennis D" <NguyenDD@cityofgainesville.org>
Bcc: 
Date: Mon, 13 May 2024 12:48:42 +0000
Subject: RE: Pay Discrepancy

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Densford, Kaela" <DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org>
To: "Schwartz, David C" <SchwartzDC@cityofgainesville.org>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2024 20:16:45 +0000
Subject: FW: Tuzzolino, Todd J shared "City-of-Gainesville---Contract---Review-Packet-1768126-54978" with you

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Densford, Kaela" <DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org>
To: "Nguyen, Dennis D" <NguyenDD@cityofgainesville.org>, "Leal, Cesar E" <LealCE@cityofgainesville.org>
Cc: "Lambert, Kendal K" <lambertkk@cityofgainesville.org>
Bcc: 
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2024 15:38:08 +0000
Subject: RE: Contract procedure

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Densford, Kaela" <DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org>
To: "Nguyen, Dennis D" <NguyenDD@cityofgainesville.org>
Cc: "Ramirez, Jamil Alberto" <ramirezja@cityofgainesville.org>
Bcc: 
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2024 13:06:14 +0000
Subject: GASB 87 Discussion

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Ramirez, Jamil Alberto" <ramirezja@cityofgainesville.org>
To: "Densford, Kaela" <DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2024 20:53:51 +0000
Subject: RE: Active contracts and Amendments

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Densford, Kaela" <DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org>
To: "Nguyen, Dennis D" <NguyenDD@cityofgainesville.org>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2024 23:52:30 +0000
Subject: DOSD Request.

Chianti and Dennis,

I appreciate the opportunity to meet with both of you and discuss the Pay Discrepancy issues verbally.

However, to ensure clarity and avoid any miscommunication, I request that a written document be prepared outlining all the details of what transpired.

This document should include a systematic breakdown of the events that led to the pay discrepancy initially, as well as an explanation of why there was no prior discussion regarding the pay decrease before my wages were affected.

Additionally, I would like the proposed solution to the pay discrepancy to be documented in writing.

Maintaining thorough documentation of this matter is important to me.

Thank you for your understanding and prompt attention to this request.

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

Good morning!

I wholly understand your frustrations.  Let’s sit and talk first.  I have time later this afternoon (3:30 and later) or exactly at 12p tomorrow.  We can meet in my office, as I’ll be finishing up other meetings.  Otherwise, it will be next week before I will be available. 

Please advise. Thanks!

Chianti,

Thank you for your prompt response.

I completely agree that a comprehensive written explanation is necessary in this situation. I will require a document for signature that clearly outlines my agreement or disagreement with the terms presented. It's essential to establish this clarity moving forward.

Furthermore, I believe this matter warrants further discussion. As you know, I am currently being underpaid for the role I hold within the city, which adds urgency to resolving this issue.

While I acknowledge that the City's actions may comply with legal requirements, I am concerned about the ethical implications and boundaries that have been crossed. Therefore, I am committed to advocating not only for fair wages but also for the proper job title that accurately reflects my responsibilities and contributions.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to reach a resolution.

Best regards,

Good afternoon!

I believe that your Department is going to speak with you regarding your questions.  If you still would like to speak with me, just let me know. 

Thanks!

I believe this warrants a discussion.

Hi, Kaela.

On April 17^th, Human Resources notified us that they had entered a reduction to your pay rate effective 01/08/2024.  They adjusted your annual rate down to $67,866.00, plus a 10% Special Assignment, which matches what you’re seeing on your paycheck.  The City Manager waived the overpayment policy (City Manager Guideline 02A) in this case, so Payroll did not recover any overpayments from you.  HR should have notified both you and your supervisor about the reasons for the change.  They did not share those reasons with us, so my only suggestion would be to contact Chianti Powe (in HR) for more details.

I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

Dear John,

I recently reviewed my latest pay stub and noticed a discrepancy in my pay.

Normally, I receive $2,499.62, as of April 18, 2024. However, on May 2, 2024, I only received $2,280.06.

My regular pay rate is $36.6935 per hour, but on the May 2nd check, it appears to be $32.6279 per hour.

This results in a discrepancy of $4.0656 per hour.

As there hasn't been any discussion regarding a reduction in my pay, I believe there may have been an error in the payroll process.

Diane suggested I reach out to you for assistance regarding this matter.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this issue.

Best regards,

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

Good morning all,

I am going to go a step further with this. I took last night to digest this very subject matter and reflect on what I was going to say.

I think the contract and procurement processes need a bit of an overhaul.

This is just my humble opinion.

As a First step, I strongly believe we need to start with what Optional Compliance standard or standards we are implementing.

If it is the NIGP standard then I believe we should wholly adopt the NIGP standards and then build our processes and procedures around those standards.

I suggest using the NIGP standards because the NIGP:

“NIGP” stands for the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. In 2011, we adopted “NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement” as the go-to-market identity for the Institute to promote our leadership role in supporting public procurement practitioners.

NIGP was established in 1944

Founded through the efforts of then-New York City Mayor and U.S. Conference of Mayors President Fiorello LaGuardia

501(c)3 not-for-profit educational association

NIGP VISION STATEMENT

NIGP is a vibrant international association creating a world in which public procurement practitioners are highly regarded members of a respected professional order.

NIGP MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to develop, support and promote the public procurement profession.

NIGP was a huge resource for me when I got my CPPB with the UPPCC.

The UPPCC is:

The Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) is an independent entity formed to govern and administer the Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification programs.

I believe the NIGP has some of the most comprehensive materials that encompasses what public procurement has to offer.

There are other options as well such as NASPO National Association of State Procurement Officials NASPO is the nation's leader in public procurement, driving excellence for its members through diverse programs, resources, and initiatives. I have also used NASPO as a resource for my course of studies.

I also have used CFR Part 200): 2 C.F.R Part 200 establishes uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements for Federal awards to non-Federal entities. For any federal references in my course of studies.

Since I have begun working for the City it has not clearly been laid out what Optional Compliance Standard Contracts and Procurement is following.

As a second step we need to look at our processes and procedures making those align with the chosen compliance standard.

Since we are getting ready to implement a new software for contracts and procurement it is vital to build that software to the set of compliance standards and the policy and procedures we are following.

We also need to focus on structure. Right now, we don’t really have a strong structure. When you try to build and grow on something that doesn’t have a strong foundation when something goes wrong the whole building can come tumbling down. (Like Jenga)

We need to clearly define what centralized and decentralized procurement is for the departments/user agencies.

There needs to be a step by step guide built for both procurement and our departments/user agencies. The step by step guide for procurement will take our procurement procedures and break them down into an easy to read format that can tell you the procurement cycle start to finish.

The step by step guide for our departments/user agencies would take our procurement cycle and break that down into easy to read, clearly defined steps for the departments to be able to complete a successful procurement within the procurement standards. Then we could implement checklists for the departments/user agencies to follow to ensure a positive and successful transaction.

Right now, there are no step by step guides and this is creating chaos. There is this organically grown entity which I respect, but there is a lot of finger pointing and discourse that isn’t doing the City any justice.

I believe we can get back on track. Once we get back on track we can then re-establish trust with the departments.

I am not sure if any of these steps can be taken until the Purchasing and Contracts manager is on board.

Maybe, the Purchasing and Contracts manager will have some insight on the development of this department in the future.

The guide I have provided is written to NIGP standards.

This opinion is coming from someone who went to 2.5 years of college and did not get a degree. After a lot of soul searching I wasn’t ready to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life without life experience under my belt. So I went to the school of hard knocks and got my 15 years of experience and found out what I was good at.

I later went on to get my CPPB through the UPPCC. I plan on getting my CPPO after speaking with some colleagues in the field they suggested to wait to get the CPPO until I was afforded an opportunity of a Management position.

The City Auditor is coming this fiscal year to audit our contract and procurement process.

We will need to put together formal documentation of our processes to provide. I’m ok with the attached but let’s get together and look at it.

Do we want to wait until the contract specialist is on board?

-Dennis

My comments.

Hi all,

As mentioned, see the attached draft of the contract procedure that Heather, Sue, and I put together last year. Since Sue did not submit this procedure for approval before her departure, this is an excellent time to retake it and review it again, considering the implementation of the procurement and contract management system OpenGov. Please take a look, and your comments will be more than welcome.

Cesar

Cesar Leal, CIA, CFE; Internal Control Manager

Department of Financial Services, City of Gainesville FL

Desk: 352-393-8795; Cell: 860-987-2009

lealce@gainesvillefl.gov

Good morning Dennis,

Jamil and I were able to use Crowe to get the data you requested for the contracts starting 10/1/23- present.

Jamil was able to make a spreadsheet with those contracts and amendments that may be considered GASB 87 items.

Jamil and I have been trying to digest your Lease Evaluation Tool and have considered what we are not able to provide to you or your group due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of what we have determined to be an accounting function.

We as contracts can provide you a comprehensive list of contracts which is reflected in the tool as “contract features” but as far as the Identification of lease, we can determine that through proper classification if and only if the department tags it as the proper classification in Crowe. Jamil and I have provided extra classifications that a department may have tagged their contract as in Crowe just in case the department has incorrectly classified their contract in the system, but it may not be accurate.

In this scenario, the departments were never trained in my eyes how to properly classify a contract so therefore the data is corrupted because of that misdoing or lack of training.

We can only be as good as the information we are given.

We can’t fix what has been done in the past we can only shift focus and get it right in the future.

Going forward we have recommendations to refine the process.

In my experience at Raytheon, Capital Purchases or Projects had its own balance sheet to determine whether or not it fell under any GASB 87 criteria.

This was generally handled as an accounting function with the Department Directors or designees.

I believe this would be implemented when the budget for a project is determined.

To keep in compliance with GASB 87 rules and regulations.

I can only speak for myself and say that I do not believe this is a contract function, this falls under an accounting function. I have been in contracts and procurement for 15 years and I can honestly say I do not feel as if I am qualified to determine the financial ramifications behind GASB 87 compliance.

It appears Heather had a team working on this within accounting and it is only Jamil and I now.

We will be glad to help in any way we can within our capacity as contract specialists.

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

Sincerely,

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

Sincerely,

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

Dear Dennis,

After careful consideration, I have reflected on your request for assistance with DOSD in a procurement capacity. Regrettably, I find it challenging to accommodate this additional responsibility alongside my current workload and commitments.

As you are aware, my primary focus has been on managing contracts, alongside contributing to grant-related initiatives and spearheading the development of procedural frameworks for our Contracts department. I am deeply committed to ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of these critical functions within the City.

Devoting attention away from my primary responsibilities in Contracts and Grants would, in my estimation, compromise the quality of service we provide to the City. Therefore, I believe it is in the best interest of all parties involved that my focus remains solely on the Contracts department at this time.

Nevertheless, I am more than willing to offer guidance and support to DOSD as needed, serving as a valuable resource in their endeavors.

Thank you for understanding. Wishing you a pleasant evening.

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

~Chianti

For all Class & Comp related matters, please send emails to DG_HR_CLASS_COMP@cityofgainesville.org

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

~Chianti

For all Class & Comp related matters, please send emails to DG_HR_CLASS_COMP@cityofgainesville.org

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

John Skaja | Payroll & Payables Supervisor
Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville 
desk 352-393-8607 | fax 352-334-2271 
email skajajs@gainesvillefl.gov

PLEASE NOTE NEW EMAIL ADDRESS EFFECTIVE 06/01/2022

Note: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

Respectfully,

Thank you, 

Kaela J 

Kaela Densford, CPPB| Acting Contracts Manager and Procurement Specialist 3

Department of Financial Services | City of Gainesville  

desk 352-393-8435 

email DensfordK1@cityofgainesville.org 

Thank you,

Diane

Diane Holder | Procurement Specialist 3
Department of Financial Services/|City of Gainesville 
desk 352-393-8759
email holderds@gainesvillefl.gov

PLEASE NOTE NEW EMAIL ADDRESS AS OF 6/1/22

Note: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.