Tacoma Human Rights Director spends $14,000 in office remodel

zaxxon7469 said on January 11, 2012 at 1:27 PM

Half of the issue is that she spent 14K, isn't the other half is that using a city carpenter, it costed 14K in funds?

arbeenjo said on January 11, 2012 at 9:37 AM

Notice the first thing out of her mouth is that it's just a case of "bad timing".....yea...that's the excuse most people in prison give for why they were caught! No shame at all; no conscience at all; amoral at best! Imagine a government full of people just like her! Oooops! We already have that. She's just the tip of the iceberg.

hologram5 said on January 11, 2012 at 5:38 AM

Linda, linda, I have two words for you from a taxpayer... YOU"RE FIRED!!

Whistleblower said on January 10, 2012 at 5:03 PM

Linda don't tell everyone you didn't know what you were doing! KING5 - do a public records request for her office remodel when she was the director of General Administration. She knew exactly what she was doing. She should be FIRED!

btvsrcks said on January 10, 2012 at 11:57 AM

Look.. jobs have perks. Her job has a perk. Should the perk go away? Maybe, but the real problem here is that the perk exists in the first place during this difficult time. Not because she used said perk.

awol50 said on January 10, 2012 at 10:19 AM

Human Rights Director? That just says it all. Just one more example of squandered tax resources. Just where do these politicians come up with these ridiculous ideas to waste taxpayer money? Just one more "do nothing but get in the way" bureaucracies whose sole mision is to stick their noses into other people's business. No wonder cities are broke.

newlogin86 said on January 10, 2012 at 10:09 AM

Wow, basically half a year's salary for a lower middle class person.. who got laid off to pay for it?

Elwood said on January 10, 2012 at 9:50 AM

I'll have her job! Sweeeet! Human Rights in Tacoma? She has that nailed down tight. I bet that laid off employee is happy seeing this and knowing that their boss is still keeping up the good work.

asceptictoo said on January 10, 2012 at 9:44 AM

wow, in this economy she spent that kind of money and tacoma has to lay people off. So how many other city employees have done the same thing because they can't make do with what they have?

scott_bellevue said on January 10, 2012 at 8:49 AM

Just watched the video. She is clearly clueless. That whole office is like nicer than my house. Wow! No wonder government spending is out of whack.

scott_bellevue said on January 10, 2012 at 8:47 AM

Nice office! Custom wood blinds. Rosewood desk. Sweet! I want a government job. Retirement benefits, health insurance, annual cost of living raises, paid vacation, sick leave, discretionary spending. Sweet already!

jpalla said on January 10, 2012 at 8:10 AM

Take the money back out of her annual bonus and any future pay raises

vffrwm said on January 10, 2012 at 7:46 AM

They are above it all aren't they? Convicted felons running on the streets and this chick builds a monument to herself with our money. Very cool.

collegekid said on January 10, 2012 at 7:43 AM

There should be no "discretionary fund"...That money is not NEEDED. It's simply WANTED in a time where Tacoma has no room for extra spending. Shame on her for thinking this was okay in the first place. I'm highly disappointed.

paulharvey said on January 10, 2012 at 6:42 AM

It was a good idea until you got caught, though, right Linda?

freedomfrank said on January 10, 2012 at 5:58 AM

How many taxpayers had to work to pay this off? $14,000 in discretionary spending? They shouldn't be allowed to spend a penny without being accountable for it. How many other government workers get discretionary spending?

nyb2010 said on January 10, 2012 at 1:13 AM

$14,000 is a lot of money to keep homeless people warm for a night. It's also a lot of money to make sure that poor children get a good, well balanced meal. Or it could have been a grant toward giving 3 or 4 single mothers a vehicle of their own to get to and from work. Instead, the HUMAN RIGHTS director Linda Bremer spent $14,000 to remodel her office. Not even the whole office. Just hers. Clearly, her actions are not matching up with her job title.

CaptainLarry said on January 10, 2012 at 12:20 AM

Just which "Humans" out here is she looking out for their "Rights"? ANOTHER liberal government Politically Correct B.S. job created on the honest working taxpayers back. Fire her and close down the da*n office....save all of us honest working people our money!

lin1945 said on January 10, 2012 at 12:07 AM

Shame on Linda Bremer, Human Right and Human Services Director for the City of Tacoma, for such extravagence at a time of financial shortfalls. Is this truly the person you want heading any department? It may be time to replace her.

HomeHorthwest said on January 9, 2012 at 11:44 PM

The Jeff Besos of Amazon had a desk made from an old paper laminated door on wooden utility horse. He used that desk even when his company Amazon was making over a billion per year in revenue. Go look at Intel Corporation, their buildings are cookie cutter, meaning one building is the same as the others, everyone work in cubical with partitions, even their directors and VP have office spaces in cubical. Many successful business men and women do not lavish their offices. Most Japanese, Korean and Taiwan companies have everyone sitting at central cluster of tables with directors at the head table even without cubical. They do not waste money on stuff that do not make their companies, factories more efficient or more money. $14,000 could have provided 3 families with basic healthcare benefit. The desk and office remodel does not provide any needed service to the people in need.

jackwong said on January 9, 2012 at 11:18 PM

14k in remodeling is nothing these days. That's like less than half the cost of my bathroom remodel.

invalid said on January 9, 2012 at 11:04 PM

And can anyone tell me why Tacoma needs a human rights director? Sounds like a good position to eliminate and save some money.

invalid said on January 9, 2012 at 11:03 PM

The time to decide it's not a good idea is BEFORE you spend the money, not after.

comiccon2010 said on January 9, 2012 at 10:56 PM

theres not a shortage it would seem, they just spend spend spend. must be a democrat

Larry57 said on January 9, 2012 at 10:31 PM

She probably didn't get a guilt trip UNTIL a reporter got wind of this. Let's see, I can just picture a phone conversation from her. "Hi, this is Linda Bremer, HR Director. Yeah, we're going to have to lay you off permanantly. Yeah, I know it's going to be tough to find a job, the kids won't have a Christmas and you'll probably have to rely on food stamps, but we have a budget crisis and we're all facing cuts, I'm having to work in a hallway right now! I have to go now, I have a situation with some carpenters. Good luck and Happy Holidays!" Click. One more City of Tacoma Supervisor to go in the cronie trash bag. Another wonderfully heartwarming Tacoma example of leadership laying off workers and then spending money wrecklessly or giving themselves RAISES! Fiscal Crisis, budget cutting, lay-offs and they STILL have their little no questions asked/no justification required "Discretionary Fund". They should auction off the desk & bookcase, and give the funds to the homeless shelter!

thejoneses said on January 9, 2012 at 10:03 PM

Seriously? And they laid off someone from her department already -what to pay for her desk and remodel? This is exactly why the government is in trouble and always wanting more money - to pay for their wants and not needs. Maybe she should have to pay for it and that would end that - or let her go and hire back the laid off person. If the government had to act like the majority and live hand to mouth taxes wouldn't be so darn high!

ptempt said on January 9, 2012 at 9:53 PM

She needs to be FIRED!

hewhoo said on January 9, 2012 at 9:45 PM

Well, I'm positive that the Human Rights in Tacoma will be much better served with this expenditure. Without leadership like this, where would we be?

TaxPayer said on January 9, 2012 at 9:22 PM

Perhaps she should consider paying about half of the amount back out of her own pocket. In retrospect I agree to her comment that it wasn't such a good idea. Heck I would like to have new office equipment too but the apple boxes and plywood boards will have to do a bit longer. I doubt if the new digs have improved her efficiency any at all,,,self esteem maybe.

dj98908 said on January 9, 2012 at 9:12 PM

And they wonder why citizens are so outraged with tax increases...