Larry Bustle Speaks Out

Larry Bustle is not in a playful mood.

He's defending his seven years as mayor of Palmetto.

"My responsibilities were to the constituents," Bustle said in the 30-minute interview. "They must have been satisfied; I was re-elected to a second term without any opposition. And now, I'm sitting here."

This is a serious man.

A ruby gem glitters on his ring finger, announcing he is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. With his tape recorder in front of him, Bustle assessed his performance as mayor:

"I had a long list of achievements," Bustle said. "We put the city in a sustaining financial position. (City Clerk) Jim Freeman was a God-send, getting all these financial problems together."

Bustle, a retired Air Force colonel, became animated when he spoke of one of his four children, Kathy, who is a United Airlines pilot and owner of a four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza airplane. When he and his wife of 52 years, Edie, visit their daughter in San Francisco, Bustle flies the plane and perhaps reminisces about the maneuvers he performed as a test pilot and in combat missions in the Vietnam War.

"You couldn't ask for better training to be a mayor than being a base commander," Bustle said.

In response to some critics' allegations that Bustle was indifferent to problems, he replied, "I do not micro-manage. We held department head meetings once a week, and we truly got to the issues."

As Bustle defended his legacy as mayor, he described his proactive leadership style. "I am not complacent. I believe in giving managers the right to say no to me," Bustle said. "That means they are bringing me the problem. I do not believe in micro-managing."

The unsigned open letter to former Mayor Larry Bustle. Click for PDF (975 KB)

When asked how he would evaluate his handling of the allegations of several sexual harassment charges women who used to work for the city's Public Works Department, Bustle answered, "I'm aware of only one that was filed, and we treated that according to our policy manual. We did what the policy required."

However, Bustle could not recall being hand-delivered an open letter from Public Works employees to him. The one-page letter reported to the mayor the alleged sexual harassment of two female employees by supervisor Frank Woodard.

In the May 12, 2007, letter Public Works employees also included allegations of supervisors being drunk, tardy and profane, and pleaded with the mayor to restore the department's integrity and morale.

But Bustle could recall giving Public Works Director Chris Lukowiak high grades in his appraisal of the director's performance. "Christopher is a self-starter," Bustle said in an Oct. 5, 2009, interview. "He is a man of activity. In all my years giving performance reviews, I've never given a better appraisal. I was very satisfied with the way he got his arms around the problem."

This seems to be contardicted by an earlier performance appraisal made by Bustle regarding Chris Lukowiak. In a Sept. 6, 2006, review, Bustle wrote, "Chris sometimes makes hasty decisions that are not based on calm, collected review of factual information." He continued, "I feel that sometimes his view is parochial and not in the overall best interest of the City."

Lukowiak's wife Tanya, who was the city's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) director under Bustle, also received high ratings from Bustle. "Tanya was an outstanding employee." Bustle said. "She has a fantastic background. And as a graduate from West Point, that's something for me to praise as a graduate from Annapolis."

The Palmetto CRA is now the focus of a compliance audit by attorney Susan Churuti and had Tanya Lukowiak leaving the Palmetto CRA with a $147,480 buyout.

Document alleging "No As Builts" Click for PDF (428 KB)

In regards to the alleged missing "As Built" infrastructure documents, Bustle echoed the present Public Works director, Allen Tusing. Tusing said all "As Built" documents attesting to the accuracy of the job have been handed in to the city.

"All ‘As Built' documents were provided by the contractor," Bustle said.

This contention is contradicted by the city's own document titled "No As-Builts," which alleges some infrastructure projects in Palmetto have no certified and accurate records.

Now in charge of the city of Palmetto is Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant.  When asked about the new mayor, Bustle said, "She has a lot of problems that she has to address."

Bustle's advice to her?

"Do your best to fix them."

Coming tomorrow: A New Mayor and a New Attitude

Previously:

The Mayor's Aide - Service academy veterans find their place in Palmetto

The Works in Public Works - Chris Lukowiak quits Newark for new horizons - in Florida

Animal House - It seemed like the perfect job. Come in late and leave early. It is another tough day at the office, and the gang at Palmetto Public Works is rockin'. Golf clubs are packed in city trucks, tee times have been reserved and brews are chilling. Life is good.

Sexual Harassment Allegations - She thought she had found that perfect job, and she was admired by the people who worked with her. But there was a problem.

The Mother of all Sweetheart Deals - The cable company wants to know where they can bury their new line. No problem - except in Palmetto, where town officials have no idea where all the pipes and cables are buried.