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City and County Committee
Part 3
III. COMPLAINT AGAINST SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
BACKGROUND
This particular investigation stemmed from a complaint that was received by the 1999/2000 Grand Jury. The complaint alleged “Overall mismanagement of funds and city operations" and "harassment of employees, favoritism and deal making.”
METHOD OF REVIEW
Interviews
Memoranda
Public Checking Registers
Invoices
Planning Commission Staff Report
Accounts Payable Report
Accounts Receivable
OBSERVATIONS, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
The Grand Jury conducted extensive interviews and reviewed documents pertaining to the complaint. The Grand Jury found no evidence to support that portion of the complaint regarding "overall mismanagement of funds." While there are appearances of impropriety, actual irregularities were not evident. The Grand Jury finds that better controls need to be in place for the effective management and collection of city fees. The Grand Jury found permit fees outstanding for several years with no collection effort in force.
Management of the City of San Juan Bautista has changed since the start of this investigation. In light of this, many of the problems that were in evidence at one time seem to have been addressed. The complainants stated that they were harassed. The Grand Jury found that there was evidence of certain employees being harassed by members of the public who had interests in City affairs and that management made little effort to intervene in specific harassment events. The Grand Jury found that the lack of action taken to separate the employees from the harassment created an extremely uncomfortable work environment. The information provided to the Grand Jury suggested a dispute between a city employee and a private citizen, not a pattern of management’s treatment of its employees. The Grand Jury found that there were no written policies or reporting procedures in place that address the issue of harassment.
The Grand Jury did find a few cases relating to the charge of "favoritism and deal-making." The Grand Jury received evidence that the then City Manager waived the business license fee of a county supervisor. The Grand Jury feels this action was inappropriate. The city purchased equipment from a local Council member. Section 1090 of the Government Code strictly requires that public officials and employees shall not be financially interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity. City management needs to look at outside sources for its equipment needs.
The Grand Jury also found that a capital expenditure was billed in several small increments to avoid sending it out to bid. This type of accounting sleight-of-hand takes public comment out of the process and gives the appearance of favoritism.
The overall fiscal management of city revenue requires much diligence by those placed in trust of those funds. An audit report released for the year 2000 showed that there were many areas of correction needed. An accounting error has severely limited the revenue stream into the city, creating a delicate balance between solvency and insolvency. Certain current expenditures should be carefully reviewed including, but not limited to, the expense of a grant writer. The current management of the City of San Juan Bautista must balance the future benefit of possible grants to the immediate needs of the community.
As the City of San Juan Bautista faces the challenges of the future, controls need to be in place that insure inclusion of the public in the decision making process. Many of the issues above served to exclude the taxpaying public from due process. The role of city officials is to represent the will of the people and lead the city forward. In order for this to happen city officials need to right the ship to sail forward.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Grand Jury recommends that:
| 1. |
City employees should avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. |
| 2. |
City management should avoid any appearance of favoritism. |
| 3. |
City management should provide all employees with city policy and procedure handbooks, Harassment should specifically be covered therein. |
| 4. |
Next year's Grand Jury should investigate the conflict of interest issues within the City for possible violation of s/s 1090 of the Government Code. |
| 5. |
City management should look to outside sources for its equipment and supply needs. |
AFFECTED AGENCIES
San Juan Bautista City Council
San Juan Bautista City Manager
RESPONSE REQUIRED
California Penal Code s/s 933 requires that a response to this final report's recommendations be delivered to the presiding judge within 90 days of the
receipt of the report.
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