CARMEL >> In response to a Monterey
County civil grand jury report, Carmel authorities said they agreed with some
of the assertions, but “profoundly” disagreed with others and said the city
won’t comply with some of the jury’s recommendations.
Tuesday, the City Council unanimously
agreed to approve its response to the grand jury and directed City
Administrator Doug Schmitz to submit it. It was hand delivered Wednesday.
Approval of the response was part of the
council’s consent calendar. There was no discussion.
The grand jury released its highly critical
report in June, six months after the city requested the investigation of its
operations and governance. The report is nonbinding, but a response is
required.
In his letter to Presiding Monterey County
Judge Marla O. Anderson, Mayor Jason Burnett thanked the grand jury for its
efforts and wrote:
“As you will see from our attached
responses to the Findings and Recommendations, there are matters on which we
concur, there are others where we profoundly disagree. Thus is the nature of
public life and public institutions.”
The city’s response was written by Burnett,
City Administrator Doug Schmitz, Mayor Pro Tempore Ken Talmage, City Attorney
Don Freeman and City Treasurer and David Sandys.
Regarding the city’s response, Schmitz
said, “There have been substantial changes since the council requested the
grand jury to undertake its review. And through those changes we have a better
organization and internal processes.”
Talmage said it would be inappropriate for
him to comment on specific parts of the city’s response. He said the response
should be taken as a whole.
The response is posted at City Hall and
will be posted on the city’s website.
Some of the grand jury’s findings are moot,
because the city had made numerous changes between the Nov. 14 request and
release of the report in June. One of the major changes was the hiring of
Schmitz, who previously served as city administrator under three mayors and
came out of retirement to take the job.
The grand jury investigation was requested
by the city after a tumultuous time at City Hall. Former city administrator
Jason Stilwell, who resigned last October, came under fire when longtime city
employees were fired. A group of Carmel residents marched to City Hall
demanding that he be removed. There also were questionable city contracts and
allegations of cronyism.
The grand jury found no evidence of
cronyism or that Stilwell and Sue Paul, former director of administrative
services, benefitted from city contracts.
The grand jury said Stilwell’s hiring (in
late 2011) created a clash of cultures, pitting the old guard at City Hall
against the new administration. The city had numerous problems when he came on
board, including an outdated IT system, no human resources officer, unfilled
positions and outdated city policies.
Many of the problems existed before Burnett
and members of the City Council were elected.
Of the grand jury recommendations, the city
said it will not comply with the following:
• It won’t hire a full-time city attorney
because of the increased cost.
• It won’t conduct structured reviews of
the city’s departments each month. It already receives monthly reports from
departments and engages in department goal setting.
• It will not change the duties of the city
treasurer. The grand jury said the position is “underutilized and so provides
little benefit to the City.”
The grand jury criticized the city for
rehiring three longtime city employees following Stilwell’s departure, calling
them “hasty.” The city disagrees in its response, noting that the city
administrator conferred with employees’ private attorneys before reinstatement
and reviewed personnel files. One of the three employees, John Hanson, has
since retired.
The city disagreed with the grand jury on
many of its findings, including:
• That the mayor and City Council were more
responsive to political pressure than to the need for effective government.
• That the governance and administration of
the city is unduly influenced by reports and editorial practices of the Carmel
Pine Cone.
Since Schmitz was hired,
Carmel launched an investigation of contracts by an outside attorney, hired by
Freeman, and initiating a policy that all payments over $24,900 be approved by
the City Council. The city also prepared a Public Records Act policy, created a
director of budgets and contracts position, hired a full-time IT manager and
hired of a search team for a full-time human resources manger.
September 3, 2015
Monterey
Herald
By
Tom Leyde
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