Jury criticizes city council members
The Tulare County Grand Jury called the
Lindsay City Council that town’s “Nightmare” in a report highly critical of the
city’s governing body.
The report, released Monday, lists multiple
facts and findings ranging from allegations of Brown Act violations to council
members being involved in discussions of city business outside of council
chambers.
Of the officials who responded to The
Recorder’s request for comment, the general response was that the council
will work together to provide a response to the grand jury’s recommendations.
“Council will be addressing the report and
will respond within the appropriate time frame,” Lindsay Interim City Manager
Bill Zigler said.
There were only two recommendations: Council
members should familiarize themselves with the Brown Act — the state’s open
public meeting law — and accepted procedures for conducting municipal business;
and the council should be more deliberative when considering combining key
managerial positions.
Ellen Blumer, a Lindsay city council member
from 1986 to 1996, was instrumental in filing the complaint with the grand
jury. She has been very vocal regarding actions by at least three of the
council members: Mayor Ramona Villarreal-Padilla, Mayor Pro-Tem Rosaena Sanchez
and Council Member Steve Mecum. Blumer alleged Brown Act violations, saying
council members were holding unofficial meetings at private residences to
discuss city business.
Blumer said she was disappointed with the
grand jury’s findings.
“I don’t feel that they [grand jury] really
had an interest in what was going on,” she said. “It seems like the liars, the
ones not complying with the law, come out smelling like roses.”
When asked what outcome she had been looking
for, Blumer said, “I would have liked to see them removed from the council;
they don’t belong there. I’m upset with the grand jury.”
In May 2015, residents gathered at city hall
demanding the resignation of Villarreal-Padilla, Sanchez and Mecum.
Complaints from residents were brought to the
grand jury’s attention in the summer of 2015.
Brown Act Violations
The grand jury stated in its facts that on at
least two occasions, two council members met in unofficial meetings at private
residences to discuss employee union matters, but there had never been a quorum
of three council members present. One of the meetings took place at the home of
Bryan Clower, a former lieutenant with the Lindsay Police Department who filed
a lawsuit against the city for wrongful termination in 2014.
According to Clower’s deposition,
Villarreal-Padilla, Sanchez and Mecum encouraged Clower to sue the city in
order to get rid of former City Manager Rich Wilkinson, who also served as
police and fire chief for Lindsay. Clower claims the three council members not
only encouraged him to sue, but also guaranteed the city would not file a
countersuit. Both Villarreal-Padilla and Sanchez admitted to talking to Clower
about his concerns, but deny they ever discussed or encouraged a lawsuit
against the city.
“I’ve never met with him — I mean, the reason
I went over there was to meet with the Police Association, everybody, not
specifically him,” Sanchez said in a deposition in August 2015.
In another complaint, The Recorder was
notified that Sanchez and Villarreal-Padilla called a “meet and greet” on July
16, 2015 with city staff where they talked about the possibility of giving the
employees a Cost of Living Adjustment to their wages. While the meeting with
two council members present was not a violation of the Brown Act — it requires
three members to constitute a quorum that can only meet in open public session
— some residents were concerned it may violate the city charter.
While the jury found council members were
involved in discussions over union issues outside the parameters of established
procedures, it also determined that “the lack of meaningful evidence made
allegations of Brown Act violations difficult to substantiate.” It did find
“evidence of civil improprieties occurring within Lindsay city government which
justified further investigation.”
Facts and Findings
The Grand Jury listed seven facts and five
associated findings.
>Fact: The council’s combined the police
chief and city manager positions into one position.
Finding: Combining the two positions “weakened
the checks-and-balances with regards to personnel issues” by limiting authority
to one person and position.
>Fact: The city paid out high-cost
employment severance in excess of $400,000 combined for Wilkinson’s severance
package, and Clower lawsuit settlement.
Finding: Severance costs “contributed to the
city’s poor financial condition and the necessity to impose employee
furloughs.”
>Fact: The Tulare County District Attorney
conducted an investigation of alleged Brown Act violations by council members.
Finding: There was lack of meaningful
evidence.
>Fact: Council members met at private
residences to discuss employee union matters.
Finding: True
>Fact: Allegations were made of flagrant
misallocation by a city official, who allegedly directed employees to perform
personal services outside the city’s jurisdiction on city time. The grand jury
did not provide any findings on this allegation.
>Fact: Allegations of misconduct such as
collusion, cronyism, nepotism and harassment by various officials. The grand
jury did not provide any findings on these allegations.
>Fact: City council imposed employee
furloughs, claiming financial constraints.
Finding: The furloughs were a result of the
cost of the employee settlements which contributed to the city’s financial
issues.
The city council has 90 days to form a
response to the grand jury and address its findings and recommendations.
“I agree with some but not all of the findings
and think I could offer clarity if I wrote the response,” Councilwoman Pam
Kimball said, adding she was speaking as an individual and not for the council.
“But considering our split council on how and
why these issues occurred, I don’t know how or by whom a council response will
be crafted,” Kimball said. “Certainly the last two years have been unfortunate,
and I believe there is a universal determination to do better.”
March
29, 2016
The
Porterville Recorder
Kelli Ballard
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