Blog note: this article references a recent grand jury report.
State investigators are looking into allegations that a former Angels Camp city administrator may have stolen public funds.
A decision to seek investigative assistance from the California Attorney General’s Office was mutually agreed upon by the Angels Camp Police Department and the Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office.
“Due to the nature of the allegations, and lack of local investigative resources, the decision was made to seek outside, independent investigative assistance,” said a news release from the Angels Camp Police Department.
A 2015-16 audit report of Angels Camp financial records alleges former city administrator Michael McHatten may have received more payouts for administrative leave than he had available from 2014-15.
The report estimated it may have cost the city approximately $29,000. A Grand Jury citing the same document said McHatten allegedly received payouts for 533 hours but only had 332.6 hours available when confronted. He was only allowed to receive 240 hours maximum in payouts per year.
McHatten, now the city manager for the city of Soledad in Monterey County, did not respond to numerous requests for comment on the issue.
The alleged misappropriation may not be as significant as projected, said Angels Camp Mayor Scott Behiel. Though he did not have an exact estimate, he believed the amount taken could be half of the estimated $29,000 amount.
The city elected against contracting an independent forensic auditor because the situation was under investigation by the attorney general and the city’s insurer, Behiel said.
“We have employee dishonesty coverage,” Behiel said. “If there’s a loss and it is proven that the employee was dishonest, we would have coverage.”
Even with the allegations, Behiel said McHatten has expressed the city owed him money after he left his position with Angels Camp in December of 2016.
“He said he did the calculations and said we owe him $1,200,” Behiel said. “His honest opinion is we’re square. If anything, the city owes him a few bucks. But he said he would not sweat it.”
Also listed in the financial audit were other discrepancies associated with McHatten.
It noted several questionable inconsistencies with city-issued credit card statements. Five purchases were for personal items. In some instances, handwritten excerpts of the purchase were proven false when receipts were provided.
Among some suspicious purchases were about $45 total for a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red and another of Ironstone’s Obsession Symphony varietal after he said he spent $150 for deli trays and drinks purchased for a League of California Cities meeting in 2016.
Accounting abnormalities were also documented. McHatten allegedly received two payroll advances for two separate pay periods within the span of a week in September of 2015. The city was reimbursed a few months later after the payments were discovered by the finance director.
The latter two instances were resolved, Behiel said. McHatten typically paid back credit card charges before the bills came due and the city had the paycheck returned as soon as officials noticed the disparity.
He said McHatten was well-liked and respected.
“He was doing a good job,” Behiel said.
McHatten’s departure to Soledad came as a surprise to officials with Angels Camp, Behiel said. Soledad leaders did not contact the city when vetting McHatten for the position. But it is not known whether it would have uncovered anything.
Behiel said the Grand Jury investigation into the city did not open by the time McHatten would have accepted the position in Soledad around October. The city would not have revealed financial irregularities even if they had discovered them.
“It was a personnel matter that we would not have disclosed,” Behiel said.
August 24, 2017
Calaveras Enterprise
By Jason Cowan
No comments:
Post a Comment