Erica Felci • The Desert Sun • April 21, 2009
The Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District should update its fiscal policies and hire an outside consultant to look at trustee recruitment, training and management style, the Riverside County grand jury has found.
The findings are the culmination of an 11-month investigation into operations at the agency. They were first reported Monday on mydesert.com.
The grand jury was among several organizations that launched probes into the management of and possible misconduct at the vector district.
A 2007 Desert Sun investigation found the district had more money in reserves than any agency of its kind in the state.
Former employees later made allegations of misconduct against former general manager Donald Gomsi.
The district's own investigation found Gomsi directed an employee forge Pacific Life Open tennis tournament passes, sexually harassed a district employee and frequently accessed Internet pornography on taxpayer-owned computers.
Gomsi “categorically denied” any wrongdoing when the allegations first surfaced in March 2008. He has not commented to The Desert Sun since then.
Though the Indio Police Department recommended felony charges, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office in January determined there was insufficient evidence to bring forward any criminal cases.
The grand jury recommendations do not target Gomsi or other current or former employee.
“I think it brought out some good points, but it didn't bring out anything that we aren't already aware of and aren't working on,” Trustee Karl Baker said.
The grand jury determined the agency had a “lack of communication” and “the prior general manager and legal counsel together had managed the organization in a heavy-handed and dictatorial manner, thus contributing to the dysfunctionality of the District.”
Their eight recommended actions included bringing anticipated expenses in line with revenue, reducing reserves, updating its manuals and hiring a permanent general manager.
District officials on Monday said they've made strides on all of the recommendations, including tapping Scientific Operations Manager Branka Lothrop as the general manager. Board president Bruce Underwood also touted an award from the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers for “outstanding” 2007-08 budget reporting.
District trustees are expected to discuss the findings during next month's meeting.
“A lot of the issues are historic issues, two years old now,” Underwood said. “We've done something for every (grand jury recommendation). That doesn't mean it's the end of it. It just means we're looking at every last issue.”
The recommendations were made to the district's board as well as the county supervisors and the city councils in all nine cities, as they appoint members to the vector board.
The Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission also was noted in the grand jury report. The planning group oversees government and agencies' jurisdictional boundaries, and the grand jury recommends the bug board's boundaries are not expanded until the other seven recommendations are completed.
The grand jury report will be discussed at the May 12 board meeting, Underwood said. The district has until July 13 to issue a formal response to the grand jury.
District officials also plan to have a strategic planning session to set long-term goals with the new general manager.
“We're definitely moving forward,” Underwood said. “This is not only a new chapter but a new book we're getting started.”
Desert Sun reporter Keith Matheny contributed to this report.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090421/NEWS01/904210315/1026/news12
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