The El Dorado County Grand Jury
released two scathing reports District One Supervisor Ron Mikulaco and
Auditor/Controller Joe Harn Wednesday, noting abrasive attitudes and
inadequacies in the job.
The report on Mikulaco, who was
elected in 2012 and represents El Dorado County’s western edge, notes he “lacks
comprehensive awareness of his position as a county supervisor and fails to
follow basic and general accepted principles of good governance.”
The report also calls the
supervisor abrasive, combative and insulting to others, whether county
residents or employees. The Grand Jury called Mikulaco out on spending several
thousand dollars on executive coaching and having a satellite office in El Dorado
Hills.
District Five has a satellite
office in South Lake Tahoe, something the Grand Jury finds justified by
region’s distance and weather disparities.
The price tag for the office,
according to the Grand Jury, came to $19,200 for rent and an additional $2,400
in utilities. A $1,700 street sign had no record on the county books.
The report also admonished
Mikulaco for spending his $250,000 allowance provided to county supervisors to
pay employ two executive assistants instead of one.
In its recommendations, the
Grand Jury recommended early termination of the El Dorado Hills satellite
office, or alternatively, have Mikulaco fund it from his own pocket. Because of
Mikulaco’s alleged behavior, the Grand Jury also recommended the Board of
Supervisors censure him.
HARN
The Grand Jury noted in its
report about Harn that the auditor/controller “creates problems, blames others
for those problems and then leaks information about the problem and a scapegoat
to the press.”
Harn has served as
auditor/controller since he was first elected in 1994.
The report also said complaints
received included allegations that Harn refuses to cooperate with the chief
administrative officer or staff to fix problems and was a bully who targets
individuals or departments for harassment.
The Grand Jury also called Harn
out on not submitting the county’s corrected information technologies
department costs to the California State Controller’s office for reimbursement.
According to the Grand Jury this cost the county approximately $1.5 million in
the 2014-2015 fiscal year and additional losses of more than $1 million in each
of the two subsequent fiscal years.
The report also alleges Harn
delayed or refused to make payments for personal and political motivation, that
the Board of Supervisors has not ensured independence of the outside audit on
the county’s financial statements and was guilty of harassment and
disrespectful conduct toward county employees.
The Grand Jury recommended that
the board establish an audit committee, allow the Grand Jury to participate in
with the audit committee in the selection of an outside auditor and that the El
Dorado County District Attorney investigate the allegations and findings
against Hern and determine whether he should be removed from office and convene
a criminal grand jury for that purpose.
June 18, 2015
Tahoe
Daily Tribune
Tribune
staff report
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