[Monterey County] Carmel: Committee appointed to answer grand jury report

Carmel >> An ad hoc committee has been named by Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett to prepare a response to the Monterey County civil grand jury’s recommendations to improve city operations.

Burnett announced the committee at Monday evening’s special session of the City Council. The group will be composed of Burnett, City Attorney Don Freeman, City Administrator Doug Schmitz, Vice Mayor Ken Talmage and City Treasurer David Sandys.

The draft of the city’s responses will be made public, Burnett said.

Monday’s workshop was one of the shortest in memory, lasting only about 15 minutes. Two Carmel residents spoke during the public comment session about the grand jury report.

Resident and business owner Richard Kreitman was not happy with how the report characterized Carmel residents as not being knowledgeable of the workings of city government. He called the report “a disappointing piece of work.”

However, he said the report correctly found that the City Council needs to implement their right to review city workings. Kreitman thanked the council for actions already taken to fix problems at City Hall.

Without those actions, he said, former City Manager Jason Stilwell and Susan Paul, administrative services director, would still be working for the city and three fired employees would not have been reinstated.

Carmel resident Skip Lloyd said the grand jury report was a good faith effort and that the jury grappled with a number of issues.

“I just hope the community takes that sincerely,” he said.

The grand jury released its investigative report, which the city and a group of Carmel residents requested, on June 19. It made a wide range of recommendations, that included, among other things:

• The mayor and council conduct a structured review of the city’s departments each month, to ensure proper oversight of operations and more aggressive use of their power of inquiry.

• An appropriate information technology system be procured and the data network secured.

• An experienced human resources director be hired.

• A formal, mandatory progressive discipline system to be consistently applied for all employee disciplinary matters.

• The city review the contract awarding process to ensure that the Carmel Municipal Code provisions are being followed and that where called for, public bidding is used.

• The city attorney position become full time, and that the person filling that role have experience in contracts, employment law, and Public Records Act requests, as well as municipal law.

While the grand jury report is not binding, the jury seeks responses to recommendations.

June 29, 2015

Monterey County Herald

By Tom Leyde