There is no evidence to
suggest that Colton City Council members were given preferential treatment by
the city Public Works Department for having speed bumps installed on one councilman’s
street and a brick wall repaired at the home of a councilwoman, the San
Bernardino County Grand Jury has found.
The findings were part of the
grand jury’s investigation into Colton’s management and financial
record-keeping practices relating to capital-improvement projects, the
council’s interactions with the city manager and city departments, the city’s
annual auditing practices, and its outdated computer systems.
The grand jury specifically
reviewed the approval process for the construction of speed bumps on city
streets, and documentation revealed that the projects at issue were completed
consistently with the city’s established procedures and guidelines.
“The grand jury uncovered no
evidence to support allegations that favoritism was given to elected officials
in the decision to approve construction of the speed bumps,” according to the
grand jury report released Wednesday.
Council members Frank
Gonzales and Susan Oliva came under fire last year when speed bumps were
constructed on Gonzales’ street and a brick wall was repaired at Oliva’s home.
The work was conducted by the city Public Works Department.
In October, the city announced it
was revising its policy on installing speed bumps after its
investigation into citizen complaints regarding Gonzales and Oliva concluded
that employees weren’t following official policy when doing some of the work on
the council members’ properties or in their neighborhoods. City officials
attributed the problem to a new policy being drafted, employee layoffs that
resulted in some employees filling in for others, and a lack of department
heads at the time.
As for the city’s
record-keeping practices, the grand jury concluded that the city’s financial
reports are up to date, and a new finance manager has implemented procedures
for maintaining records and has made them available to staff on computer or in
hard-copy form, according to the grand jury.
The city is also in the
process of updating its antiquated computer systems with the latest operating
systems, with 200 computers already updated with 50 more to go, the grand jury
reported.
However, there are no
procedures in place to restore existing backup of city records at an alternate
location in case of a catastrophic event such as an earthquake or a fire. But
the city has hired more people in its information technology department as the
city moves forward in updating its system as its budget allows, according to
the grand jury report.
The grand jury has
recommended the following:
• Establish a review schedule
for the city’s policies and procedures, and date stamp them to show when they
were approved or updated.
• Keep records stored in a
secure facility that protects them in case of a natural or unnatural disaster
such as an earthquake or fire
• Employees should adhere to
existing policies for retaining records in hard-copy or digital form on
computer
Repeated telephone calls to
City Manager William R. Smith seeking comment were not returned on Thursday.
Councilman
David Toro said Thursday he was unaware the grand jury had investigated the
city, and was surprised by the news.
July 3, 2015
San
Bernardino Sun
By Joe
Nelson
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