The Kern County Grand Jury recommended
Thursday that the District Attorney charge the former general manager and a
former board member of the Mountain Meadows Community Services District
with malfeasance.
Although not specifically named in the report,
Richard Williford was the general manager during the timeframe of the Grand
Jury's investigation.
“The irony of this Grand Jury report is that
it was started by a complaint filed by the former General Manager approximately
one year ago to confront what he perceived was Kern County government overreach
against his total control over Mountain Meadow(s) Community Service(s)
District,” the report states.
Officials from the Mountain Meadows Community
Services District did not return calls seeking comment.
The report goes on: “The facts and findings of
this report show a pattern on the part of one individual to control a community
and show his willful mismanagement and disregard for the constituents that he
had been appointed and later hired to serve. The former GM has also taken the
new Board to court for defamation/slander and reportedly has a history of
intimidation against anyone who voices an opinion against him.”
Mountain Meadows was established in 1970 and
consists of 697 parcels just south of Highline Road, between Dennison Road and
Curry Street. Each parcel owner pays a $200 annual assessment fee to help
maintain the 27 miles of roads, along with maintenance issues. Residents
complained in early 2015 that those things weren't being done, and most of the
district's equipment was either missing or in disrepair.
Among the top findings of the Grand Jury
report were that from July 7, 2007 until Feb. 17, 2015, the former GM committed
Mt. Meadows CSD to expenditures amounting to $302,693.51 with multiple
businesses that were owned by himself or members of his family. That could be a
violation of a California Government Code.
For the period between Jan. 7, 2009 and July
30, 2013, while the former GM served on the Board of Directors, he was paid
$29,182 by Mt. Meadows CSD as a consultant and for engineering fees, another
apparent violation of California Government Code pertaining to special
districts, the Grand Jury wrote.
The report went on to state that the former
Director of the Board was paid $3,070 by Mt. Meadows CSD for wages in 2015.
This also appears to be a violation of another California Government Code
pertaining to special districts.
The Grand Jury report also stated that
beginning in May 2014, the former GM began signing Mt. Meadows CSD checks by
his own authority without a second signature of a board member. All checks
recovered after that date only had his signature.
In December 2014, the former GM refused to
recognize the duly appointed board members by the county supervisors and the
Auditor-Controller Office despite the fact the new board members were sworn in
by Kern County Elections Chief Karen Rhea.
Then on March 4, 2015, complaints were filed
by the former GM against members of the newly appointed Board of Directors —
which led to the Grand Jury investigation.
In the latter part of the report, the Grand
Jury said it reviewed the current minutes and business reports by the new board
that was finally seated on May 20, 2015. It found the new board has conducted
an audit of equipment and records, closed existing bank accounts and
established new accounts, approved a forensic audit to be performed, started a
reconciliation of accounts and paid vendors, hired legal counsel and hired a
new part-time general manager.
The district also has been fixing and
maintaining the roads, it said.
April
14, 2016
Tehachapi
News
By Jill
Barnes Nelson
No comments:
Post a Comment