Blog note: this article references a 2016-17 Grand Jury report about Angels Camp governance.
State investigators are probing allegations that a former Angels Camp city administrator may have stolen public funds.
The decision to seek investigative assistance from the California Attorney General’s Office was mutually agreed upon by the Angels Camp Police Department and the Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office, a news release from the police department reported Wednesday.
“Due to the nature of the allegations, and lack of local investigative resources, the decision was made to seek outside, independent investigative assistance,” the release said.
A 2015-16 audit report of Angels Camp financial records alleges a former city administrator, identified as Michael McHatten by current City Administrator Mary Kelly, may have received more payouts for administrative leave than he had available from 2014-16.
The financial report estimated the city may have lost at least $29,000 in public monies through the process. A Grand Jury report citing the same document said McHatten allegedly received payouts for 533 hours but only had 332.6 hours of leave available throughout the span.
McHatten could not be reached for immediate comment regarding the allegations and the investigation Wednesday.
Several inconsistencies were also detailed in credit card statements, per the financial audit. Five purchases were for personal items. In some instances, handwritten excerpts of the purchase were proven false when receipts were provided.
Among some suspicious purchases were about $45 total for a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red and another of Ironstone’s Obsession Symphony varietal after he said he spent $150 for deli trays and drinks purchased for a League of California Cities meeting in 2016.
The audit also noted a few suspected accounting abnormalities with McHatten’s paychecks. He allegedly received two payroll advances for two separate periods within the span of a week in September of 2015. The city was reimbursed a few months later after the payments were discovered by the finance director.
He left his job as city administrator in Angels Camp last December. He is currently the city manager in Soledad in Monterey County.
Earlier this month, the Angels Camp City Council responded to the allegations, many of which were included in a Grand Jury audit of the city.
The council agreed a staffer was taking more administrative time than earned, but they did not think the city accrued a $29,000 loss.
It agreed that the former city administrator was violating the city’s handbook in independently crafting policies rather than implementing and following standards set by the council.
The members disagreed that the payroll advance policy was abused because all alleged instances occurred at a time when no procedures existed. A written policy put in place by the council in 2015 regulating the practice of salary advances was revoked in July.
A news release from the Angels Camp Police Department said Angels Camp staff was cooperating fully with the investigation.
Representatives from the California Attorney General's Office could not be reached for immediate comment Wednesday.
August 16, 2017
Calaveras Enterprise
By Jason Cowan
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