Stanislaus County Grand Jury • 2010-2011

Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury City of Patterson Case numbers 11-01c, 11-02c, 11-03c, 11-04c, 11-05c, 11-06c,

Published: June 28, 2011 8 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 3 findings

F1
Council member A failed to disclose a fiduciary conflict of interest with the landlord to other Council members or with the community members. With a history of late payments, arrearages, and funds “written off,” Council member A never recused from a vote involving the landlord and commercial developer. • On 10/26/2009, Council member A (nor any other council member) never reviewed a verification of legal expenses prior to voting to pay attorney fees which is, in the SCCGJ’s opinion, a gift of public funds. Factual and procedural statutes outlining gifts of public funds are located within the California Constitution, Article XVI, Section 6. Besides the lack of knowing/viewing any verified funds, the council cannot give public money without a properly filed lawsuit, verification of funds, court order, contract or statutory authority.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Council member A should be held accountable for the sustaining violations and resign from elected office (Patterson City Council). Community members can evaluate the need and collect signatures for a special recall election if they feel warranted by this report and if Council member A refuses to resign.
F2
Between 2008 and 2010, Council member A was not in compliance with the mandated AB 1234 ethics training required under the Political Reform Act of 1974. Council member A’s vote to reimburse the landlord took place during the time of non-certification.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
All Patterson City Council members shall post their AB 1234 Ethics Training results on the City website to ensure compliance. The City Clerk shall monitor this requirement and place upcoming AB 1234 expiration dates on the public agenda. Members who fail to remain in compliance of AB 1234 shall be mentioned at open meetings until they complete certification.
F3
Violations of Patterson Municipal code and City Council handbook. • Failure to follow the proper chain of command as it relates to approaching representatives of Keystone Business Park while negotiating terms for the Del Puerto Health Care facility. • Directing a city staffer to author a letter regarding city business without proper permission from the city council or city manager. 6 • Making calls to the Community Development Director in an effort to influence the decision to hire a lower scoring applicant to the position of Assistant Planner. • Sustaining violations of the FPPC. (Conflict of Interest and AB 1234 Ethics Training). • Unprofessional outbursts at City Council meetings and in the public to both colleagues and residents concerning city business. RECOMMENDATIONS
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Any City Council business correspondence or actions by individual members of the City Council must be approved in advance by the City Manager. (Patterson Municipal Code § 2.16.040). REQUEST FOR RESPONSES Patterson City Council. REFERENCES • California Fair Political Practices Commission http://www.fppc.ca.gov/. • California Government Code. • City of Patterson. (2007). City of Patterson - City Council Handbook. Approved February 20, 2007 by City Council Members of Patterson. • City of Patterson, California. http://ci.patterson.ca.us/. • City of Patterson, Municipal Code. • Correspondence voluntarily submitted by witnesses. • Correspondence acquired from certified letter to commercial developers. • Documents obtained via the Public Records Act. Reports issued by the Civil Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code § 929 requires that reports of the Grand Jury not contain the name of any person, or facts leading to the identity of any person who provides information to the Civil Grand Jury. The California State Legislature has stated that it intends the provisions of Penal Code § 929 prohibiting disclosure of witness identities to encourage full candor in testimony in Civil Grand Jury investigations by protecting the privacy and confidentiality of those who participate in any Civil Grand Jury investigation. RECUSAL ADVISEMENT This report of cases 11-01C through 11-08C, and 11-18C are issued by the 2010/2011 Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury with the following exception: One (1) member of the grand jury volunteered to recuse his/her self due to a perceived conflict of interest. This grand juror was excluded from all phases of the investigation, including interviews, deliberations, voting, and in the writing and approval of this report. None of the information included in this report was obtained from the excluded grand juror as a means of mitigating a potential bias to the integrity of this report. 8

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

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