City of Blythe City Council

Sworn testimony revealed that a member of the Blythe City Council, in preparation for a Blythe Chamber of Commerce sponsored music festival, directed a foreman of the Public Works Department (PWD) and his crew to begin grading a city park on May 14, 2013, without first obtaining approval from the city manager. A week later, on May 21, 2013, this same city councilman directed the same PWD foreman to perform additional grading duties on County property adjacent to this city park. Further testimony revealed that the PWD foreman declined to do work on County land without direction from his PWD supervisor. The PWD supervisor advised the city councilman to obtain approval from the city manager. The city councilman subsequently contacted the city manager for approval. Testimony confirmed that the councilman was told by the city manager that since the secondary property he inquired about was on 1 County property, no work could be done by city employees without County approval. The councilman then contacted a Riverside County Board of Supervisor’s office and obtained approval to grade the property. The councilman informed the city manager that the County approved the city’s use of the land, but would not provide any resources to grade the property. The city manager then authorized the grading on the County property by PWD staff. The city manager operates under the budget approved by the City Council. Blythe Municipal Code (Ord. 356 §7(o), 1967) states as follows: 2.04.220 Powers and duties--Council-manager relations. The city council and its members shall deal with the administrative services of the city only through the city manager, except for the purpose of inquiry, and neither the city council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinates of the city manager. The city manager shall take his orders and instructions from the city council only when sitting in a duly held meeting of the city council and no individual councilman shall give any orders or instructions to the city manager. Blythe Municipal Code (Ord. 356 §7(b), 1967) states: 2.04.090 Powers and duties—Authority over employees. It shall be the duty of the city manager, and he shall have the authority, control, order and give directions to all heads of departments and to subordinate officers and employees of the city under his jurisdiction through their department heads. Currently the League of California Cities provides annual training to local elected officials. The program provides the state mandated AB1234 Ethics course and is the first of three stages for leadership levels for these elected officials including a review of government codes. This training was made available to newly elected city council members. However, one council member chose not to attend the training. The City Attorney provided the mandated ethics training to this city councilman.

The Blythe City Council, at its February 26, 2013, meeting, voted to approve a donation of $6,350 of the city’s promotional budget to be given to the Blythe Chamber of Commerce (Chamber). This money was to be used to pay for the bands that would perform for the second annual Blythe “Blues Fest” at Quechan Marina and Park (Park). The expenses for this event included $4,700 for the bands. The City’s donation was also used 2 to cover the bands’ other expenses for staging, generators and payments to vendors. Evidence provided indicated that the over $21,000 generated total income included the City’s donation. In addition to the City’s contribution, the Chamber sold sponsorships, refreshments and souvenirs. The total expenses incurred by the Chamber for this event was $17,560. At the conclusion of the event, the Chamber netted $4,032 and subsequently presented the City with a donation of $2,275 to be used for the Blythe Recreation Center. Evidence obtained by the Grand Jury indicated that the PWD began work on the Park on May 14, 2013, and finished May 24, 2013. Sworn testimony indicated that the city manager first became aware of work on the park May 21, 2013. On May 21, 2013, the city manager estimated the total cost of the work to be $4,000, and approved the completion of the job. However, the City incurred approximately $16,500 in expenses to prepare the Park for the event, instead of $4,000 originally estimated by the city manager during the preparation of the Park for the event. The City was not compensated by the Chamber for the $16,500 to prepare the park for the event. The City Council did not approve additional promotional funds for the Chamber’s allocated event.

The City acquired Quechan Marina and Park (Park) from the County on November 27, 2012. This Park covers 27.4 acres and is situated on the Colorado River in the eastern part of Riverside County. Originally, the County owned the Park, and leased it to the City with the City operating the Park. Pursuant to the County’s “Master Plan” for this Park, the list of phases of development included turning over the property to the City for ownership. According to sworn testimony, the City has not developed specific operating guidelines to run this Park since the City acquired the Park from the County. The Park is for day use only for recreation and to launch boats. The City assigned a volunteer to be a “Park Host”. This volunteer’s main job was to provide a presence, “encourage compliance with park rules and regulations” and essentially be the “eyes and ears” of the City. Under the volunteer’s “Agreement for Camp Host Volunteer Services” with the City, the volunteer duties included verifying payment for Park services by visitors, performing light housekeeping and janitorial duties and handling litter removal. These volunteer duties were done in exchange for a free place to park a motorhome/trailer with free sewer and water hook-up. In the Agreement, the volunteer agreed to pay for the electricity. However, sworn testimony revealed the volunteer was never billed for several months of electricity usage, and thus did not pay for any electricity as outlined in the Agreement. There was no initial reading of the electric 3 meter when the volunteer moved in to provide a baseline measurement before an electric bill could be produced.

Sworn testimony and council minutes stated that a newly elected councilman, at his first council meeting on December 13, 2011, called for the dismissal of the city’s chief of police and made allegations against the chief without providing any proof or documentation. The City Council later voted in a closed session on January 24, 2012, to have this councilman meet with the chief, the mayor and the city manager. The city attorney was present at this closed session meeting. Additional testimony corroborated that the reason for this gathering was to “repair the bad feelings” between the councilman and the chief. The involved parties gathered at a city hall meeting room on January 31,