The fire alarm started about 6:45 on June 20th in the Council Chambers. Check out the video. It is head-spinning.
Staff was giving a report on their FOURTH attempt to fix errors in their 2021-22 Financial Report.
Hibard and Murphy heard the alarm too, and started warning people.
For 3 hours, Nefulda, Hasselbrink, and Doby were fuming, and then started chastising Hibard and Murphy for “Airing The Dirty Laundry in Public.”
I listened to Murphy and Hibard details dozens and dozens of errors, page by page, in BOTH the 2021-22 Financial Reports, and 2023-34 Budget, including a $700,000+ error in the Revenue Schedule that, if corrected, would provide the funding needed for the Police Chief, who practically begged the Council for money to retain his new recruits. Hibard and Murphy, are both professionally trained to manage money, read complicated financial documents, and run their own small businesses.
The City Finance Director was honest and open about mathematical errors, and he was also forthcoming that he only had 1 staff member to assist him, and the only other person who proof-read the Financial Reports was the City Manager.
The City Manager recommended that all of the errors could simply be corrected after the council approved his Recommendation to Pass the Budget.
NO.…it it is NOT acceptable to present a “DRAFT” with MULTIPLE errors to elected officials and expect them to VOTE to approve it. NO. NO. NO. Sloppy financial records leads to allegations of corruption and mismanagement. And after 3 attempts and failures, what makes anyone believe the Manager will get it right the 4th time?
The pubic should be aware that officially-approved financial records are required to be submitted to County, State and Federal Agencies to secure municipal financing. It is NOT “OK” for the elected officials to knowingly approve documents that contain errors. That is why Hibard and Murphy voted No.
What is so shocking, and what makes my brain want to explode, is that Nefulda, Doby and Hasselbrink could care less about the errors.
What bothered Doby the most was that the errors were made public. She suggested that when an error is found, just “call her”..she will take care of it. EXCUSE ME…MS. DOBY…. Your job is not to get your picture taken. YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE who finds the error and notifies the City Manager before the meeting. You failed again.
Perhaps, what annoyed or embarrassed Hasselbrink is that she was NOT the one who spotted the mistakes and corrected them before they were made public… ODD for someone whose job is to supervise finances as the “controller” for a Los Al based business.
And Nefulda, as usual, seems to not give a “DooDoo”, as Doby says. Nefulda was not elected, but appointed. He is just a pretty face planted in the seat so there are 5 votes to break a tie. He can watch TV and play games on his iPad during meetings and no one is the wiser, OR, MAYBE WE ARE?
All the mistakes made no difference. Nefulda, Doby and Hasselbrink voted to give the City Manager control over $3.2 in “surplus” taxpayer money; pass what the City Manager calls an “aggressive” Capital Improvement Budget of $7.5 Million, errors and all, and refused Hibard and Murphy’s request for an independent audit of the city’s finances.
The City Manager’s Budget Priority:
$250,000 for Designer Trash Cans
The alarm that went off in my head tells me that Los Alamitos is in big trouble.
2018 considers bankruptcy
2020 City Manager Hired
2020 Measure Y, City-sponsored sales tax increase;
$20,000,000 in long-term pension debt according to CalPERS – 2022
$3,200,000 in long term municipal debt – 2021-22
2021-2022 Financial Report still filled with errors
2022-23 Financial Report Pending – who knows IF there is a budget “surplus”
“Gravy” for Housing Developers
$250,000 for Designer Trash Cans
Police Chief asking for funding to retain recruits.
The proper course of action: instruct staff to make the corrections, and call a special meeting before June 30th to approve the corrected financial reports; council interviews and employs an outside accounting firm to audit the 2020 to 2023 finances, and assure the public and other government agencies that no errors exist; staff the Finance Department with sufficient and competent employees.
Carol Churchill
Los Alamitos
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