TMC: Thirty Miles of Corruption

CLICK THE PIC TO WATCH BRAD HIDE IN SACRAMENTO!

NOW IT’S ONLY A HOP, SKIP AND A JUMP TO THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY OFFICES IN CASE STATE CONTROLLER JOHN CHIANG HAS A FEW AUDITING QUESTIONS REGARDING DISCRETIONARY FUND SPENDING IN THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE FOR NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER BRADLEY HUDSON. 

WHO WILL BE HIDING BEHIND THE COMPUTER NEXT WHEN THE AUDITOR COMES ASKING QUESTIONS? CHECK BACK WEEKLY…THAT IS, EVERY CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY! WE’LL EVEN PROVIDE THE DIRECT LINK SO YOU CAN CHECK THE CURRENT CITY COUNCIL AGENDA. CALL YOUR LOCAL ELECTED COUNCIL PERSON AND THE MAYOR AND REQUEST THAT A FORENSIC AUDIT BE DONE BY STATE CONTROLLER JOHN CHIANG OF THE CITY HALL BOOKS.   WITH A NEW INTERIM CITY MANAGER, SCOTT BARBER, THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE NEEDS BASELINE NUMBER AS DONE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN ORDER TO ASSURE BALANCED NUMBERS AND TO CLEAR POSSIBLE DISCREPANCIES OF THE GENERAL LEDGER BOOKS.  IF THERE IS NOTHING TO HIDE, THE NUMBERS WILL ALWAYS COME UP RIGHT! 

Questions abound regarding Brad Hudson’s decision to leave Riverside.  Is it because he understands the books better than the city council or mayor?  Is it because of the enormous bond debt which will come due July 1, 2012?  His discretionary slush fund spending?  To the tune of over 25 million, then suddenly went down this year when a citizen brought it to the councils attention last year.   Or is he leaving because of the many restrictive inter-agency fund transfers.  Once transferred to non-restrictive account, become part of web of inter-fund transfers reaching their proposed goal?  Or did the questions regarding Connie Leach to the City of Riverside instigate Brad to make a quick getaway?  How long will the council and mayor continue to fall by the sting of the break-up even after the June 14^th  love fest, especially Steve Adams, who appears would marry him if he could.   The question is, why would you leave his base salary of $295,000.00 to make $258,000.00 in Sacramento?   

Brad’s yearly basesalary                                                      $258,200.00

Carry on Employee Duty Expense ($700/month)                  $8,400.00

401a Plan Match Up                                                                 $9,000.00

Auto Allowance ($550/month)                                               $6,600.00

Total First Year Salary                                                          $282,200.00 

Additional Benefits:  Retirement Benefit,  Health Insurance Benefit, Dental Insurance Benefit, Vision Insurance Benefit, Professional Associations Expenses Benefit, Moving Expense Benefit of $25,000.00, First year entitled to 42 day leave (1 ½ mo off), Second year, entitled to 84 day leave max. (3mo off).  Cost unknown.   Though Brad Hudson’s has yet to formally submit a letter of resignation, does his vague current employee contract with the City of Riverside obligate to pay out the remaining two years in a lump sum?
Conditions in Hudson’s current five year contract with Sacramento County state a lump sum payout if he vacates the position early. 

Therefore, did the City of Riverside actually pay Brad Hudson to much?   Will an independent forensic audit of the the city accounts be implemented when Brad Hudson leaves, in order to get a baseline for the next City Manager?  Accountability and Transparency may be non-existent in City Hall, but TMC will ask the questions.  The questions the community of Riverside are now asking.  Now the agenda:

Item 11, is Michael Morales’s appeal of the ethics violations against Ward 7 Council Candidate John Brandriff.   What struck me as quite interesting is that there are two other subjects which have yet to be reported regarding their record of attendance.  TMC did our own rundown of the Community Review Police Commission Attendance.   According to the attendance records Brandriff attended 12 committee meetings and had 6  absences;  1 excused, 3 for sickness and 2 for business.  What’s quite interesting is that Robert Slawsby attended 11 committee meetings and had 6 absences, all six for business.  He is quite equal to Brandriff.  Last there is Rogelio V. Morales who attended 9 committee meetings and had 9 abscences,  5 for business and 4 which were UNEXCUSED.  There is a contradiction regarding Michael Morales with regards to his claims.  Errors can be made, but these are obvious in the sense of fairness.  You would also believe Michael Morales would have also filed complaints against the other two, otherwise you would have to believe there is an ulterior motive.  I am unaware if Rogelio V. Morales is related to Michael Morales though they have the same name and many are asking just that question.  The question arises if Michael Morales was hired to follow the daily activities of John Brandriff , or decided to do this as a sole individual?  This due to his extensive knowledge of Mr. Brandriff’s day to day activities and whereabouts.  It is also alleged that Michael Morales is a supporting associate of current Ward 7 Councilman Steve Adams, of which Council Candidate John Brandriff will be in a run off election with.  It is also known that Steve Adams and Brad Hudson are close associates or friends.  The question which allegedly appears to materialize,  is this a political play to damage the reputation of Councilman’s Adam’s opponent, John Brandiff.  Would it be to attain leverage for winning a re-election campaign?  Or would it be a form of political retaliation for other reasons? Brandriff did asked the hard question with regards to City Manager Brad Hudson’s responsiveness to the Chief Russ Leach DUI in 2010, where records for Hudson’s city cell phone showed no incoming or outgoing calls the day of the incident until 14 hours after the traffic stop.  Hudson’s explanation is that his phone was off.  John Bradriff stated, “You’re telling me he wasn’t on the phone with anybody, about anybody, all day, with this going on?  That’s hard to believe.”   So, this is where the question in the community came up regarding Hudson’s personal phone records, which were convieniently unsoepenable.  Or is there a way to utilize the city phone and circumvent the record with City software?  Well, we never received a rational answer from the City.  Or there is the case of Councilman Steve Adams and City Attorney Greg Priamos strong arming a community meeting, La Sierra/ Arlanza Neigborhood Group, as many have indicated who attended.  Adams then made a call to Brad Hudson to end the meeting,  then left.  When an ethics violation was filed, Steve Adams claimed politically motivated because he confronted Taffi Brandriff, LANZA Co-Chair,  the wife of Ward 7 Council Candidate John Brandriff who is running against him.  But this is not the first time, Steve Adams has claimed conspiratorially motivated, stating allegations of others on the dais. What is quite remarkable is the many alleged instances of impropriety against opponent John Brandriff, which make mentioning.   But if you love this so far, you are going to love the Cihigoyenetche, Grossberg & Clouse Investigative Report coming soon on TMC.  (Item 11, 3:00 pm session).

 Item 36, the thing of importance is that the Roberts Consulting Group was originally hired as headhunters to find a suitable and qualified person for the City Manager position, whom back in 2005, you guessed it! was Brad Hudson.  Well they have been hired again to do the same.  It has also been allegedly stated that Roberts Consulting have ties to the Mayor’s office.  Conflict of Interest?  Business as usual?  It appears that the City Council or the Mayor’s office are incapable of hiring someone qualified and knowledgeable for the position.  If in fact they may actually lack the skills to know what they expect of a City Manager, or our they even incapable of asking the proper interviewing questions?  Isn’t that a reflection on the City?   See, many in the private sector do their own hiring, hopefully honesty will be one of the afformention requirements for the position.  Whoever Roberts Consulting chooses as capable, the council and the mayor will accept it as acceptable. Even though the Mayor received 6 outside bids, he still decided to choose preferentially his friend of Roberts Consulting Group.  What  a surprise they were also on top of the Mayor’s list last time they were searching and found our now exiting City Manager Brad Hudson.  In 2005, Norm Roberts, Roberts Consulting, had mixed success.  So much so that the council members rejected the city manager candidates Roberts found and recruited Hudson on their own.  Well they could have saved the taxpayer money.   Roberts also headed the process that led to hiring police Chief Sergio Diaz in 2010.  (Item 36).

 Item 28 Adopt an ordinance to continue and comply with the the new State’s Voluntary Alternative Redevelopment Program. On June 29, 2011 Governor Brown suspended all redevelopment activities in the State of California.  The State gave cities two options to this suspension, dissolve it or continue it.  Because of the abuses of redevelopment an if you choose to continue, the paperwork the State expects to fill out is tedious, and this has upset most city governments as ours.  Therefore, our city is requesting the adoption of an ordinance to continue the Voluntary Redevelopment Program.  This choice to continue becomes as the State calls it, “A Voluntary Choice”.   Therefore entering into this convenant, cities enter a more structured program to force the city to become more responsible, this is with the State’s view that it will mitigate abuse of funds.  Stay tuned for more on this one. (Item 28).

Item 31 Nancy Hart wishes to serve in place of Councilman MacArthur on the Development Committee for the discussion of the leasing program for city owned property located at 10530-60 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside.  Does any of these council people have a real estate license or property management background.  Where is Dennis Morgan of IPA (Inland Pacific Associates) who is the property management company contracted with the city in all of this? (Item 31).

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UPDATE: MICHAEL MORALES APPEAL DENIED 6-O. MICHAEL MORALES SLAMS PAUL DAVIS BY SUGGESTING HE RECUSE HIMSELF BECAUSE HE IS A SUPPORTER OF COUNCIL CANDIDATE JOHN BRANDRIFF.  CONTINUES TO CLAIM DOCUMENTATION, WITH NO DOCUMENTATION SUBMITTED OF VALUE.  HIS ALLEGED ASSOCIATE AND ALLEGED PARTNER IN THIS DEBACLE, COUNCILMAN STEVE ADAMS IS ON VACATION IN TEXAS.  EVERYONE WAS THERE ON THE DAIS EXCEPT STEVE.  HE HAS YET TO FILE COMPLAINTS OF ETHICS VIOLATIONS ON SLAWSBY AND ROGELIO MORALES, WHO HAVE EQUAL OR WORSE RECORDS OF ATTENDANCE AS DOCUMENTED.  THIS IN ESSENCE, ONLY QUESTIONS THE MOTIVE OPERANDI OF MICHAEL MORALES.  COUNCILMAN STEVE ADAMS IN INSISTANT WITH REGARDS TO CONSPIRATORIAL REFERENCES TOWARDS HIM.  NO ONE IS REALLY SURE WHAT MR. MORALES OR COUNCILMAN STEVE ADAMS’S INTENTIONS ARE, BUT OTHERWISE INEFFECTIVE IN CONVINCING THE DAIS OF JOHN BRANDRIFF’S INEPTNESS, WITH REGARDS TO HIS ATTENDANCE RECORD.  THIS INTRIGUING INVESTIGATION HAS BROUGHT MORE FOCUS ON COUNCILMAN STEVE ADAMS WITH HIS CLAIMS OF POLITICAL VICTIMIZATION! IS HE REALLY THE VICTIM, OR HAS HE USED THIS AS  A SUPTERFUGE FOR FURTHER POLTICAL GAIN?

BRAD’S FAREWELL PARTY: A REFLECTION OF REALITY?  THE HUMOROUS EXUBBERANCE OF OUR CITIES UPPER ESCHELON  WAS NOT TO BE MISSED.  IN THERE MOMENT OF REPOSE THEY WERE ENTERTAINED WITH SUCH GOVERNMENT TOPICS AS POLICE ASSET FORFEITURE, SCANDALS AND CITY CHARTER VIOLATIONS IN A WHIMSICAL SORT OF VIEW.

THE CITY NOW NEEDS YOUR HELP, THE RIVERSIDE COMMUNITY, IN SELECTING THE NEXT CITY MANAGER.

UPDATE:08/25/2011: PE CONTENDS CITY MANAGER SEARCH HAS LOW ATTENDANCE.

UPDATE:08/27/2011: CITY PROVIDES NEW COMMUNITY IMPUT QUESTIONAIRE REGARDING WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE NEXT CITY MANAGER.

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