Barlow Bails Out!

WHY?
My first reaction when I read the brief Daily Pilot article (HERE) announcing the pending departure of contract City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow late this afternoon was, "Uh-Oh! I wonder what she knows that we don't that would cause her to bail out just as a new municipal administration is getting started?"

WE'LL PROBABLY NEVER KNOW WHY...
OK, I know that may be an over-reaction - she's quoted in Joe Serna's piece as saying, "Both personal and business reasons compel this decision - other challenges require my attention." However, the past couple years have been tough on her, with the whole Fairgrounds Sale issue, plus the legal action that occurred as a result of things that happened during the recent campaign. And, she's been a whole lot closer to this new council than the rest of us. Maybe she's jumping off the train before it wrecks...

LEGAL BUDGET WAY OUT OF WHACK
At the recent study session a member of the public who fancies herself a budget watchdog of sorts pointed out to the council and audience that the city legal department - Barlow's domain - had been blowing through cash at a rate averaging more than $100,00 per month - well beyond their budget. It's hard to lay that directly at Barlow's feet since she responds to the demands of the council. She arrived at the meeting after that comment was made.

BARLOW WAS OK FROM MY VIEW
I've watched Kim Barlow perform her duties from the remote viewing platform as a member of the audience. My personal contacts with her have been few and far between, but those were usually satisfactory. Only those privy to the privileged conversations between her clients - the council - and herself really know how effective she has been. She's served a long time as City Attorney through several iterations of City Councils and it's not as though she's a neophyte at this - she's served other cities as well.

AGAIN, I WARNED YOU...
You will recall that I've warned you about what may happen with this new City Council. I've told you that I suspect we'll see lots more litigation, some of which might be directed at members of the council because of their apparent willingness to ignore the rules. I wouldn't be surprised at all if part of Barlow's reason for departing is that she doesn't want to be tarred professionally with the brush that's almost certain to land on some of our elected leaders.

GRUMBLINGS AND RUMBLINGS
I'm not sure what's going on in City Hall these days... I continue to hear grumblings from a variety of sources about staffers being verbally abused by certain individuals. More recently I've heard rumblings about demands being made of staffers that may not be legal, and intimidation when those demands are rejected. It's difficult to tell how valid those grumblings are in light of the very obvious intent of some members of the council to disassemble our city government and turn it into a de facto haven for temporary help. It seems to me that most city staffers are nervous about their future - correctly so, in my view. It's my opinion that no city staffer - at any level - should ever follow instructions from elected or appointed leaders that they know to be illegal or a violation of city policy. Further, they should report ANY such request to their management AND the City Attorney immediately.

APPREHENSIVE SINCE JANUARY
Since the first week of January, when the new City Council was sworn-in and when the un-elected member, Steve Mensinger, was appointed, I've been very uneasy about the tack this group was taking. Barlow's departure doesn't do a thing to alleviate that apprehension. I can only hope that whichever member of the Jones and Mayer staff is appointed to replace her is a strong individual - one who will be able to provide strong, credible legal counsel to keep this group from driving our city into legal quicksand.

WHO'S NEXT?
In the meantime, I find myself wondering which senior staffers will bail out next. City Manager Allan Roeder will be gone early in March. We have no Police Chief - Chris Shawkey is on a paid administrative leave for unknown reasons - and his top Captain, Ron Smith, just retired under a cloud. We have no Fire Chief, nor are the next top two positions filled, apparently in anticipation of working out a deal with the Orange County Fire Authority. Former Fire Chief Mike Morgan, who recently retired, is across the border in Newport Beach as their interim chief. With the enhanced retirements over the past couple years much of the institutional knowledge of our city is, or will be, gone. This doesn't make me sleep very well at night. I grabbed this shot of Roeder at the recent study session. Tell me, do you think he's praying for the future of our city... wouldn't be surprised.

Lobdell: Clues To Shawkey/Smith Absence

LOBDELL INVESTIGATES
William Lobdell, former Los Angeles Times reporter, former editor and current columnist on the Daily Pilot, demonstrates to us that he's still got the chops for good investigative reporting in his column that appears in print this morning.


CLUES TO SHAWKEY AND SMITH ABSENCE
The column, titled, " Chief's expense reports offer clues", quantifies some serious sleuthing Lobdell has been doing recently with "more than 200 pages of public documents", apparently including expense reports for Costa Mesa Police Chief Christopher Shawkey and his top aide, Captain Ron Smith. You can read the entire article HERE.

MISUSE OF CITY FUNDS?
It looks like Lobdell may be onto something with his analysis of the reports, which appear to present evidence of misuse of city credit cards for fuel purchases at places far remote from Costa Mesa, and in excessive amounts, to boot.

SMITH COUNTERSIGNED REPORTS
Apparently Smith was required to countersign the expense reports of his boss, Shawkey - which, Lobdell postulates - might be why both men were placed on leave together late last year. It seems curious for a subordinate to countersign expense reports for his boss.

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY BREEDS INVESTIGATIONS
I don't know whether any of the information Lobdell has presented represent real problems - it's possible they are legitimate expenses - but one reason a good reporter will look for these kind of things is the lack of information coming from the City on this issue. Unless and until the City provides an explanation it's very likely these kinds of investigations will continue - and more questions will be raised about the behavior of our public officials.

KUDOS TO LOBDELL
If the facts as Lobdell has presented to us are factual, then he deserves kudos for digging this information up and presenting to the public. He promises to "keep digging", and he's a guy with the right kind of shovel and knows how to find the right places to dig.

Late Election Info and Related Issues

FISLER VICTORY CERTIFIED BY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS
Today I heard from Mesa Consolidated Water District Director Jim Fisler that the recount in his race to retain his seat has been withdrawn. A check of the Registrar of Voters site confirms that fact, so Fisler will retain his appointed seat with a slim 66 vote margin over Dan Worthington.

APPLICATIONS TRICKLING IN
As of yesterday afternoon the City Manager's office reports that there is only one applicant for the potential vacancy on the City Council if Katrina Foley resigns next month. There are three applicants for vacancies on the Planning Commission, two of which have been reported here - Byron de Arakal and Chris Bunyan. There are also two applicants for Parks & Recreation Commission seats. The City will not confirm the identities of applicants until the filing deadline of 5:00 p.m., December 17, 2010 has passed.

WHAT ABOUT FITZPATRICK?
Still unresolved at this time is the status of Planning Commissioner Jim Fitzpatrick, who won a seat on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board in the recent election. There is a body of thought that he will not be permitted to hold both seats simultaneously. We're still awaiting word from The City on this. We assume City Attorney Kim Barlow will be consulted and rule on this issue. This needs to happen soon because Fitzpatrick will be seated on the Sanitary District Board later this week.

POTENTIAL LACK OF PLANNING COMMISSION QUORUM
IF Fitzpatrick is required to abandon his Planning Commission seat and IF one of the other commissioners - Steve Mensinger, Colin McCarthy or Sam Clark - are appointed to the presumed Foley vacancy on the City Council, that creates a problem for the city. That would leave only two of the current planning commissioners in their jobs and could not do business because of a lack of a quorum in January.

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS AND MORE QUESTIONS
In the meantime, many questions continue to swirl around City Hall. What is the status of the search for a new Fire Chief? We know that retired Chief Mike Morgan is working a temporary gig across the border in Newport Beach, but what about his replacement? What is the actual status of Police Chief Chris Shawkey and his top captain, Ron Smith? Are they gone or not? What about a replacement for long-departed Finance Director Marc Puckett, who recently landed a similar job in Petaluma? So many holes to fill...

Top Costa Mesa Cops Placed On Leave

ROEDER PLACES SHAWKEY AND SMITH ON LEAVE
The Daily Pilot, in an article by Joseph Serna, reported at 6:00 p.m. tonight that Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder has placed Police Chief Christopher Shawkey and Captain Ron Smith on Administrative Leave - without further explanation. Captain Les Gogerty, the remaining senior officer on the force, will assume command on an interim basis. You can read that brief article HERE.

SHOCKING NEWS!
This is stunning news and, according to sources within the police department, completely unexpected. No indication has been given for the two most senior officers to be placed on leave at the same time, leaving us only to speculate on the potential reasons. It is unlikely that Roeder will address this at all because it's a personnel matter and subject to very strict rules about protection of individual rights. You will recall that this is the same line provided when Finance Director Marc Puckett departed mysteriously a couple years ago.

COMMAND STAFF DECIMATED
My initial reaction, once the epithets cleared the air, was shock, then concern for our city. This leaves us with no Fire Chief, no Police Chief (and only one senior command officer) and a City Manager who is only a couple months from retirement. And, the shriveled cherry on top of that dung sundae is the new City Council that will be sworn in by the first of the year.

ROEDER REQUESTS NO COMMENTS FROM PD
Roeder, in his message to the police force today, requested that no comments be made about this issue, so we will be left to speculate about just what kind of horrendous event would prompt the City Manager to place these men on administrative leave. Shawkey is fairly new to the department, coming to us from Phoenix. Ron Smith is an old hand in the department.

WHERE'S THE PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT?
There has been no official announcement to the public on this matter, which causes me some degree of concern. Whether Roeder can or will talk about it, the public has a right to know that the senior command staff of their police department has been placed on leave.



RANK AND FILE HAVE CONFIDENCE IN GOGERTY
Those sources within the police department that would speak about this issue also seemed concerned about the command vacuum being left, but simultaneously expressed confidence in Captain Gogerty's ability to handle the responsibilities placed on his shoulders tonight. That's good news from where I sit.

MORE TO FOLLOW...
I'll follow-up to see if there is any more information available and will, of course, be in touch with Roeder tomorrow.