County Has No Supporting Records
For Hiring Rudometkin As CAO

Modoc County has no personnel files substantiating the qualifications of recently named Chief Administrative Officer Rick Rudometkin.
   
That disclosure was revealed in a March 11 letter from County Counsel John Kenny in response to a request from the California First Amendment Coalition which is seeking documents from the county validating Rudometkin’s professional experience as an executive officer for a public agency.
   
The California First Amendment Coalition filed a formal request with Modoc County on March 3, citing the California Public Records Act, asking for Rudometkin’s work resume and supporting documents the county used in hiring him first as interim and later as permanent chief administrative officer.
   
The action by California First Amendment Coalition came as a result of unsuccessful efforts by the Modoc Independent News in seeking the same information from county officials.
   
Kenny’s response to the attorney representing the California First Amendment Coalition was a blanket “the county has no records that respond to this request.”

His answer leaves the question open. What did the Modoc County Board of Supervisors rely on when it hastily placed Rudometkin in the position being vacated by CAO Mark Charlton following Charlton’s disclosure that the supervisors and other county officials had illegally misappropriated an estimated $20 million from the county’s treasury?

Kenny did state in his letter that “while the county has no records that respond to your request, Mr. Rudometkin has kindly agreed to make available a resume that contains information regarding his professional background.”

However, that information would not be made available until March 17, six days after Kenny wrote his letter to the California First Amendment Coalition.

An initial review of the documents Rudometkin provided the Modoc Independent News on March 17 show they do not address his qualifications for the chief administrative officer position, but instead describe in some detail his past job experience, both as Modoc County director of public works and as streets manager for Dana Point.

There is no mention in the documents regarding Rudometkin's duties as chief administrative officer for Modoc County.

Judy Alexander, attorney for the California First Amendment Coalition, declined to say what the non-profit will do as a next move.

-- Ray A. March

Candidates Are in the Ring

Debate Over County’s Fiscal Crisis Expected

The final date for filing for elective public office in Modoc County has now passed with no new candidates entering the ring, but with a potential prospect that the county’s financial crisis will be a hot subject of debate.

The line up:

District 1 Supervisor

This race holds promise for debating who is responsible for the missing $20 million from the county treasury. Incumbent Dan Macsay is seeking re-election to the Modoc County Board of Supervisors. He is being challenged by David Allan. Macsay was in office during the time the Modoc County Board of Supervisors made unauthorized transfers from the county treasury estimated at $20 million to pay down the hospital debt and he has yet to publicly discuss his role in the misappropriation.

District 5 Supervisor

Supervisor David Bradshaw, who was also on the board during the misappropriation period, is not running for re-election. That seat will be contested by David Porter Misso and Geri Bryne who are expected to also address the board of supervisors’ inability to manage public monies.

Auditor

Another race that should see candidates debating the financial picture of the county is the combined office of auditor- recorder-clerk-elections. Incumbent and former interim auditor Alice Marrs will be running against challenger Darcy Locken, who is Modoc County’s assistant chief administrative officer.

Sheriff

There are three candidates in the race for sheriff. They are Gary Palmer, current under sheriff; Stacy Callaghan, current task force commander; and Mike Poindexter, retired California Highway Patrol officer.

District Attorney

Candidates for district attorney are John Lawson, an Alturas private practice attorney, and Christopher Brooke, current assistant district attorney.

Treasurer

Cheryl Knoch, county treasurer-tax collector during the misappropriation period, is unopposed.

Assessor

Cheri Budmark, county assessor, is unopposed.

Supt. of Schools

Gary Jones, county superintendent of schools, is unopposed.

Re the Short-Term Loan: Is It Still Needed?

Modoc County’s urgency in getting a short-term loan to meet payroll expenses has apparently passed.
   
Or has it?
   
“It appears that short-term financing will not be required this fiscal year due to positive cash flows,” Richard Arrow, the county‘s chief financial officer told the Modoc Independent News.
   
“Next year we will construct monthly cash flows to determine the amount of cash we may need,” he added.
   
Arrow said the county will continue to seek a short-term loan from either US Bank or Bank of America. Both banks require more financial information from the county, including a cash flow report, the current budget and finally the results of the audits now being made of county books before they will make a decision, Arrow said.
 
Asked if the short-term loan that was desperately sought by the Modoc County Board of Supervisors in January was no longer needed, Arrow was cautious.
   
He said County Treasurer Cheryl Knoch was currently working on the county’s cash flow as of February and would release those figures when the financial review was completed.

Left unanswered until Knoch’s report is released are questions such as, what has accounted for this apparent positive cash flow when the latest figures show the county with a projected negative cash flow for May and June, and what can now be expected in regards to future cash flow?

-- Ray A. March

Political Candidates Advisory

We will not accept unpaid political statements from candidates or their supporters on the Modoc Independent Daily News Blog. If candidates or their supporters have a bonafide comment to make related to a posted article, that comment will be reviewed and considered for publication by the editors. Candidates wishing to purchase advertising space on this site or in the Modoc Independent News print edition may contact us at (530) 279-2099.

-- The Editors

Modoc County
Candidates Have Until 5 p.m. To File

Five Modoc County elective offices will be contested in the June 8 primary.

They are:

District 1: Incumbent Dan Macsay is seeking re-election to the Modoc County Board of Supervisors. He is being challenged by David Allan. Macsay was in office during the time the Modoc County Board of Supervisors made unauthorized transfers from the county treasury estimated at $20 million to pay down the hospital debt.

District 5: Supervisor David Bradshaw, who was also on the board during the misappropriation period, is not running for re-election. That seat will be contested by David Porter Misso and Geri Bryne.

The race for the combined office of auditor- recorder-clerk-elections will be between incumbent Alice Marrs and Darcy Locken, who is Modoc County assistant chief administrative officer.

There are three candidates so far for in the race for Sheriff. They are Gary Palmer, current under sheriff; Stacy Callaghan, current task force commander; and Mike Poindexter, retired California Highway Patrol officer.

Candidates for District Attorney are John Lawson, an Alturas private practice attorney, and Christopher Brooke, current assistant district attorney.

Cheryl Knoch, county treasurer-tax collector during the misappropriation period, Cheri Budmark, county assessor, and Gary Jones, county superintendent of schools, are unopposed.

Because the incumbents for District 5, District Attorney and Sheriff are not seeking re-election, candidates have until 5 p.m. tomorrow (March 17) to file.
   

Public Interest Attorney
Rachel E. Matteo-Boehm
Holme Roberts & Owen, San Francisco

Editor’s Note: We think the following article will be of interest to local government officials and Modoc County tax payers not only because the county has a request before it from the California First Amendment Coalition seeking the files of CAO Rick Rudometkin, but the article clearly indicates that public agencies can be hard hit with legal costs when defending against releasing public records. The article first appeared in California Lawyer Magazine and was reprinted on the CFAC web site.

Rachel E. Matteo-Boehm won two significant public records cases for the San Rafael–based California First Amendment Coalition to increase government transparency.

In one, Matteo-Boehm led a Holme Roberts & Owen team in obtaining a detailed planning map from Santa Clara County, which the county had argued would pose a national security risk.

The Sixth District Court of Appeal disagreed, ordering the release of the map and the largest-ever recovery award for a case enforcing the California Public Records Act (CPRA) -- $500,000 in attorneys fees.

Peter Scheer, executive director of the coalition, says, “This litigation raises the stakes considerably on state agencies that violate the act.”

In the second CPRA case, Matteo-Boehm represented both the coalition and Berkeley–based MAPLight.org, a nonprofit research organization that reports on the connection between money and politics.

She settled a lawsuit originally filed in 2008 against California’s Office of Legislative Counsel after gaining machine-readable databases of how state lawmakers vote. The June settlement agreement also stipulates a recovery of $65,000 toward attorneys fees.

Copyright 2010 California Lawyer Magazine