Times: County will review Hercules condo tax assessments
— by Jeffrey Wisniewski — 15 October 2009 — 1 comment below »
In what could lead to a series of investigations by the County, the Contra Costa County Assessor “will be reviewing all the condominiums in the city of Hercules.” Eep.
So the city attorney has opined that these shenanigans do not violate ethics and conflict of interest laws. All perfectly legal. Right?
I think the city attorney should dust off his copy of the state constitution, because the nepotism issue aside, these above market rate bailouts with taxpayer money are likely a gift of public funds, in violation of the state constitution. What has the city attorney to say about that?
If the council wanted to do the right thing, they would immediately terminate the current sweetheart agreement with NEO Associates as affordable housing consultants and adopt local anti-nepotism provisions to preclude elected and appointed officials from ever again hiring family, friends and other insiders as employees and consultants. They would adopt sunshine laws to provide more notice of “special meetings”. They would establish a Budget Review Commission to provide citizen oversight of their budget decisions.
Of course the council will do none of these things, because they are involved up to their eyeballs and they don’t want to be accountable. They will circle the wagons and do nothing, counting on an apathetic response from this community so they can in short order return to business as usual.
It is hard work, but it is time to consider a ballot measure to adopt sunshine laws to augment state open meeting laws and anti-nepotism provisions, or if this gets any worse, a recall election a la Pinole.
Message to council: Sad that you didn’t learn your lesson after the Walmart and Szabo debacles.