Times: Hercules city manager’s assistant got big loan from city
— by Jeffrey Wisniewski — 23 November 2009 — 1 comment below »
Two members of the City Council — Kris Valstad and Ed Balico — approved the loan… “The administrative assistant to the Hercules city manager got a mortgage of more than $450,000 in June from the Hercules Redevelopment Agency on a house across the street from a similar one that sold for less than two-thirds that amount about same time, real estate records show.”
Ms. Olano has since been named a director of NEO Consulting, the contractor running the City’s affordable housing agency.
The arrogance and blatant disregard for transparency continue unabated. Thanks to Tom Lochner for his continued investigations and articles. I don’t understand why the district Attorney is not investigating. The normal checks and balances in government do not apply in Hercules so there appears to be no way to stop the insider deals other than the ballot box. I find it entertaining that there is “no conflict” as she became a board member 27 days after her loan. Perhaps the letter of the law was followed, but certainly not the spirit.