EDC Grand Jury blasts 2 elected officials
By Kathryn Reed
The El Dorado County Grand Jury raked Auditor-Controller Joe Harn and Supervisor Ron Mikulaco over the coals in separate reports that were released this week.
Neither of the elected officials believes there is much truth to the reports, with Mikulaco saying it is politically motivated.
Harn said it’s hard to defend accusations when no examples of wrongdoing were presented.
Mikulaco, who is in his first term, represents the first district on the western edge of the county. He said he was never interviewed by the grand jury regarding the allegations made against him, which is a Penal Code violation.
“I’m not a good ol’ boy. There is a cost to not towing the line,” Mikulaco told Lake Tahoe News.
In the future he believes there needs to be better screening of the grand jury members so no one with blatant political connections and therefore perceived biases serves.
Brian Veerkamp, chair of the board, did not return a call. His secretary told LTN, “I doubt he will be able to comment, but I will give him your message.”
In addition to the reports on the two elected officials, the grand jury also believes the El Dorado County Charter should be repealed and county government structured as a general law county.
This civil grand jury claims Harn cost the county more than $1 million because he allegedly did not send a complete cost allocation plan to the state.
“The bottom line is they don’t understand the cost allocation plan. It didn’t cost us anything,” Harn told Lake Tahoe News.
In a prepared statement he further stated, “The state controller found no fault with the plan prepared by my office. The state controller found that the IT billings prepared by IT were not supported. IT didn’t maintain the records needed to substantiate the billings. My office is not responsible for the IT billings. The IT billings were done correctly for a decade prior to the former CAO’s reorganization of the management of IT.”
Since that time CAO Terri Daly was shown the door and the person who had always done IT’s billings for the cost allocation plan left the county.
Joe Harn
The findings against Harn include:
· Report: Harn delayed or refused to make payments for reasons of personal and political motivation.
Harn’s response: He has to pay the bills, so this isn’t possible
· Report: The Board of Supervisors has not ensured the independence of the outside audit of the county’s financial statements.
Harn’s response: An outside audit is done every year. It’s likely a new auditor will be hired this year because the same CPA firm has been used for the last seven years. He welcomes the board to have an audit committee.
· Report: He is not complying with two ordinances – sections 3.16.130 and 3.16.140.
Harn’s response: The 1958 ordinance saying the Board of Supervisors approves bills for payment has been replaced by a 1978 resolution saying this is the auditor-controller’s responsibility. (There is likely to be an agenda item June 23 repealing the 1958 ordinance so there is no confusion.)
· Report: He allows personal relationships to interfere with his management of his staff.
Harn’s response: “I like and respect my staff, and they like and respect me.”
· Report: The auditor-controller is guilty of harassment and disrespectful conduct toward employees of both the county and other entities.
Harn’s response: “If they brought up specific examples, I might be able to say I should have been nicer. Earlier they say I’m a bully, but don’t say who I bullied.”
Ron Mikulaco
As for Mikulaco, the report says, “District One Supervisor Ron Mikulaco lacks comprehensive awareness of his position as a county supervisor and fails to follow basic and generally accepted principles of good governance. Equally alarming, he is abrasive, combative and insulting to others, and refuses to follow the protocols and processes expected of any elected official, especially an El Dorado County supervisor.”
The supervisor told Lake Tahoe News, “It was pretty brutal. I was a little caught off guard. They never talked to me about any of the items in there. They never interviewed me.”
The report accuses him of using taxpayer money for a satellite office in El Dorado Hills that the jury says is not necessary. (The district five supe has an office in South Lake Tahoe and Placerville.) Mikulaco said he furnished the office and pays for it out of the allowance he is given each year.
Each supervisor has $250,000 to spend – this includes the salary for their assistant and then other items related to their job. Mikulaco said he has given money back to the county because he has not spent it all.
He said the training he received that the jury took issue with is no different than what others are offered.
As for his personality, Mikulaco said, “I agree I can be abrasive when people lie to me.”
This is all much to do about nothing and appears connected to the fired CAO and her cronies which is where the investigation should have been. The important problem is the budget deficit and the causes and if there was illegal conduct that involved the two former CAO’s and their circle of cronies. Every action they took should be investigated for illegal conduct like the large raise “accidently” put on the consent calendar for routine approval.
The grand jury looks like it was packed with John Podesta’s and James Carville’s think alike political hit men. The GJ sullies itself and gives the GJ abolishers more ammunition to destroy the civil grand juries as has been done in the 48 states that no longer have civil grand juries.
Shame on the GJ for their personal agendas and further weakening their effectiveness to promote good governance.
I agree with Justice…this grand jury seems tainted, and this out of the blue report is a smoke screen to take attention of of other more sensitive and important issues.
It almost seems as if the Grand Jury is beginning to attempt to run the county, one more among many who think they can or should.
ELDO County is a soap opera, full of bad actors.
Yeah! Blame the Grand Jury! Or as Nutting did, blame the D.A.! LOL!
By Gosh says 48 states no longer use a civil Grand Jury, false. 30 states have a civil GJ.
From what I read the jury consist of 19 people for a term of only 1 year and a new jury begins in July. They submit their reports to the superior court judge for approval.
Mikulaco states In the future he believes there needs to be better screening of the grand jury members so no one with blatant political connections and therefore perceived biases serves. Has he lost faith in the judicial system? And I’m sure both Harn and Mikulaco understand that the reports, as stated on their GJ web site must be voted on with a minimum of 12 jurors in agreement. Do these two believe that 12 political operatives took over the GJ?
I think that I will believe what the civilian advocates have written about these two. It’s easier to swallow then what they are trying to feed us.