Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor. The opinions expressed in this letter are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Mendocino Voice. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor feel free to write to info@mendovoice.com.
Dear Editor:
As a former Willits city councilmember and mayor, and former chair of the Finance Committee, I was flabbergasted when I listened to the KZYX story on the radio Monday morning and heard of the dire financial situation the city currently faces.
When I resigned from the council in December of last year, I did so confident that the city was on strong financial footing with healthy reserves, grant money flowing in, and unspent Measure K and ARPA funds accruing interest.
Imagine my shock when just six months later, I hear that the city has tapped its reserves, been unable to meet basic payroll, and is $4.3 million in the hole.
While it’s true that the finance department was in a significantly unsound state after having had only a part-time finance manager during the worst of COVID years, when Mr. Orozco was hired, he was given the resources to rebuild the department and the support to do what he needed to do to make the system run smoothly.
When he requested new software to replace the archaic system the city had used for almost 30 years, which caused accounting headaches each payroll period, the Measure K committee saw the logic, approved the expense, and the full council gave the green light.
When Mr. Orozco asked the council to extend the city budget cycle from one year to two, so that he could have more time to focus on the audits that hadn’t been completed for three years, the Finance Committee again understood the logic and the full council approved the change.
But two years later, when the audits still weren’t completed, and the council was being asked to approve a new budget without independently audited numbers, it returned the budget cycle to one year in order to keep a closer eye on the ball and demanded quarterly updates from Mr. Orozco on the status of city finances.
That was last year. Now a council with three new members finds itself in the unenviable position of being asked to pass a budget — once again with two years of unfinished audits — and without a clear idea of the city’s actual financial footing.
To quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the State of Denmark.”
Why were no warnings given that the city was on shaky ground? Why was an aggressive Capital Improvements Plan embarked upon if the revenues weren’t there? Why was the LAIF fund tapped with zero discussion or direction from the previous council? Why did the Finance Director not know the city was in trouble until “we ran out of money”?
These are serious questions, and I hope the Finance Committee and the full council are serious about finding the answers. Willits taxpayers deserve no less.
Greta Kanne
Distancing yourself from this mess after only being away for six months is laughable. You were elected to hold a position of leadership to help steer our community in the right direction. You quit on the community and opened the door for Alman and Burton. Good grief.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha
I lived in that black hole town for quite a few years and it was one of the most incestuous disgusting places I’ve ever been.
Living in the woods allowed me to ignore most of the idiots in Willits but I never forgot what I was told by a very successful realtor when I first came to Towne decades ago
The realtor told me… Willits is where dreams come to die
Couldn’t be more true
It’s a vile spiderweb tangled mass of evil worms who have been running everything there for so many decades. Either them or their family or their cousins and they never wanna be told that they’re dumbasses and don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.
The liberals and conservatives there are all some of the most weird unpleasant people I have ever met.
Well, it is a vortex of miasma and disappointment
Well, it is also like the thousands and tens of thousands of small towns across this country where longtime local folks run everything… Into the ground
They own everything they rule on everything they don’t care about anybody else.
I’ve recently been involved in a lawsuit involving people in that area
The lawyer is a liar and a scammer
The CPA is a known liar, who doesn’t keep secrets
The plaintiff is a liar who has been stealing for over five years with the assessment and ability and cooperation of the lawyer and the CPA.
Those are typical people in that town.
Pretty much spot on. I did hear ( a rumor? ) the mayor Rodriguez has made plans/ agreement if you will. To sell the fair grounds along with the recreation grove by a certain year to put in more apartments to thier gain. How true? Should be looked into.
So accurate. This town is just plain hostile. And those are the same people who “just love it here”, as it slides further into poverty and tweaker central.
How ignorant of me to think that only “big” government was incompetent. Come on people. We at least deserve a reasonable small government.
Mendocino County itself has been corrupt for as long as I can remember and I’m 68. There are those of us that have tried to change it and call them out on it but then we have these stupid people that constantly allow it to happen and vote the same people into office that caused the problem in the first place. They investigate themselves and of course they’re going to find themselves innocent. Unfortunately the whole of Mendocino County is corrupt as far as our government goes. A lot of us have tried to stop it over the years but it continues on and on and on. I’m sorry that you have to see this because it seems like no matter how hard we fight against it we are beat down my people thinking they’re better than the others. Yet they still continue to be as corrupt as the ones that they took over their office. This is nothing new here and it is sad because most of the people that live here are such good people and helpful and kind and wonderful but our government sucks!
Best start with an outside payroll processing firm.
Bring in an outside CPA firm to do some limited scope compilations and maybe reviews.
I would start with looking at the salaries and competencies of the public works, planning and finance departments. I would then look at other top positions like the assistant city manager, facilities/services director and the economic development director. Ask yourself are these positions/individuals contributing to our community or are they sucking away resources?
There is much to say but the most important to say is, everyone is quick to criticize without all the facts but slow to run for office or help. If only it was as easy as writing your opinions.
They all have hands deep in the pockets of the city. Has anyone ever questioned why the mayors along with board members of present and past acquired such personal revenue? It was simply pointed out for the city streets to be fixed. Only a couple were fixed. Although a perfectly good stretch of commercial st from the corner of the city park to the railroad tracks was resurfaced. This city needs to be investigated also has needed it for alot of years.
I am in complete disbelieve. How dare would someone write something like this, after dropping the city and it’s Employees like a hot potato; AFTER KNOWING that shit was hitting the fan at the City. All these EX council members, EX mayors and so on should all be looking in the mirror and ask themselves how HONEST and TRUSTWORTHY they all are…. wow, this is for sure the right way to go about all this… C.Y.A….ridiculous…
You do know that there was an election and he was voted out right?
It’s the same story ov I couldn’t agree more with every statement that has been written here I’ve lived in brick trails for over 36 years and the money that are authoritative figures spend on their desires is not part of the program it is best for our sweet little town. Things have not changed here in the years past and now we have Tom Allman as our mayor. We are supposed to learn from history yet it’s the same over and over. What can we truly do to save our little town from the bigger corrupted politicians that work in the shadows just waiting for their lunch?
When Quiet Quitter Kanne quit the City Council, everyone knew something was rotten. Of course, now we all know that it was because she backed the wrong horse. You see, it was Kanne all along bragging that Brian Bender, the one employee for whom the Council is responsible, was a (her words) “financial genius”. I guess if by financial, she meant spend all the money, and, by genius, she meant unlikable, devisive and detrimentally manipulative, then she had a point. Well, obviously she was wrong. Instead of admitting her mistakes and working to fix them, she bailed and began an immediate campaign to attack City staff that had already been through hell with the Council’s poor decision making and myopic spending habits. Kanne is a coward and now shows herself for the fool she is. Perhaps she can find a book in her store that could teach her and her cohort Rodriguez about spending above our small city’s means, or at least something about the risks of spouting libelous lies.
Ineptitude has been the name of the game with the City Managers office since Mrs.Moorehead was interim manager and Mrs. Garrabant-Sierra was the absentee hire, we then brought on the Montana kid whose previous experience was a place holder without a budget. I’ve heard scuttle but about the books being scrambled for years with the city owed dump fees by the county and sub par bookkeeping by people named previously. So Mr.Bender leaves with a new education funded by the highest sales tax in the county and the city finance manager whose job it was to decipher a 30 years of every prior sewer management specialists notes in hopes to right the septic tank of a ship that’s been spit polished for public appearance. So maybe the state comptrollers office needs to step in and then we’ll see if Mr.Orozco deserves the red letter assigned to him by Mrs.Kahne or is it all a Houdini trick in hopes no one is left holding all the keys to every door in town.
Greta, how can you be so combative when you clearly have ownership of the situation you’re complaining about. You say you left the council confident that the city was on strong financial footing. Audits were three years behind and the new finance director was directed to focus on catching them up. All the while the city council was supportive of passing a budget with an aggressive capital improvement plan. You clearly pointed out that the city had been using an archaic accounting system and that Mister Orozco would need to fix issues from the part-time, covid-era director, and implement a new accounting software upgrade. Despite all of this, you choose to put all the blame on Mister Orozco. I think your letter does a good job of pointing out what was rotten. Clearly, the city is better off without you in a leadership role.
Thank you, Greta!